You may be trying to encourage your children to do two things – drink more water and use less plastic, and what better place to start than choosing the best reusable bottles?
According to the British Nutrition Foundation, generally speaking, children should aim to drink about six to eight glasses of fluid per day. But when you’re on the go, it’s not always easy to keep energetic young ones’ water levels topped up.
While each child’s needs varies, depending on age, gender, the weather and how much physical activity they do, it is known young children have a higher proportion of body water than adults. They are also less heat tolerant and may be more likely to get dehydrated, especially when being physically active and in hot climates, which means choosing the right reusable bottle is key for on-the-go hydration.
All bottles that we tested are made from either stainless steel, which is the most hygienic material for handling food and drink, food-grade safe silicone, or BPA-free plastics (BPA is an industrial chemical that may find its way into your food and beverages).
A popular market, many designs will attract young ones looking for their next refuel, whether it’s a friendly animal face on the bottle, or a fun straw that flicks into action. By switching to a reusable bottle instead of single-use plastic, it makes staying hydrated easier, and in the long term is good for both the wallet and the planet. Our round-up will help you find the perfect match.
How we tested
Our four and six-year-old reviewers helped to test a range of reusable bottles out over the summer holidays. Testing them only with water, we considered how they fared in terms of usability for drinking, leakages, practicality (such as cleaning) and longevity of use – giving extra kudos to those with innovative features that improved the life of the product. Fun designs also garnered points for child likeability.
The best kids’ water bottles for 2022 are:
- Best overall – Thermos funtainer bottle, 355ml: £19, Thermos.co.uk
- Best kids’ bottle for design – Contigo kids water bottle gizmo autospout, 420ml: £15.49, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for capacity – Hello Hossy mini joy bottle, 470ml: £29.90, Hello-hossy.co.uk
- Best for toddlers – B.Box tritan drink bottle strawberry shake, 450ml: £19.99, Jojomamanbebe.co.uk
- Best for durability – Hydro Flask 12oz kids bottle, 355ml: £26.95, Littleadventureshop.co.uk
- Best for a gift – Waterdrop toddler bottle steel, 400ml: £29.90, Waterdrop.com
- Best for longevity – Liewood warren bottle sea creature/sandy mix, 350ml: £23, Scandiborn.co.uk
- Best for hot and cold drinks – Sho original 2.0 kids, 260ml: £12.99, Shoreusable.com
- Best value for money – Tum Tum flip top water bottles, 400ml: £8.99, Hippychick.com
- Best compact kids’ water bottle – Zwilling bottle 350ml drinking bottle, 350ml: £15.95, Zwilling.com