Only 2 types of drink are strongly recommended for children by health professionals; those are water and milk. For school age children, water is ideal as it is a great way to hydrate, is calorie-free and tooth kind.

60% of children are thought to arrive at school in a dehydrated state. Even a 1% drop in body mass due to dehydration can impair physical and academic performance.

Knowing when you are thirsty doesn't come naturally; children have to learn this behaviour. Children's higher total body water content and higher respiratory and metabolic rate makes them more vulnerble to the risk of dehydration compared with adults. So children need to be 'taught' to drink frequently and healthily for optimum performance.

Research has shown that children drink more if they keep water on their desks. Healthy children should have 6 - 8 drinks a day (mostly water or milk) with the size of the drink depending on the age of the child.

Schools need to get the water message across that water is a 'cool' drink in every sense. Drinking more water, of whatever kind, benefits most people, but especially children. Add to this the convenience and good taste of bottled or mains-fed cooler water and you have a drink that goes straight to the top of the class. Serving water from a water cooler is a safe, convenient, inexpensive and appealing way to deliver healthy hydration and start good habits early.

Whether you choose a bottle water cooler or a mains-fed water cooler for your school or home depends on a number of practical considerations. Where there is no convenient access to potable water, bottled water coolers are the perfect choice. If on the other hand you have a suitable location for a mains-fed dispenser, but limited storage space for bottles, then a plumbed in machine may be better suited.