Parenting a teenager can be summed up in one word: more. More fun, more worries, more homework, more time out of the house, and more food and beverages consumed. For that last one, it can be pretty jaw dropping to see just how much adolescents eat and drink.
After an experiment that my family did with ReadyRefresh℠ by Nestlé® that involved one week with an abundance of bottled watered in our home, and a week with limited water, I learned that ReadyRefresh℠ by Nestlé® also fits the theme of more. For my family, a visit to ReadyRefresh.com means more healthy choices, more peace of mind, and more variety. It also means no fear of running out, or FORO.
More Healthy Choices
Parents with kids of any age will tell you that they want their kids to be healthy, and as they get older, that means hoping kids make good, healthy choices. That includes hoping that they make healthy food and drink choices.
It is safe to say, however, that teenagers don’t always have the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in the forefront of their developing brains every time they’re standing in front of the refrigerator. Those guidelines recommend that the primary beverage consumed should be either calorie-free – especially water – or should contribute beneficial nutrients such as fat-free and low-fat milk and 100% juice.¹
It seems adolescents aren’t the only ones not giving those guidelines much thought, as today, beverages account for 47% of added sugars in the American diet and more than 13% of calories consumed per day.²
The first week of our experiment with ReadyRefresh℠ by Nestlé® meant that we had a lot of bottle water at our finger tips – everything from Ice Mountain 100% Natural Spring Water to Perrier.
We tracked everything we drank, and our water consumption went up. Way, way up. Instead of drinking soda, juice, and other sugary drinks we drank water.
It was easier than it had ever been for my teenager to make the healthy choice of drinking water. And it’s not a coincidence that she drank a lot of water.
As my daughter heads into high school, I know that she’s forming lifelong habits, and I’d love to see her develop the healthy habit of water being her go-to drink.
My husband and I also made healthier choices. He found Ice Mountain Sparkling Natural Spring Water Black Cherry to be a good replacement for soda. I realized that when I am drinking a lot of water, I snack less.
More Peace of Mind (and less FORO)
You’ve heard of the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), right? Turns out there is also the Fear of Running Out (FORO)—that nagging feeling you get when you’re running low on everyday essentials like toilet paper, diapers, or pet food. When it comes to FORO of bottled water, you can keep your healthy hydration on track with ReadyRefresh ! With customizable deliveries of thirst-quenching water–from sparkling to still, in the brands you love most–you’ll never experience FORO for bottled water again. #NoMoFORO.
With kids who have seemingly insatiable thirst, it can be tough to keep your kitchen sufficiently stocked. Providing healthy beverage options isn’t always easy, whether you’re always running to the grocery store to stock up or buying in bulk and lugging heavy cases at big box stores.
ReadyRefresh℠ believes that your hydration should never hinge on the inconvenience of restocking your water supply. Buying bottled water by the individual bottle means you’re spending way too much time restocking at the grocery store or lugging very heavy cases from big box stores that are energy-sapping circuses.
Having your favorite bottled water on hand, without hassle, keeps you in control of what you drink, and when. Because when you’re thirsty, you should get to drink your beverage of choice—not fall victim to Fear of Running Out.
With ReadyRefresh℠ you never suffer from the Fear of Running Out again.
I keep a running mental inventory of the items in our house and get nervous when we run low. I didn’t have to do that with ReadyRefresh℠and it gave me peace of mind. And parents of teenagers will all take as much peace of mind as we can get.
More Variety
ReadyRefresh℠ reflects an increased effort to better serve your needs. In my case, they spotted a need that I hadn’t yet recognized – my family needs a variety of water options to be really excited about it. My family gets bored easily, and I think we always viewed water as being rather “meh,” for lack of a technical term.
ReadyRefresh℠ is a customizable beverage delivery service that provides your family with a variety of leading bottled water brands like Ice Mountain, Nestlé Pure Life, Perrier, San Pellegrino, and more. That large number of beverage options makes it easy to keep refreshment on hand. With fun flavors like Ice Mountain Sparkling Watermelon Lime and Perrier Grapefruit, water was anything but boring.
Different sizes of water made a big difference, too. There was a kind of water for each occasion, everything from the little 8 oz. Ice Mountain that fit perfectly in my purse to the large bottles of Ice Mountain 100% Natural Spring Water for my teen headed to hours of dance rehearsal.
The ReadyRefresh℠ mission is simple: make it easy for you and your family to live a healthier life.
With just a few clicks, or a few taps on your mobile device, through ReadyRefresh.com, you’ll quickly customize your order for thirst-quenching beverages delivered right to your door. The convenience of not having to haul bottled watered was so fantastic.
More Peace
I mentioned peace of mind earlier, and I was surprised at how comforting it was to have all the water we could want on hand and easily accessible. I shouldn’t have been surprised given that 69% of Americans surveyed by ReadyRefresh℠ experience feelings such as stress, anxiety, and worry when household items start to run low.
The week we were low on water, we were in good company.
More than two thirds of Americans surveyed run low on everyday household items at least once a week, and more than half of all surveyed (52%) experience FORO at least once a week.
I mentioned that we kept track of what we drank as part of our experiment, and we also kept track of our overall mood. We did a daily survey every day for two weeks, one week with an abundance of water, and another week after a majority of the ReadyRefresh℠ water was removed from our home. The results were surprising.
Between Week 1, when we had an abundance of bottled water, and Week 2, when a majority the bottled water was gone, my family’s water consumption decreased from 73% of total beverage intake to 50% of total beverage intake, and our water intake decreased by 54%.
Whether you choose the easy access of a water dispenser or the flexibility of small on-the-go sizes, when you choose ReadyRefresh℠, you’re setting a good example by encouraging everyone in your home to drink more water.
Want more information? Visit ReadyRefresh.com.
You can learn more about FORO from an expert and about my family’s experience with it, including how it set in pretty much the moment our water supply was reduced, in this video (or scroll up to watch it).
Having heard stories from my friends, I know that FORO isn’t something that just my family has felt. I’d love to hear about your experiences with FORO.
How do you react when you run low on what you need?
Please share your stories on social media using the hashtag #NoMoreFORO, and you can also follow ReadyRefresh℠ on Twitter and on Facebook.
I can’t wait to see/read how your family responds to FORO!
1. U.S. Department of Agriculture and Health and Human Serivces. Reprt of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Gudieines for Americans, 2010. 7th Edition, Washington, D.C. Available at: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/dietary_guidelines_for_americans/PolicyDoc.pdf
2. U.S. Department of Agriculture and Health and Human Services. Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. 7th Edition, Washington, D.C.: Available at: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/dietary_guidelines_for_americans/PolicyDoc.pdf; Ng SW, Slining MM, Popkin, BM Turning point for US diets? Recessionary effects or behavioral shifts in foods purchased and consumed. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014 Mar;99(3):609-16; Beverage Marketing Corporation, Bottled Water Industry Briefing #73, December 2014.
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