To think water only at school is ridiculous

[Joanne279]

I'm having a gripe at my kids new school. We werent informed of the water only rule before we started.

Ds aged 6 and dd aged 9 (suffers with autism) now refuse to drink.

Ds, on the grounds he hates water. I gave him flavoured water which he likes, but the school said no!!!!!

Dd, has been allowed to take squash because is her ASD but now refuses to even take a drink because she's different to everyone else. She won't drink water at all.

The teachers all drink coffee/tea in the staff room but kids are water only! Surely the teachers should be setting the example?

I've rang the council who say the healthy rules are at the school discretion. I'm waiting for a call back from the head teacher because I think it's stupid! I could understand if I was sending them with coke or lucozade, but flavoured water a no no? Really?

Just wondered what you all thought x

But the problem is nomama is that there are some schools that don't allow whatever they like during breaks and aren't all that flexible about children with additional needs. This doesn't really apply to the OP because the school has made adjustments for the child with ASD (although I totally get where she's coming from with the now refusing to drink anything because it's not in the rules).

My DN is absolutely fine in a school where she can only drink at lunch. She doesn't really need to have access to a drink at all times. But it would be far from ideal for her to spend a very warm summer day, running around in the playground or during PE without any fluid between 8am and 3.30pm. It really isn't as simple as if you don't give them anything bt water they will drink it in a lot of cases.

'Most of us are quite capable of parenting our children and would much rather they focus on education'

I'd like to be able to, but a combination of sticky spillages and hyper children can get in the way. Plus all the fart-arsing disruptiveness of getting a drink every 10 minutes in a lesson and all the pee breaks.
Yes, it's a recent thing in my teaching career.
But I've also taught in 15 schools since Easter, and the rules change from school to school. When and where and what is allowed.
I like the ones where you have water available in class, on the side not on the tables, and they drink between lessons, not in them.

nocomet, I'm sure your HT would be reassured to know that you are meeting with other mums after school to work out the best way to undermine his authority.

My DS has SEN and i cannot get him to drink water. Now i am sure if he got thirsty enough then he would but he doesnt ever seem to get thirsty enough at school so just doesnt drink it.

All fine except he also has a problem with constipation if he doesnt drink enough and then he has accidents. He then tries to clean himself up and has been known to make a mess in the toilets.

This happened at the school once after they had a word with me about the flavoured water he had in his bottle which he likes and will drink, thirsty or not. I told them the reason why it happened and lo and behold he can now have the flavoured water.

There are miles more unhealthier things than squash or flavoured water. As long as im not sending them in with coke or gin, i think i should be left to decide what my child drinks. The bottles they have are provided by the school and are non spill so no worries there.

You know that phrase 'I wondered why they were such a PITA., then I met the parents'?
Sometimes there is a genuine need for a different approach, other times it's just seeing how much you can get away with. Meeting up with like-minded individuals is part of the latter attitude, but any HT worth their salt would take it in their stride over something as minor than this.

Drinks in schools are very new. They didn't have them when mine were at primary apart from the lunch box and drinking fountains. A pity they don't go back to it!
MN is endlessly fascinating with parents who will go to great lengths to insist their child has a daily intake of sugar and additives.
'It is their right as a parent- how dare the school insist on a healthy alternative- how dreadful that the school has any say in what a child takes into their building'! Peculiar!
Apart from anything else it is very bad for the teeth.

There is no such thing as a child and a non spill bottle!!

And i assume all of you who say water is ok for your child to drink all day also drinks water all day yourself.

Some will but i bet most of you dont.

There is such a thing as i own some. What a weird thing to say.

Our dear HT is quite used to us. He's quite young and lovely.

He took the headship as acting head and did the training because they got no applicants. The choice was federation and getting a HT everyone hated.

We are 100% on his side, we (and his first few year 6s) just kept him from making too many rules. We absolutely wanted him to succeed and everyone to remain happy.

It's a small enough school and a tight enough community that pragmatism works best. There is no full time admin and no full time deputy HT. There is no spare time for enforcing rules that are going to cause large scale decent.

1400 DCs at senior school is very different, but even they only pay lip service to skirt length and trouser style.

Summerblaze Mine at 12 thinks warm water is a delicious beverage for an evening (not my idea of a good time, but still), and hates hot chocolate. I've offered him teas (mint, regular, etc) and he's not interested. He takes tap water to school in a refillable bottle, and refills it from the water fountains.

If we are out, for an occasional treat he thinks draft lemonade is the best thing ever, but he's more likely to ask for tap water. He also loves fizzy water, but doesn't drink it that much. I think it's the ritual and specialness of the draft lemonade thing he likes just as much as the lemonade itself, because we have a sodastream at home, which he is allowed access to, and he doesn't touch it from one week to the next. He will remember it if he has a friend over for a sleepover, or something.

He isn't special, and I'm a bit of a slapdash mum, so it isn't my super-expert parenting. It's just that he never liked milk (except BF milk, which he adored), and I never gave him squash because it never occurred to me to buy it. So he got to actively like water. It makes him a pretty cheap date if we go to out to eat, I tell you.

Summerblaze sorry, just realised I misread your post. I drink tea all day, and offer it to him, but he doesn't really rate it! I usually only buy juice if there's guests, and I don't generally drink booze (am not teetotal, just not that interested), so only have that out if we have guests.

So: tea for me, water for him.

They are not drinking water all day - merely a quarter of the day. I certainly drink water for a quarter of my day.

My kids take tap water and fill it up at a tap. I don't think anyone sends bottled water ??

I thought that all UK mains water is clean enough for drinking.

With Thr exception of sensory issues, which do not affect the amount of children that you would believe if you read MN, I cannot understand why anyone would have a problem with this rule.

Why would you want your child to be drinking on a daily basis either large amounts of sugar or large amounts of chemical flavourings?

And no I am not bringing my children up on organic hummus but squash is bought in this house as a rare treat, fizzy drinks even less - they're usually saved for meals out.

Can someone explain to me clearly, logically, and without basically stamping your feet and saying "I don't want to be told what to do!" or "little jimmy doesnt want to!" why you would have a problem with it?

I cannot understand why anyone would have a problem with this rule.

Can someone explain to me clearly, logically, and without basically stamping your feet and saying "I don't want to be told what to do!" or "little jimmy doesnt want to!" why you would have a problem with it?

Or the phrase "nanny state".

Nope, don't think that's possible

I'll just lend you DD2 and let you feed and water her for a week

Give me her for a month no comet.

I think the difference between you and me is that I wouldn't view not giving her juice and squash as being mean, and most certainly not unspeakably mean but rather considering her long term health and well being.

Neither of mine drink tea, coffee, fizzy drinks, juice, squash, fruit teas...they like water and milk. DS drinks hot chocolate. DD will drink vodka in different flavours.
It's nothing to do with me, I think it's the way they are wired.

summer I'll drink tea during the day, which is indeed different to what my DC's drink at school. I also don't wear school uniform, have storytime, get 3 breaks to run around outside or finish at 3:30pm. Being a grown up at work and a child at school isn't really the same is it? Probably a bit silly to expect the same rules to apply to both then?

Give me her for a month no comet

I think the difference between you and me is that I wouldn't view not giving her juice and squash as being mean, and most certainly not unspeakably mean but rather considering her long term health and well being

Very sure of yourself aren't you!

Most children can be broken, given a persistent adult and no escape other than compliance. The question is, should you?

Teachers are adults....drink what you prefer....tea coffee etc....enjoy