To create a fuss about my son not having access to water today in school

As a parent of children with ADHD /autism yes I would complain. They fidget and demanding they don’t / punishing them for it is completely unreasonable. They have little control over it. however it’s because of this diagnosis that I know my complaint would be met well, unfortunately without that they’d have the same expectations as neurotypical children.

So entire generations of people are not healthy because they didn't have continual access to water!! You are talking rubbish. It is possible to be hydrated without guzzling water all day long.

The fact that a child wouldn't actually die from a given action doesn't make it ok.

🙄

Lots of people have survived less than ideal circumstances. Your experience is utterly irrelevant.

We know more and more about how to keep ourselves healthy, both adults and children. Good hydration is a part of that.

I started school that year and no we didn't have water bottles. There was a fountain in the playground we drank from

I wonder who decided kids need access to a water bottle at all times and when. I went to school in the 90s and we didn't have them either. Was there some sort of organised campaign?
I dont remember being thirsty, we did have fountains but I never used them. I'm pretty sure i went all day at school on just a carton of juice in my lunch box.

Kidney stones just entered the chat 👀

I didn't have a water bottle at school.

But equally, it wasn't this blisteringly hot. I've felt really ill over the last few days, and that's with access to water.

I see your point but equally your son wouldn’t have perished between lunchtime and being collected at 3pm because he was unable to ask for a drink.

My memories of summer in the 1980s mainly include being thirsty. My first school had a water fountain but my second primary school didn't. Thank goodness for water bottle culture!

She was out of order to say what she did in front of the class. I would not be happy about that. But the water bottle thing is just silly. He had an opportunity to drink at lunchtime and break - that’s fine.

This. This is the thing I’d be focusing on!

What are you on about? 👀

Just lunch time for us!
I agree children should probably be better hydrated than we were, but no need for water bottles on desks.
Do you think you have a case for your son to have a small fiddle toy OP?

You don’t know any of that. You don’t know that there are water fountains and you don’t know the style of teaching in the school.

He did have access to water at lunchtime. Also if he wanted water he could have got it sounds like it's just not on his table which makes sense. My dd class, year 4, puts their water bottles in a tray at the front of the class. Access allowed whenever needed. Yabu here

An 8 year old afternoon class on a sunny day, does not consist of kids sitting at desks, it’s more independent - he could have got up and got a drink at any point. He could have asked for a drink, there are water fountains he could have used -

There is a huge difference between being sent to bed without any supper and not being in touching distance of your water bottle at all times.
If a child got out their lunch box in the middle of a lesson and started on their sandwiches I think it would be expected to stop them.

Can't believe this voting.

You are not being unreasonable, he needs access to his water.

And how can you let slide what she said?
Go back and rip one off this woman she is bullying him.

Fidgeting is often a clear sign of adhd btw. Pls talk to the HT about him having a fidget toy or a pilates ball seat to help him stop fidgeting.

I'm a primary teacher. I drink throughout the day, my children get a drink too. Particularly in hot weather. They ask first and they know not to ask during lesson input.
I think she's been unprofessional asking your child that question at any time, particularly in front of others.
Personally I would make an appointment with the head.
I have many fidgeters. Their access to getting a drink is no different to others.
I treat my children as I hope my children were when they were at school.
Talk it through with the head, I would.

Tell your child that if he doesn’t want his water bottle taken away, he needs to stop fiddling with it and pay attention to the teacher.
Job done.

What a load of nonsense over nothing.

YABU. If he’d been thirsty he could have had a proper drink at break or more than “a few sips” at lunch. Children carrying water bottles at school is a pretty recent phenomenon.

This is a good lesson in actions having consequences.

@KindLemur no one is talking about refilling a bottle every 15 mins. That's a straw man argument.

It's all well and good if you're used to having big drinks every few hours and not drinking in between. But a lot of children don't do that, so their bodies aren't used to it. Whether or not they should be, I don't know. But I still say that on a hot day like yesterday, children should be able to have easy access to water if they need it. My son is very shy. If he were in this situation and had been told off, I doubt he would feel confident enough to speak up and ask for his bottle back.

If I were you, I'd work out why my child is disruptive.

Does he have ND of some sort? Is he just being difficult? Does he have allergies/worns/nits/skin issues/toileting problems?

If you can drill down into WHY the child is disruptive, you can sort that out and rewrite everything

BTW he wasn't denied access to water

The bigger issue is the declaration to the class as that is obviously about humiliation. I would argue unfair and mean to not allow the water on such a hot day in particular.