Watering the New Year
For this first post of the New Year, I’ve asked myself - what could I share that would help the parents and teachers of young children the most?
What comes to mind is not specifically about music or movement. But it’s about something that makes music and movement come more easily. And it’s very simple.
Drink water. And have your children drink water. Often.
I need to ‘fess up; I tend to get dehydrated. I get busy and forget to drink. Right now it’s morning, and I don’t think I've had a drink yet today!
- Water break -
Why don’t I do this more often? I feel more awake. The world is lighter, brighter. My brain is making quicker connections. I feel more energetic. I’m happier.
My biggest aha! about water appeared in an airport. I had a bottle of water with me that I wasn’t allowed to take through security. I didn’t want to throw it out, so I stood aside and drank the whole thing.
After the first few drinks, I felt as if I’d had enough. But I didn’t want to waste the water. So I kept drinking.
It was amazing – about three quarters of the way through the bottle, I wanted more. I had overcome my body’s characteristic survival response.
And even though I was waiting in line early in the morning in a busy airport, with all the scurrying people and a flurorescent buzz around me, I suddenly felt much better. I felt alert and awake. I even felt happy.
But nothing had changed except me. I had given my cells the water they needed to recharge. My batteries were working better.
In nature, if there isn’t enough water, the body will husband it. We won’t get the normal thirst signals from our brains because obviously, if there were more water, we would be drinking it! Our brains trick us into drinking less than we need for optimum functioning, but enough to stay alive. We are in survival mode.
In the airport, I had drunk enough so that my brain/body system reset from “survival” to “normal.” Something inside me said, hey, there’s plenty of water! OK, this is how much you really need!
We adults need 2 ½ - 3 litres of water per day (that’s roughly 85 - 100 ounces) just to run our normal bodily functions. Breathe, digest, eliminate, think – everything we count upon our bodies to do for us takes water. When we don’t replenish our water supply by drinking, we use the water we have stored. We dry up our insides, just to keep going.
Young children need less water than adults, but they still need more than they normally get. It tends to be a particular a problem in school settings. Sips from the water fountain don’t add up to much. Not every classroom has a sink, or allows children to have water bottles with them. And many kids don’t drink water even at lunchtime; they have milk or juice – or sugary non-food drinks - instead.
Fluids are not the same as water. To extract the water from milk or juice takes energy from the body. Then, the food content of the liquid needs to be digested - which requires water.
Each of our cells functions as a little battery. If these little batteries are to retain their charge, they require real water. A slice of lemon or lime or a mint leaf or a bit of fresh ginger – these things don’t diminish the water-ness of water. But once you start getting sugars and proteins into water, the liquid starts registering to the system as food. And food requires water to digest. In the long run, these more complicated drinks can actually end up dehydrating us! They mask our need for water so that we drink less and less.
Think about how often you look out in the classroom, and see children who aren’t 100% there. Think of the children who zone out. Think of the children who can’t settle, who flip from one thing to another. Think about the times when one child starts to lose it, and sets off a chain reaction.
Now think of how a piece of equipment operates when its battery is losing its charge. Sometimes it just gets slower and slower. Sometimes it works in erratic bursts.
So do kids.
So do we.
One way to get a little more life out of the battery is to rub an acupressure point that helps us with water absorption. It’s easy to find – it’s midway between the belly button and the bottom of the rib cage. It’s often quite sore!
You can make it into a game to play with children. Pretend that you are robots and that you need to wind yourselves up. That’s the place to put the key! Or make your fingers into little squirrels, running up and down your body. Bury some acorns right in that special spot.
I find that the most practical, low-stress way to hydrate myself is just to drink water every time I think about it. Even a swallow. The more often I stop to drink water, the more oftenI remember to stop and drink water.
I’m pouring another glass right now!
Cheers.
Rick Townsend Watertown Jan 04, 2013
Great post, Eve.
Three years ago, my school began providing incentives for a 5-step daily regimen to improve our health. One of the steps is that I have to drink 108 oz of water daily. I always begin with at least 32 before my 7:20 AM classes. (Incidentally, the other four parts of the daily program are a) 10,000 steps, b) at least 30 minutes of elevated heart rate exercise, c) 3 servings of greens, d) 2 servings of fresh fruit.)
Linda and I follow this regimen fairly well, but the water is the least natural part for us. I made a mistake at first, thinking that I could drink diet pop instead of the water. ...Live and learn. Now pop is out of the diet completely. I saw the pop vendor pull up to our cafeteria one day in a truck with the name “Jefferson County Chemical Company.” Another lesson learned.
...Long story short. We both had physicals this year, and the numbers were significantly better than they were four years ago.
Drinking water is tedious, but I really know when I miss it.
Thanks, again! Great advice.