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

If they took flavoured water surely no one would know unless the dc said something.

Flavoured water can have as much sugar as fizzy drinks and constant sipping does create an acid bath for teeth which can be very damaging.

I don't really care about your kids teeth, how fat a sweet drink might make them or any other health idea you may think this stems from.

But I do care when your kids spills its sweet sticky drink and I have to wash everything down and then live stickily for the rest of the day. Or that my room / clothes / hands stink of sour milk - and no I can't wash it out of the fucking carpet this is a classroom!

Sometimes rules aren't there to do your precious down but to make the life of the person teaching them livable. I teach them, I am not their parent, au pair, cleaner, skivvy. Allow me to do the job I am paid for without having to pfaff with stuff that just doesn't matter.

And yes, teach your kid to drink water. No SEN makes that impossible, maybe a little difficult but not impossible (and don't ask if I have ever had to.... cos the answer is yes!).

You are utterly ridiculous.

It's a good rule generally but children aren't robots. They are individuals, and one size doesn't fit all. And it's not true that if they're thirsty they'll drink water. Some will get dehydrated. Buy an opaque water bottle and put squash in, or flavoured water inside a plain water bottle. It's more important for their health that they drink enough than that they have no sugar.

Nomama - sugar free squash isn't sticky. It has the texture of water.

Water is fine in schools. Sticky messes, stained cool thing on other kids clothes, allergies, and healthy eating messages.
If he's thirsty he will drink. I personally don't like water myself but I've fit used to it too!

I think the water thing is that DCs will just have a sip of water when they are thirsty because most don't really like it, rather than drink gallons of sugary squash which they do like and need the loo every 5 mins thus disrupting the class.

Meh, mine hated water but they got used to it. DC4 refused water until he went to nursery where they only give them that, and now drinks it merrily so it's all good to me.

Would they really dehydrate during a 6 hour school day though?

How would you enforce sugar free squash opposed to normal squash? I think there's enough to do in a school without having to check people have the right type of squash.

Just give them water.

See I work in a school as a TA. It's a sensible school that doesn't feel the need to extend control to areas of our children's lives that really are the preserve of parents.

Ours are allowed milk, squash and water. Trust me I have far better things to do than tip up water bottles to see what is actually in them.

For the faint hearted squash is not the work if the devil

Now if only schools would stop making 60 4 year olds dress exactly the same and then parents wonder why the children loose jumpers,trousers PE kits etc my life would be great!!

Let schools teach and parents parent.

Water here only, however you can flavour it with fruit you choose. Some children put lemon, lime, etc in theirs to give it some flavour.

Warning, rant ahead: I am a teacher, but I am also a grown adult. I do not have to follow the same rules as students. I don't wear school uniform and I purchase and cook my own food. I can damn well have a cup of tea in the staff room and still be a good teacher. Stop treating professional adults like children. My lunch times are not times I am being paid for. When I walk through that door to the staff room I am on MY time. Unpaid. So you don't get to tell me what I get to eat or drink in the staff room.

I understand the rule but have a DS who doesn't like water. It's OK saying they are not thirsty then but DS was oblivious/prepared to put up with being thirsty (and see all other threads about thirst & hunger being confused). DS would come out of school not having had a drink all day - the colour of his wee was vile. I didn't bother trying to buck the system but would try to get at least two drinks into him before school and take one for pick up time. It got better when he changed schools where milk/apple juice were part of school lunch choice.

How about water with a slice of lemon/orange/sprig of mint in?

Bit poncy but gives some flavour. My kids thing eager with lemon is very posh.

I have seen stiffens taking exams with water bottles with lemon or mint in.

threedeer - I'd happily accept that but know that other kids would just take it as an excuse and I'd be back to square one.

mrsmopps yes, I get dehydrated if I can't get to a drink or the loo during the day, so I don't want to be unreasonable, just don't want to have to live with the spillages.

Goblin, assuming that is aimed at me, wait until you have had to teach for day in a room where milk has been badly mopped up. Or you walk into a room and sit in a sticky patch..... put you stuff on a desk and they stay glued to it. If it were your child whose clothes / possessions were covered in sticky gloop that they had had to put up with all day.... would that make a difference to your opinion?

I think it's a good rule as water us better for you, it doesn't create a sticky mess when it leaks or spills and people are not allergic to it. My dds best friend has anaphylaxis to preservatives.

I keep a container in my fridge with water and lemon juice. (squeezed out of a lemon I mean) could he have that?

Our school wants the children to have own water available, and are convinced that without it they often see children who can't concentrate well (this makes sense to me, too).

The only question is whether there should be some flexibility in type of fluid for kids with special circumstances. OP's 6yo can adapt but the child with autism will need some extra help to understand why special rules for them are ok.

I grew up in a hot climate hating water (shudder).

I also think the water only rule is a good one. Plus, sugar free squash is just as horrid as the usual kind - it's full of chemical sweeteners. I do think it is a bit odd when people swear that their dc will not touch water - how do they know there is anything else on offer unless you have given it to them?

It's a very sensible rule.

YABU. I think the vast majority of schools have a water-only rule, for all the perfectly good reasons you have been given.

I can understand an exception being made for a child with SEN if necessary; but your DS will just have to get used to it, and follow the school rules like everyone else.

Bringing drinks / water bottles into school is a relatively new thing anyway. When I was at school, it wasn't allowed. We were given a small glass of water with our lunch and that was it all day.

I wasn't going to post, but couldn't ignore Nomama's last comment "And yes, teach your kid to drink water. No SEN makes that impossible, maybe a little difficult but not impossible"

I'm afraid you are wrong, some children who have ASD will starve or dehydrate themselves rather than eat/drink something they don't like or struggle with on a sensory basis. My eldest ds has ASD and while yes, we have been able to get him to eat some things he initially refused, there are others that he will simply never eat/drink. He has oro-sensory issues and also a heightened sense of taste and smell, which means that food/drinks just don't feel, taste or smell the same to him that they do to other people. I accept that water is in effect odourless and flavourless, but if he decided not to drink water he would simply overheat/dehydrate and faint before anyone could get him to. If we were to be successful in getting him to drink it, it would take months, if not years - what would you suggest we do in the meantime?

As I said, I wasn't going to post, as I am not against water only policies in schools. Our primary school has a water only policy in classrooms, but other drinks may be taken as part of a packed lunch and school dinners also offer alternatives to water. All three of mine have only ever taken water for both classroom and lunch, with the exception of one day a week when they have a carton as a treat. I do however, think the school needs to have a degree of flexibility for children that are struggling with it and those with SEN in particular and some patience with parents of children who are new to the school do something like gradually reduce the strength of fruit juice/squash or something, as they wean their children onto pure water.

Interestingly, my ds would be very similar to the OP's dd and not want to take something different to the rest of the class. He does prefer water actually, but if he had to take a drink he didn't like to school he simply wouldn't drink and as he's out of the house on a school day for 10 hours (including school and transport) this would be really detrimental to his health and I would like to think his school would be sensitive to that.

So, you have had the rule for one of your Dcs changed to accommodate her needs and that still isn't enough?

The rule is water only. For the perfectly adequate reasons outlined up thread.

Are you talking about just in the classroom? Surely you put squash or whatever in their lunches?

I don't get all the angst about HAVING TO HAVE A DRINK every second of the day To Be Honest.
Drink in the morning, drink at lunch, drink after school if your Dcs won't drink water?

It's not like they are not drinking at all ever.

Sipping a bottle of squash throughout the day is surely bad for teeth?

YABU.

Drinking water is an excellent habit to get into from an early age.

I have absolutely no idea what liquid is in the water bottles of any if the 40 4 year olds in my class.

All the bottles are superhero or princess.

How would the school know and ffs how much time have the teachers/TAs have on their hands to check? We are far far too busy teaching to give a crap about crap like that.

As someone with three children with ASDs, I think you are being unreasonable. The school have made an exception for your child with ASD, if your other child does not have additional needs, then fine, water will do.

moose You are absolutely right, it took three fainting sessions to get school to back down with one of mine.