A new study conducted by Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity revealed something startling about kids: they're not as prone to choosing sugar as we may think. At least when it comes to breakfast cereals.

Did you know that children lose proportionally more fluids through sweat than adults do?

As a parent who embraces organic living, one of your top health priorities this summer is proper hydration, which affects children both physically and mentally.

The following hydration tips have been provided by Dr. Jennifer Trachtenberg, a board-certified pediatrician in New York City and clinical instructor of pediatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine:

• Encourage your children to drink water at the age of 6 months.
• Hold off on juices until after age 1 to help encourage the taste for water as a thirst quencher.
• Try giving your children water with or after meals, as they will be thirstier after eating. Today, bottled water comes in many convenient shapes and sizes for easy portability for families on the go.
• Serve as a role model for your children by drinking water in front of them. Try to change your habits when it comes to drinking sugary or caffeinated beverages.
• Depending on their age, children need approximately 18 to 32 oz. of fluid daily, including water, 2–3 cups of low-fat milk and 4–6 oz. of 100% juice.

Photo courtesy of Nestlé Waters North America

• Double Stacker (610 calories, 39 g fat, 1,100 mg sodium)
• Triple Stacker (800 calories, 54 g fat, 1,450 mg sodium)
• Quad Stacker (1,000 calories, 68 g fat, 1,800 mg sodium)

“The BK Stacker is simple and built with the very ingredients our restaurant guests love best—meat, cheese and bacon,” notes Denny Marie Post, Burger King’s senior vice president and chief concept officer, in the release. “We’re satisfying the serious meat lovers by leaving off the produce and letting them decide exactly how much meat and cheese they can handle.”

Of course, Burger King is enticing kids to order this “produce-free” behemoth through a series of TV ads featuring a crew of miniature construction workers that “diligently stacks meat, cheese, bacon and BK Stacker Sauce.”

If that’s not enough, “2.5" collectible figurines of some of the most memorable characters from the BK Stackers television ads can be purchased online...Fans can purchase a set of three figurines, including Vin the Foreman, the Kid and the Cheese Welder.”

For parents who promote organic living and healthy eating, this is yet another example of how fast-food companies and advertising agencies pander to kids without any regard for their health. It’s irresponsible at a time when childhood obesity is epidemic.

As discussed yesterday, organic flavored milks are one of the newest food trends aimed specifically at parents and children. But nutrition experts have mixed views on the subject.

“Moms can feel good about giving their kids flavored milk, such as chocolate and strawberry,” says Molly Pelzer, a registered dietitian with the National Dairy Council and mother of two. “Kids not only savor the flavor, but it provides them with the nutrients they need to grow healthy and build a solid bone bank.”

“Milk is a critical part of kids’ diets, yet it’s competing against some less healthy, but very flashy, beverages,” adds Grant Prentice, executive vice president of marketing for Dairy Management Inc., an organization that helps build demand for dairy on behalf of its producers—including the much-publicized 3-a-Day campaign.

“Serving milk to kids in colorful plastic bottles and giving them a choice of flavors—whether it’s at school or their favorite restaurants—catches their attention and motivates them to drink more milk, which helps build stronger bones and better bodies,” he adds.

But not everyone is buying into this marketing message.

“I strongly disagree with sugared flavored milk,” says Chef Ann Cooper, former executive chef and director of wellness and nutrition at The Ross School in East Hampton, New York. She’s also the author of In Mother’s Kitchen: Celebrated Women Chefs Share Beloved Family Recipes and Bitter Harvest: A Chef’s Perspective on the Hidden Danger in the Foods We Eat and What You Can Do About It.

“They’re really no better than soda—except for the calcium,” Chef Cooper asserts. “Many have a sugar and calorie content that equals or exceeds that of soda, and they become just another way that we’re teaching our children to drink sweets.”

Chef Cooper believes children and teenagers can meet their calcium needs from other sources and outlines the following daily requirements:

• Preschool-age children: 500 to 800 mg calcium (2 to 3 servings)
• School-age children: About 800 mg (3 servings)
• Adolescents: About 1,200 to 1,500 mg (5 to 6 servings)

“While calcium is the most important component of dairy, it is possible to get it—minus the fat—in other ways,” she tells Organic Authority. “Many plant sources contain calcium that is more readily absorbed by the body than the calcium found in dairy. Some examples include nuts, broccoli, dark leafy greens [add some lemon to help free up the calcium], tofu, soy milk, sardines, beans, sunflower seeds and molasses.”