Hi just curious as to wether we could give our 1 year old boy bottled spring water (un carbonated) when we are out? We usually have boiled tap water for him but if he runs out of that could he have shop bought bottled spring water?

Hello there was a program recently which stated there was nothing wrong with giving your child bottled water except it does not contain fluoride. It said that childrens teeth were really suffering due to the recent increase of the bottled water use & to the lack of fluoride which is in the tap water in most states of Australia. The general thumb of rule is once your child turns 1 there is no need to sterilise their bottles etc and you can introduce water from the tap. This of course is a personal choice so I would advise to do what you feel is right for your child.

Thanks very much for the info.

Yes I have also heard that most people do wait untill the child turns 12 months and then stop sterilizing bottles and boiling water. I think I started introducing tap water somewhere around 10 or 11 months and didn't worry about sterilizing bottles from about 11 months. I just made sure they were washed well & rinsed out well. I guess it depends on where you live too, and what you personally think about the tap water. It is a personal choice.

just a note about flouride in tap water. check with your local water boards whether or not flouride is present in the tap water in your area, most country towns in victoria do not have flouride in tap water and you have to get flouride drops from the chemist.