Walk into any supermarket with a toddler and the drinks aisle can feel confusing. There are tiny juice cartons with smiling fruit, bottles made just for babies, and flavoured milks in bright colours. At home your little one may point and ask again and again.
I remember standing in that aisle myself, reading labels and feeling I must be missing something. The simple truth is a relief: drinks do not need to be complicated. Water is the best extra drink, milk has a clear place after the first year, and juice is not needed.
Quick Answer
Offer water freely between meals, in an open cup or a free-flow cup. Whole cow’s milk can be a main drink from 12 months, alongside a varied diet. Before 12 months, cow’s milk should not be the main drink — breast milk or formula is — although small amounts in food and cooking are fine from around 6 months. Juice is not needed. Whole fruit gives the fibre juice lacks, while the sugars in juice, even 100% juice, are hard on teeth and can spoil appetite.
Water: The Best Extra Drink for Toddlers
Water does the everyday job better than anything else. It quenches thirst, does not fill your toddler up before meals, has no sugar, and does not harm teeth. Once your child is eating family foods, offering water between meals is one of the easiest healthy habits you can build.
Offer it freely and often. Keep a small cup within reach during play, take water out with you, and let your toddler see you drinking water too — in our house, my own glass nearby worked far better than coaxing.
How to Offer Water
An open cup or a free-flow cup, the kind without a valve, is best for learning to sip and for teeth. Start with tiny amounts at the table, expect spills, and keep a cloth handy. Spills are part of learning, not a sign your child is not ready. Offer more water, more often, in hot weather, after running around, and during illness, when your child may be losing extra fluid. If water is refused at first, stay calm and keep offering. Most toddlers come round once water is the normal drink at home.
Milk: What Role Does Milk Play?
Milk is a useful food. It gives energy, protein, and calcium in a familiar way. From 12 months, whole cow’s milk can be a main drink, because young children need the extra energy and fat it provides.
Before 12 months the picture is different. Cow’s milk should not be a baby’s main drink in the first year, because breast milk or formula is made to meet a baby’s needs in a way plain cow’s milk is not. Small amounts in food and cooking, such as milk in porridge or a sauce, and cheese and yogurt as foods, are fine from around 6 months. If you are at that earlier stage, our guide on when to start weaning your baby walks through those first foods step by step.
The balance to watch is quantity. Too much milk fills a small tummy quickly, leaving little room for food, and a lot of milk can also reduce how well iron from food is absorbed. I will not repeat all the amounts here — for the full daily guide, read my article on how much milk a toddler should drink each day, which also covers cutting down gently.
If your child cannot have cow’s milk, do not guess at swaps for long. In particular, if you suspect a cow’s milk allergy, learn the signs to watch for and talk to your doctor about suitable alternatives.
Why Juice Is Not Needed
This surprises many parents, because juice feels healthy. But juice is not the same as fruit. When fruit is juiced, most of the fibre is lost, and fibre is one of the main reasons whole fruit is so good for us. What is left is a sweet drink that is easy to gulp down in large amounts.
Even 100% fruit juice contains a lot of natural sugar in a small glass. Those sugars are hard on teeth, especially when juice is sipped slowly over a long time. Juice can also spoil appetite: a toddler filled up on juice may refuse lunch. Whole fruit works differently — it takes time to chew, gives fibre, and satisfies in a way a quick drink never does.
Offer whole fruit instead, prepared safely for your child’s age and chewing skills, and always supervise eating. If juice is offered at all, keep it occasional: a small amount, well diluted, only at mealtimes, in a cup, never in a bottle, and never at bedtime.
Drinks to Avoid for Toddlers
Sugary drinks, fizzy drinks, and sweetened squash or cordial offered all day bathe teeth in sugar again and again, add calories without useful nutrition, and teach a strong taste for very sweet drinks. Flavoured milks, such as strawberry or chocolate milk, are sugary too, however milky they look.
Be wary of drinks labelled for babies or toddlers, including baby juices. The packaging may look gentle, but many are still sugary drinks at heart — marketing, not a sign your child needs them. Tea and coffee are not for toddlers either: they contain caffeine, and tea can reduce iron absorption.
What About Plant Drinks?
Oat, soya, almond, and other plant drinks vary a lot. Some are low in energy, protein, and vitamins, and sweetened versions can contain added sugar. Unsweetened, calcium-fortified versions may be used in food and cooking, such as porridge or sauces.
Two points matter most. First, rice drinks are not suitable for children under 5, because of guidance about low levels of arsenic that can occur in rice products. Second, plant drinks should not be the main drink for children under 2 without advice from a dietitian, because it is hard for a very young child to get enough energy and nutrition that way. If your child is dairy-free, talk to your doctor or a dietitian about an alternative that covers calcium and other nutrients properly.
Protecting Little Teeth
Small daily habits make a real difference to teeth. Move from a bottle to a cup from around 6 to 12 months, and aim to stop bottle use around the first birthday. Bottles make it easy for milky or sweet drinks to pool around teeth. Never put a child to bed with milk or juice — if a drink is needed in bed or during the night, water is the only safe choice for teeth. Avoid letting your toddler carry a cup of milk or juice around and graze from it for hours; offer drinks at meal and snack times instead, with water freely in between. Finally, brush teeth after the last milk of the day, so milk sugars are not sitting on teeth all night. Our order is simple: last drink, teeth brushed, story, bed.
How to Tell Your Toddler Is Drinking Enough
Thirst varies with weather, activity, food, and illness, so signs of good hydration are more useful than a fixed number. A toddler drinking enough usually has regular wet nappies, passes pale yellow wee rather than dark, strong-smelling wee, and has tears when crying and a moist mouth. Offer drinks regularly rather than waiting to be asked, especially in hot weather and illness, when small, frequent sips help.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Putting juice in a bottle at bedtime: it coats teeth in sugar all night.
- Letting a toddler carry a sippy cup of juice or milk all day: constant grazing fills the tummy, spoils meals, and harms teeth.
- Using drinks to replace meals: a big drink before lunch often means a refused lunch.
- Offering squash or cordial all day because it is diluted: diluted is still sugary, and sipped for hours it still harms teeth.
- Giving a rice drink to a child under 5: rice drinks are not suitable for young children.
- Buying special baby or toddler juices thinking they are healthier: they are usually just sugary drinks.
- Cutting milk drastically overnight without advice: go gently, and ask your doctor or dietitian if your child depends heavily on milk or is dairy-free.
When to See a Doctor
Contact your doctor promptly, or seek urgent care the same day, if your toddler shows signs of dehydration, such as very few wet nappies, no tears when crying, a dry mouth, unusual sleepiness, or sunken eyes. Also get advice if your child refuses to drink, cannot keep fluids down, or has persistent diarrhoea or vomiting. If you are worried for any reason, it is always fine to ask.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much water should my toddler drink each day?
There is no single exact amount, because needs change with weather, activity, and illness, and toddlers also get fluid from food and milk. Offer water at every meal and snack and freely between meals, and let thirst guide the rest. Regular wet nappies and pale yellow wee are good signs your toddler is drinking enough. Offer extra, more often, on hot days and during illness.
Is squash (diluted cordial) okay for toddlers?
It is best not to make squash a routine drink, even well diluted. It is still sugary, hard on teeth when sipped over time, and teaches a taste for sweet drinks. If squash appears at a party, keep it small, serve it in a cup at mealtime, and return to water at home.
My toddler will only drink milk — what can I do?
Go slowly and stay calm. Keep milk to set times with meals and snacks, and offer water in a favourite open cup between meals, drinking some yourself so your toddler can copy you. Praise small sips, and expect change over days, not overnight. If your toddler drinks very large amounts, eats very little, or you worry about iron, growth, or hydration, talk to your doctor or health visitor.
Are toddler milks / growing-up milks necessary?
No. For most children eating a varied diet, with whole cow’s milk as a main drink from 12 months, toddler milks and growing-up milks are not necessary. They can be expensive and sometimes sweetened. If your child is dairy-free, growing poorly, or has a very limited diet, ask your doctor or a dietitian which alternative is suitable, rather than choosing one from the shelf alone.
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. Every toddler eats, drinks, and grows at her own pace. If you are worried about drinks, hydration, teeth, growth, or health, please talk to your doctor or health visitor. Please read our full disclaimer for more information.