When Can Babies Have Water?

Water starts when solids start, at around 6 months. Offer small sips from an open cup with meals, while breast milk or formula stays the main drink.

That is the whole idea: a few sips at the table, not bottles of water between meals.

Milk is still the main drink

Breast milk or formula is food and drink in one, and it keeps that job for the whole first year.

A baby’s tummy is small. Water fills space without bringing any food with it, so a baby who drinks a lot of water may drink less milk. That is why water stays a side drink with meals.

From 6 to 12 months: sips with meals

Once meals begin, water has two jobs. It goes along with the food, and it gives your baby a new skill to practice.

Put a little water in an open cup at each meal.
Let your baby take a few sips whenever they like during the meal.
Think small sips from an open cup with meals, not a full cup to finish.
Keep offering milk feeds as usual.

The cup matters

The kind of cup is a skill choice. Valve cups and spill-proof cups make a baby suck, which they already know how to do. An open cup, or a free-flow cup without a valve, teaches sipping, which is the new skill.

Expect spills. Hold the cup steady with your baby at first, tip it gently, and let them grab it when they want to.

A small open cup with only a little water in it means smaller spills and more practice. Refill it often instead of filling it high.

What about juice?

Babies under 12 months do not need fruit juice or smoothies. Whole fruit at meals brings the same flavors, plus something to chew, so nothing is missing by skipping juice in the first year.

After the first birthday

From 12 months, water and milk become the main drinks, and the open cup your baby has been practicing with becomes their everyday cup. If juice shows up after that, keep it occasional, watered down and with a meal.

Ask your pediatrician if you are unsure how much your baby is drinking, or if your baby is unwell or it is very hot outside.