19 May 2007

Kid-friendly chilled water dispenser

At Amazon: Bluewave BPA Free 5 Gallon Reusable Water Bottle
At Amazon: Bluewave BPA Free 5 Gallon Reusable Water Bottle

Loraine's helping her daughter help herself to a drink of water:

Our fridge doesn't have a water dispenser built in. As our baby grew into a preschooler, I soon realized our folly when I saw how easy it was for her to get her own water at Granny's house whenever she wanted.


But during a recent trip, I found
a water dispenser that sits in your fridge. It has a spout and my daughter can easily work it to get her own water whenever she wants. Sometimes, I even hear her get up in the middle of the night and go for a drink of water.

Of course, an easier bathroom faucet with a step would accomplish the same thing, but this is a quick fix that provides wonderfuly cold water for the whole family - and all her visiting friends.

We just keep a Brita filter pitcher on the counter, but then, we like our at water room temperature.

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Your comments

It's the 'chilled' part that would worry me, for middle-of-the-night drinks. Something cold in your tummy is a pretty good way to help you wake up.

We have a Brita dispenser just like this in our fridge, so it's not only easy access to cold water, but also filtered. For middle of the night thirst, we just make sure she's got a cup full on her dresser before she goes to bed.

Here's the Amazon link for the Brita dispenser we have (there's also a digital model):

http://www.amazon.com/Brita-Ultramax-Water-Filter-Dispenser/dp/B0000CFGNB/ref=sr_1_2/002-0948354-8644848?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1179624711&sr=1-2

Some of the reviews are negative but we've never had any problems with ours--just have to clean it every so often.

We also have a Brita dispenser in our fridge. I don't like the taste of the tap water here, and got tired of buying bottled water and feeling guilty about the plastic. So now we fill our aluminum water bottles from the fridge, and off we go. My son is drinking less milk since we weaned him from his sippy cups (at age four, I know, my bad) but is helping himself to lots of water. This is a good habit for myself as well as for the kids, as I am drinking less tea, soda, etc. And no more lugging home those heavy cases of water!

For 3-4 yr. olds, I think a sports bottle stuck in a door shelf works great. Our son gets his own water all the time, now. Just be sure to wash it sometime.

I used the Brita on the counter as well, and I'm really stumped now that we're in the RV full-time. I don't have the space on the counter OR in the fridge for it... But I do dislike the water bottle waste!
- Tiffany
http://www.tiffanyblitz.com/blog

We kept a Brita dispenser on our counter for years. It worked great for accessibility, but didn't do much for the dirt taste that north Texas tap water takes on when lake levels are low. We switched to a system that removes dissolved solids from the water to take care of the taste issue and have been thrilled with it.

My six-year-old really loves using the spigot to get her own water.

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