With the purpose of investigating the relationship between the infant’s consumption of liquids and the mother’s awareness on the type of drinks she chooses to provide, a survey of 275 mothers of children aged between 9 months and 3 years old was carried out. The survey covered 12 different beverages offered, and the frequency and the reason as well as the situation in which they were consumed were examined. The results showed that although water and tea were also provided, almost all the infants were given other drinks for the purposes of rehydration. The results also showed a direct correlation between the frequency of a particular beverage consumed, to the beverage of choice of the children. The results also highlighted that as the children aged, they tended to have more high-consumption-beverages. On an optional question, some mothers stated that the reason for not giving their infants drinks other than water and tea was mainly because their children were too young. The effect on the infants’ total intake and their appetite was however not given as a reason.
It can be therefore inferred that when drinks other than tea and water are given to an infant for the purposes of rehydration, the effect on the total milk and food intake was not taken into con sideration. After observing the choice of drinks under certain circumstances, we concluded that mothers are in need for more education on the matter.