Can Babies Drink Filtered Water

Avoid empty calories just because your baby s old enough to safely drink water doesn t mean you re cleared to give them any beverage their heart desires.

Can babies drink filtered water.

However regularly mixing powdered or liquid concentrate infant formula with fluoridated water might increase your child s risk of developing faint white lines or streaks on the teeth fluorosis if these kinds of formula are your child s main source of food. And once you ve prepared your baby s bottle throw away any formula they have not finished within one hour of serving. Why it s unsafe to give water to babies 6 months and younger. You can give your baby either tap or filtered water to drink either is fine as long as you re sure your tap water is safe and not contaminated of course.

When it comes to infants the answer is they shouldn t. You can safely use fluoridated tap water to prepare infant formula. In fact a belly full of water might curb baby s appetite for milk which could compromise your child s nutrition. Giving a baby younger than 6 months old too much water can interfere with his body s ability to absorb the nutrients in breast milk or formula.

Store prepared formula for up to 24 hours then discard. As long as baby s diet consists exclusively of breast milk or formula an infant doesn t need any water to stay healthy and hydrated early on. It all depends on how solids are introduced what kinds of solids are introduced and how often they re being consumed. What chemicals and contaminants in tap water can affect my child.

Once your baby starts eating solid foods you will be able to give him small amounts of water after meals. Micron filtration filters water through microscopic holes which remove more contaminants than standard filters can. You ll still need to boil filtered water before using it as a drink for your formula fed baby before he s six months old or to make formula milk. In some cases highly filtered water may be called purified water which is legally required to contain less than 10 parts per million of contaminants.

Exposure to fluoride during infancy helps prevent tooth decay. You can give filtered water to your baby to keep him hydrated with clean and healthy water. You can use a water filter if you want but make sure you follow the filter manufacturer s instructions. A good micron filter will remove most chemical contaminants and microbes.

On the go use bottled or distilled water. Visit ewg s water filter buying guide to find the best filter for your needs. After his first birthday when your baby s eating solids and drinking whole milk you can let him drink as much water as he likes.