What kind of water should a child drink: boil or filter?

When a child appears in a family, parents are faced with many questions, and one of them is what kind of water to give the baby? Due to the banal lack of time, newly minted mothers and fathers cannot study the topic enough, so they make mistakes, for example, they decide to give the child the same water they drink themselves, or not at all.

The content of the article:

1. Tap water is scary …
2. Natural, bottled or boiled?
3. What do the doctor’s say?
4. Water filter: which one to choose?
5. Experienced parents advise …

Meanwhile, clean drinking water (one that does not harm the intestinal microflora of the baby, and does not change the composition of infant formula) is the basis for the health and harmonious development of the child. High-quality water is the prevention of constipation, dehydration, overheating, colds, drying out of mucous membranes, and other negative conditions that young children are so often exposed to.

Where to get such water?

Let’s figure it out.

Tap water is scary …

In Russia, the quality of tap water is deteriorating from year to year. According to the state report “On the state of sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the Russian Federation in 2015,” the number of water samples that do not meet sanitary and technical indicators and hygienic standards exceeded 14% – that is, this is every seventh sample.

And in 2016, mortality from contaminated drinking water in Russia increased threefold, and for the first time exceeded the number of deaths from violence and road accidents – according to Rospotrebnadzor, about 19 thousand people died from various diseases caused by the consumption of poor-quality water.

Of course, after the publication of such frightening statistics, the issue of feeding the child with raw tap water is not even worth it. Definitely not.

Natural, bottled or boiled?

Relying on water from sources is also not worth it. First, not every family, for various reasons, can afford it. And secondly, due to the massive use of chemicals in everyday life and at work, the water in the springs is also susceptible to contamination, therefore, it requires mandatory verification before use.

Many mothers boil tap water and give it to their children, fully confident that they have “killed” everything harmful and dangerous.

However, the boiling point destroys only some harmful microorganisms, but does not remove the most dangerous contaminants.

For example, chlorine, when heated, forms even more toxic compounds. They, like heavy metals, do not disappear after boiling, and can cause serious problems in the baby’s central nervous system.

Probably there is still water in the bottles?

Many parents spend a lot of money on bottled water, which, according to the manufacturers, is of high quality and safe for the child.

However, it also has significant problems.

• First, even high-quality bottled water deteriorates if stored improperly – for example, in the light, so preservatives are added to it, which is unacceptable for babies.
• And the second: according to research by Roskontrol *, most brands of baby water do not withstand tests for compliance with GOST standards.

Plus, the plastic container itself can release toxic substances directly into the water.

What do the doctor’s say?

Pediatrician Lyudmila Mosolova notes: “Specially prepared water should be used both for drinking and for preparing the mixture and complementary foods. In young children, immunity is highly active, and is able to repulse most aggressive components, but it is still only learning to repel attacks, and at any moment can react negatively to water, especially of low quality.

Modern systems for water purification claim to contain sorbent mixtures that remove dirt particles, chlorine, iron and heavy metals. From the chemistry course, we all remember that the finer the granules, the more effective the cleaning process – you need to pay attention to these points when choosing.

Children under one year old need to boil already filtered water, then it can be used immediately from a high-quality filter. Purified water helps the child’s body to better adapt to the environment, it is soft, odorless, does not dry mucous membranes and does not cause irritation. “

Water filter: which one to choose to provide your child with clean water?

There are quite a few systems for purifying tap water.

The simplest, most mobile and affordable – pitcher filters

Their advantages: compactness, ease of use, ease of replacement of the module. That is very important for a mother with a baby in her arms.

When choosing, you should pay attention to well-known brands. Before buying, study the information provided by manufacturers on their websites: purification technologies, certificates, patents, Russian and international, and other important information.

For example, does the filter have recommendations from the Federal State Institute of Toxicology of the Federal Biomedical Agency that can recommend filters for use in preparing food for children.

Among the most famous brands – Aquaphor, Barrier, and Geyser…

What to look for:

1. Is of great importance material safetyfrom which the jug itself is made. Therefore, when choosing a brand of filter, from which you plan to give water to your child, pay attention to the BPA free icon (you can see it on the package). The certified food grade plastic of such jugs does not release any substances into the water for any shelf life. For example, Aquaphor jugs have such a mark. The new product, Aquaphor Provence A5, is made of special eco-friendly polymer glass that is difficult to break, unlike conventional plastics. If the child still managed to drop, the jug will not split into pieces with sharp cutting edges, but will be covered with cracks, like the windshield of a car.

2. The first months of a baby’s life are the most hectic for parents, who do their best to follow the childcare tips as closely as possible, including requirements for maximum safety… In the Barrier and Geyser filters, the modules are screwed into the filter inlet funnel. This fixing allows untreated water to seep through the spiral channels of the thread. The butt fastening of the filter module (as they say “lapping”) is of great safety. It ensures that dirty water does not enter the treated water. This type of attachment is used in Aquaphor modules.

3. In the instructions for the filter or on the manufacturer’s website, you can find dimensions of the sorbent coal… Why is it important? The smaller the size of the sorbent particles, the better the water is filtered. Geyser and barrier have coal particle size in the range of 0.6-0.7 microns. Aquaphor has 0.4 microns.

4. The Geyser and Barrier jugs use a classic mixture of activated carbon with ion-exchange resin. Passing through such a mixture, water can push these particles apart and form channels through which it flows quickly, but is less cleaned. In Aquaphor filter mixture firmly restrained by special Aqualen fibers. These fibers do not allow water to break through the channels, but additionally cleanse them from heavy metals. You can clearly see the difference if you cut the modules and empty the contents. (Be careful! Do not conduct this experiment if you do not know how to handle cutting objects, you are not confident in your abilities. Never open modules in the presence of a child!) At the Geyser and the Barrier, the mixture will look like a sand slide. Aquaphor will have a dense “cake”.

5. Mom is full of worries, she has no time to wait. Therefore, an important indicator is the filtration rate. At the Geyser and Barrier filters filtration rate is 0.2 l / min, for Aquaphor – 0.5 l / min.

6. Filters Aquaphor, Barrier and Geyser are equipped with mechanical counters for replacing the module. The Barrier and Geyser take into account the calendar time of using the module. Aquaphor has a counter counting liters filtered water.

Let’s summarize some of the basics that can be used when choosing a pitcher filter:

Experienced parents who use pitcher filters advise:

• Do not forget to change the filter modules in time.
• Give your child only fresh, filtered water.
• Choose replaceable modules in accordance with the characteristics of the tap water of the region where you will use them: hard water, soft water, ferrous water, etc. Pay attention to additional properties important for babies. For example, mother-of-pearl dolomite, which enriches water with magnesium, has been added to the Aquaphor A5 module. This valuable trace element will help the child’s body to strengthen blood vessels and bone tissue.

Ideally, it is advisable to take care of the choice of a water purification system even before childbirth, and better – during pregnancy planning, since the lifestyle of future parents largely affects the conception and formation of the fetus. Taking care of the child’s health is much cheaper than the money saved on buying a filter and replacing a module.

As they grow older, the baby begins to imitate his loved ones. It is good practice for the whole family to consume clean water. When mom and dad drink high-quality water, the growing child will do the same, which in the future will help him avoid many health problems.

* The results of Roskontrol’s expertise as part of the quality control program, published on the organization’s website on August 29, 2016.