Keep Kids Hydrated At Summer Camps

BOSTON -- Kids are sweating in the heat of summer camps -- but are they getting enough to drink?

Boston television station WCVB reported Tuesday that last week, a 9-year-old collapsed and died while at a camp in Weston, Mass. Although the cause is still under investigation, the case has some parents concerned about whether camps are doing enough to keep their kids well hydrated.

At a sweltering summer soccer game at the New England Sports Academy's summer camp, more important than the 3-year-olds getting the ball in the goal is getting some water in their bodies.

NESA Camp Director Brigette Pollina said there is a water break between every sport.

Water coolers can be found in every room of the un-air-conditioned facility where young athletes run, flip and dance for as long as six hours a day.

"Kids are more susceptible to becoming dehydrated. They just don't acclimatize to the heat as well as adults do, and they often don't sweat as well as adults," sports nutritionist Nancy Clark said.

Clark pointed out that, in most cases, kids aren't even thinking about staying hydrated. They're just having fun. But dehydration can be serious.

"The worst case is that somebody gets severely dehydrated, and people die of dehydration," Clark said.

Parents need to be vigilant about giving their kids plenty of liquids before, during and after camp.

"In the morning, I'll give them water with breakfast. I even make sure they have enough water before they go to bed at night," one parent said.

Some other helpful hydration tips:

Send your child to camp with more than one drink in a lunchbox

Pick drinks your kids like and freeze them so they stay cold

Educate your kids about the importance of staying hydrated. If they spend all day at camp without using the bathroom, that's a bad sign.

Chase, 9, works up a good sweat doing karate, but he understands that replenishing his fluids is important.

"You want to get some liquid in your body so you don't dehydrate," Chase said.

Drinking water isn't the only way to stay hydrated. It can also be accomplished by giving kids snacks with a lot of water in them such as orange sections, grapes, strawberries, blueberries and watermelon.