Hydration is the one body topic where almost every parent agrees in principle and almost no kid does it well in practice. Most kids show up to practice mildly dehydrated and finish severely dehydrated. The fix is a baseline rule the kid can follow without thinking.

The baseline rule. Drink water with every meal and every snack. Carry a bottle to school. Drink it during the day, not just at practice. Kids who drink consistently across the day arrive at practice hydrated. Kids who only drink at practice are playing catch-up.

The numbers. Roughly 60-80 ounces of water per day for a 100-pound active kid. Add 16-24 ounces in the two hours before practice or a game. 6-12 ounces every 15-20 minutes during activity. 24 ounces for every pound lost during exercise. The exact numbers depend on kid size, sweat rate, climate, and intensity. The pattern matters more than the precision.

The urine check. Pale yellow is hydrated. Dark yellow or amber is dehydrated. This is the single most useful at-home indicator and works across age groups. Teach your kid to look. The first morning urine is often dark and that’s not always a problem; the urine pattern across the day matters more.

Plain water vs sports drinks. Plain water is appropriate for most youth practices and games under 60 minutes. Sports drinks become genuinely useful past 60-90 minutes of continuous moderate-to-high-intensity activity, especially in heat. The reason is sodium replacement, not the carbs. Most kids do not need the sugar in standard sports drinks.

The Gatorade trap. A 20-ounce Gatorade has roughly 36g of sugar. For a kid who isn’t actively playing in heat, that’s a soda. For a kid mid-tournament, it’s reasonable. The context determines whether it’s a hydration drink or a candy bar in liquid form.

Electrolyte drinks worth knowing about. LMNT (high sodium, no sugar) is what many endurance athletes use. Ultima Replenisher (lower-sodium, no sugar). Liquid IV (high sodium, some sugar — okay for tournaments). Pedialyte (medical-grade, high sodium and sugar — appropriate when actually dehydrated, not as a daily drink). For most kids most of the time, none of these are necessary; for tournament weekends or hot practices, one of them is helpful.

The cramp question. Cramps during games are usually not hydration alone. They’re a combination of dehydration, electrolyte imbalance (especially sodium and potassium), muscle fatigue, and heat. The cramp protocol is gentle stretching, water, electrolytes, rest, and often a small salty snack. If a kid is a chronic cramper, a sweat test from a sports medicine clinic can show whether they’re a high-sodium-loser. That’s a real thing.

The night-before protocol. A glass of water before bed and another with breakfast. Most pre-game hydration prep happens earlier than parents think. The kid who chugs water 30 minutes before kickoff is going to be peeing during the game and still under-hydrated.

The teen who hates drinking water. Flavored sparkling water. Cucumber and lemon in a pitcher. Any infusion that gets the volume in. Soda is dehydrating; energy drinks are worse. Don’t fight the wrong battles.

The honest part: hydration is not a moment-of-game fix. It’s a habit. The kid who drinks consistently all day is the kid who finishes the fourth quarter strong.

Last updated April 2026.