As the school year begins, it is important to remember that some children may be mildly dehydrated after playing outside. Children do not have the same cooling system as adults so they can overheat pretty easily on a hot day on the blacktop. To make matters worse, most children are so busy playing their favorite recess game that they forget to get a drink.
When children want to get a drink after recess on a hot day it is a good idea to let them. When they come back with a dazed look or are having trouble paying attention to instructions it just might be mild dehydration. A growing body of evidence finds that being just a little dehydrated is tied to a range of subtle effects — from mood changes to muddled thinking.
You can check out the Peaceful Playgrounds article entitled, Keeping Kids Cool in School
or the CDC article “Increase children’s access to water in schools.”
Finally, you will find additional tips in the NPR article “Off your mental game? You could be mildly dehydrated.”
