Army infantry soldiers, combat engineers, etc., are trained to drink until urine is clear. That was in a manual during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Forced drinking in hot weather was common, too. At times, when in initial training in temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (don’t recall the wet bulb at the time, but it was high), each man in my unit was forced to drink four quarts of hot canteen water per hour.
No, the kids mentioned in the news story weren’t in the Army, but that’s beside the point. Their father was doing was he was taught to do for the boys health, correct or incorrect. Chances are that a doctor had also told him and/or his wife to make sure that the boy drank plenty of water every day, if he had a urological problem.
Water: How much should you drink every day?
Mayo Clinic
https://www.mayoclinic.org/water/art-20044256
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So how much fluid does the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate need? The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is:
About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids for men
About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women
“So how much fluid does the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate need? The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is:” .....”About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids for men.....”About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women”
Those figures are for a whole day, for an adult, not for just four hours for a child. The child was forced to drink nearly a man’s daily water requirement in just four hours, one sixth of a day.