Getting enough water is an important aspect of brain function. It is especially important for children. Water assists digestion, washes away toxins, aids lungs, heart, and blood vessels and energizes brain and body.

Water has amazing ability to enliven us, fostering development of energetic, naturally curious, and more focused children. We need to teach our children importance of drinking enough water all day long.

Water is best taken in frequent small amounts. Parents and teachers should make sure all children have easy access to water and, if possible, carry their own water bottle throughout day. Parents can set a good example, and would be wise to carry a water bottle with them and drink from it.

Many of us have a habit of choosing soft drinks, carbonated beverages and juices over water. Frequent sugary drinks cause blood to become too sweet, fluid is drawn out of body cells to dilute high sugar levels in blood, this then leads to thirst and dehydration in child. De-hydration results in poor concentration and short attention span.

Also, It is a well documented fact that sugary drinks cause tooth decay.

Teaching by example is one of bests way to educate. Choose water instead of drinks and you will see difference. The children will learn from our example and will benefit many, many ways by having this most fundamental need met.

What fathers can do to raise emotionally intelligent sons •Examine your own ideas and practices concerning how you raise your son. Do you allow him to express his full range of feelings, or do you push him away emotionally if he’s showing sadness, weakness, vulnerability, etc?

•Practice, practice, practice. Catch yourself when you’re in old patterns; try saying more things like, “that must have been hard for you” or “boy, I understand how foolish you must have felt.” (These work on wives, too).

•Occasionally share feelings with your son in an age-appropriate way; this will encourage him to feel safe enough to share his feelings with you. Don’t be afraid to tell your son that you were afraid at times as a child and that you still get scared today.

•Be involved in your son’s life enough to know who else might be enforcing “old school.” That could include teachers, coaches, day-care providers, other family members, etc. Since old school is all around us, have courage to step in and make change happen even though you’ll be judged by others (“You’re gonna end up with a wimpy mama’s boy”).

•Show physical affection to your son. Hugs, kisses, wrestling, whatever you can muster. There is a great deal of research which shows that boys who receive this from their fathers are happier, healthier, smarter, etc. Show your son that you can hug or put your arm around other men as well to demonstrate your affection. Are you squirming? You’re a good candidate for this one.

•Help him to identify and name his own emotions as well as emotions of others. You can do this by asking him questions like,” Were you feeling angry when you struck out?’ Try to judge people less and empathize more—he’ll learn these skills from you. Let’s help to create a world in which boys are able to be both sensitive and strong. Let’s teach them to be both fierce and gentle and to be aware of their own feelings as well as feelings of others.

This is only possible if we give up notion of tough and independent boy, which has done so much damage to development of strong, sensitive, and nurturing men.

We owe this one to our sons and to world.

Mark Brandenburg MA, CPCC, is the author of “25 Secrets of Emotionally Intelligent Fathers” (http://www.markbrandenburg.com/e_book.htm#secrets. For more great tips and action steps for fathers, sign up for his FREE bi-weekly newsletter, Dads, Don’t Fix Your Kids, at http://www.markbrandenburg.com.