In spite of a 2010 law designed to improve access to water in school, many children go all day without drinking any water. School children who don't drink enough water during the day, may find themselves sluggish and grumpy by afternoon, one of the documented effects of dehydration. If those same children have a choice only between milk, soda, and juice at lunch, they may be consuming unnecessary calories, contributing to the nations growing youth obesity program.

CNN recently reported:

"Research shows that making water more accessible to children at school increases consumption of water and improves health.

Researchers in Germany found that by installing a cooled, filtered water fountain with plain or optionally carbonated water, providing children with water bottles, educating them on the importance of drinking water and encouraging them to fill up their water bottles, they were able to reduce the risk of children becoming overweight by 31%."

But many schools do not provide cups for water with meals and have few drinking fountains to serve hundreds of students during brief meal breaks. The Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which governs the National School Lunch Program, requires that clean water be easily available in school.

"Since children spend a large percent of their waking hours at school, they should be consuming at least one-half their total water intake at school," says Dr. Melina Jampolis, CNN Health's Diet and Fitness Expert. "The standard recommendations are for children to get 6-8 glasses of water per day. Teenage boys need even more, 11 glasses per day," she says. "Mild dehydration can affect learning as well as mental and physical performance."

Promoting Drinking Water in Schools

Once federal regulations are finalized, every school that receives funding from the National School Lunch Program will be required to provide water with meals and many schools may already be in compliance. If you want to hurry your child's school along, the web site waterinschools.org has some tips:

• "Work with your local PTA to help get things started. Find other interested people and groups. Develop and coordinate a work plan and strategy.
• Engage your local school wellness policy committee. Ensure that water access/availability is included in the policy. If it isn't, make a motion to include such language.
• Test the school's water supply to ensure the school community has confidence in the water quality. Many students might think tap water is bad or unclean even though the water is perfectly safe. Knowing that the water is safe and clean and publicizing this fact can help improve the image of tap water.
• Meet with student groups to get buy-in. Students can also explain why they might not currently be accessing or drinking water. Common complaints are that water fountains are dirty, that they prefer chilled water, or the location of the tap is inconvenient. Each school's response might be unique depending on your student population and its needs.
• Strategize on fundraising for start-up costs."

On hydration between meals, school policies vary widely, from requiring water bottles at every desk to banishing them out of fear they'll be filled with something else. If your child's school allows them to bring a water bottle in their lunch box, backpack, or locker, filing it with Berkey filtered water certainly guarantees it will taste great and be inexpensive. As we have recommended in the past, sugary drinks should not be the answer and below is another infographic with some good points as to why.