What is the best drinks right before bedtime for 2 and 4 year old?

Several hours.

Plain milk itself, unswallowed, can have a deleterious effect on teeth. Maybe a small bottle of plain water right before bed?

You might also consider cutting down on liquids just before bedtime period, in order to help your kids be able to get through the night without wetting the bed, your 4 yo in particular.

Plain water is always fine. It may not be what the kids prefer, but it is a good health habit to get into.

Also chocolate milk does have some caffeine in it, which makes going to sleep more difficult.

Water. Regular milk (not chocolate) would be ok if you brushed their teeth after they drank it. I would stay away from sodas, juices, kool-ade, etc.

If you are potty training or they have a hard time staying dry at night, I would stop drinks a couple of hours before bedtime.

Water is _ the only best choice, if you _must give them something to drink. Really, you should be curbing the drinks in the evening, anyway. A wet bed is a bad bed! ;~)

Nyquil.

My children were allowed to choose water or milk at the dinner table, and they were not allowed anything but water from dinner time until bed time. If you make a straight forward rule such as that it really cuts down the arguments. There is no choice besides water or nothing.

Agree with everyone but the nasty ratboy. Only water after teeth are brushed, and not much of that if you are toilet-training.

I was going to say water. I guess my second choice would be plain milk.

I would say the best drink right before bedtime would be no drink. I didn’t like my kids to drink an hour before bed, maybe a small drink of water or milk. My son was a bedwetter up until he was about 4, so we were really careful about him drinking before bedtime. But I would say nothing sugary like juice right before bed, don’t want that sitting on their teeth all night.

Milk. No doubt about it.

Water. nothing more, nothing less.

I agree with water, with one exception. I don’t like the taste of water, so I always flavor one cup with a teaspoon of lemon, apple, or grape juice.

I agree with others-water.

thimble of scotch?

Water or Milk.

@ABoyNamedBoobs03 That is what they used in the old days, but it’s not legal in the US, and I would not recommend it.

@YARNLADY yeah he wasn’t serious

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I knew that – but you might be surprised at how many people think that is a good idea.

The only beverage that should be allowed after dinner is water. Everything else is bad for the teeth.

I would not let my toddler drink anything sweet after 4pm.

Drinks right before bedtime can result in bed wetting , it’s best to give water, diluted or fresh juice an hour or two before bed.

My grandsons think water is yummy. My daughter never started giving them juice because morbid obesity is common on her husbands mothers side of the family and she decided just to never start them on the extra calories. Every once in a while they will get some watered down juice as a treat, but never before bed.
I wonder if it’s safe to give children chamomile tea?

In general, we gave them water. Sometimes, when they had trouble sleeping, or they went to bed after a really early diner, we would give them warm milk with some honey or sweetened anise.

Yes, there is sugar / lactose in there, but it needs not to be regular, and does wonders to their sleeping. All they need to do is rinse their mouths with a gulp of water.

Milk makes kids sleepy and helps them sleep, is my experience. Just rinse with water.

(Some children will have sleep disturbances from milk, being allergic to lacto-peptides or lactose intolerant.)

We used to have warm milk with a teaspoon of sugar before we went to bed. Probably not considered healthy enough anymore but it helped us settle down!
Water for during the night though… but it does taste nasty when left to go warm :(

Water. Out of curiosity I noticed that you specified, “What is the best drink besides water…..” What’s wrong with water?

@Val123 nothings wrong with water. I thought if I put that that’s all people would answer. I was trying to get a variety of answers by stating that.

@limeaide So…you pretty much knew the answer to your question before you asked? I don’t mean to sound snarky, but….why did you ask then? Is there something else you specifically wanted to learn? Just wonderin’.

@Val123 Yes, I knew water was probably best but like I said I wanted other options for variety sake.

Oh. OK. Well. Um. Gatorade might be good! Maybe! Don’t know how much sugar it has it it, though.

@Val123: Bad idea; Ingredients in order of amounts. I wonder why adults touch the stuff.

“water, sugar, table salt, carbohydrates, electrolytes (110 mg sodium, 30 mg potassium, 93 mg chloride), high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, glucose, fructose, and sugar.”

Gatorade was designed to keep athletes hydrated during competition. The “unique blend of fluid, electrolytes, and carbohydrates” creates a drink that hydrates better than water during times of active workouts.”

Because of the amount of carbohydrates in Gatorade, over- consumption can cause obesity.

@Gail Bletch! No Gatorade! (I’ll use it when my kids are sick and need to keep hydrated though. And there was another time…I’m gonna go to PM!)

@Val123 – Actually Pedialyte is better for sick kids than Gatorade is. It has the right amounts for their smaller sizes and you can even make it at home.

To make homemade Pedialyte you need the following ingredients:

1 tsp baking soda, 5 or 6 tsp sugar, 1 packet of Kool-Aid mix for flavoring, and ½ tsp salt.

Some recipes used Jello or another brand of gelatin dessert mix. It adds a bit of protein and some kids like the slightly thicker consistency.

@Darwin Thank you!