Garden Obstacle Course: Bravebynature

Like most things kid related my kids are the total opposite when it comes to what they will drink. My daughter will literally only drink water which while it’s a bit frustrating at times, is great because I know it’s good for her. My son? Juice, smoothies, squash, milkshakes…anything but water really. I was genuinely really happy to be asked to work with Highland Spring because it gave me a bit of a challenge, could I get my son to join his sister and get more water in his diet? But being the mum I am I also had to give the kids a bit of a challenge too so I set them up a simple DIY garden obstacle course, perfect for when the sun makes an appearance!

I’m lucky in that my son’s school will only allow kids to drink to water during the day but when school is out my son is definitely more inclined to ask for something else. As well as being the only drink that contains no calories, sugar, preservatives or additives water also helps kids to achieve more – drinking just 300ml of water can boost attention by 25%* In fact, if you’re dealing with moody kids that appear to have turned into teenagers already (please say it’s not just mine?) you’ll be pleased to learn that recent study carried out by psychologists at the University of East London and University of Westminster shows that after drinking 300ml reports of “good mood” increased by almost 20%*

Kids often don’t realise that they’re thirsty so as a parent it’s good to offer them water when you can. We were given loads of bottles of Highland Spring bottles to try out and having the bottles easily accessible for the kids has been a bit of a revelation – somehow a bottle of water has become a bit of a treat and they love to just go and help themselves to it. It makes me giggle when my daughter shows me shes sneaked a bottle of water without asking as if she’s done something cheeky – I’m more than happy for them to drink all the water they want!

To test out if the water helped the kids concentrate I set up a little obstacle course in our garden. If you want to give it a go yourself it’s super easy to do, we borrowed a couple of bits from our local toy library but most of it is what we own anyway with our garden chalks being used to give instructions and using items like skittles and a ball which require a bit of hand-eye co-ordination. You can watch their challenge here.

We’ve also found the bottles super handy to take out and about, adding them to my bag for picnics at the beach or for walks in the local woods and as the school term starts I know I’ll be happy to pop them into my kids lunchboxes, helping them to do their best at school as well as giving them the energy to enjoy playing outside too.

*Research from The Natural Hydration Council: http://www.naturalhydrationcouncil.org.uk/

I’m working in a paid relationship with Highland Spring and BritMums on their #BravebyNature campaign, which highlights the benefits of hydration for children. Get additional advice and benefits of hydration for children on http://highlandspring.com/