Gatorade Tips

Verbal encouragement from parents and coaches to drink fluids before, during, and after practice is important. Remind your child to drink fluids before practice, and then again after practice to replace fluids lost during sports. Ask questions and take other steps to determine your child's hydration status and how much fluid he needs to drink to fully rehydrate.

Verbal encouragement from parents and coaches to drink fluids before, during, and after practice is important. Remind your child to drink fluids before practice, and then again after practice to replace fluids lost during sports. Ask questions and take other steps to determine your child's hydration status and how much fluid he needs to drink to fully rehydrate.

A recent survey by the National Safe Kids Campaign revealed that more than three out of four parents of active kids aged 8-14 do not know the steps they should take to help prevent dehydration in their children. The survey and studies show the importance for parents of not only educating their children about the importance of hydration but of having and implementing a hydration strategy utilizing the consumption of sports drinks on a schedule before, during and after sports to eliminate the risks of dehydration and heat illnesses and give kids the fuel they need to perform at their best.

A 2010 study proves that sports drinks containing carbohydrates and electrolytes, like Gatorade, consumed right before and at 15-minute intervals during prolonged stop-and-go team sports such as soccer, football, ice hockey, basketball, volleyball, and lacrosse actually help young athletes play better, longer, increasing endurance by 24%.

Studies show that fluids containing sodium such as Gatorade increase voluntary drinking by 90% compared to drinking plain water because the electrolytes like sodium in a sports drink help maintain the stimulus to drink (thirst) and help complete hydration - a major factor in keeping athletes safe on the playing field. In addition, water lacks the carbohydrate energy needed to fuel working muscles to help athletes perform at their best.

To stay hydrated, kids need to drink fluids at regular intervals during exercise (about every 20 minutes), rather than in response to thirst, which isn't an accurate measure of hydration status. In fact, if your child says he is thirsty, he is already dehydrated. Consuming cool fluids during timeouts and breaks protects your child's health and optimizes athletic performance.

Children as young as 7 can be taught to use urine color to determine if they are dehydrated, especially if descriptive words or phrases are used that they are already know: Light yellow or relatively clear urine ("lemonade") means the athlete is hydrated. Bright yellow urine ("mellow yellow") means that the athlete is slightly to moderately dehydrated. Brownish urine ("apple juice") means the child or teenage athlete is severely dehydrated.