Water only at school- thoughts please

[lemony21]

I'd love to hear your thoughts about children being told to bring in only water to drink during school time.

My son will ocasionally sip water but drink squash. Even on a hot day, a just water bottle would come back pretty much full. He is often constipated and needs to drink. Our school says water or squash, but if they didn't I wouldn't be sending in just water. The dr has said to just get him drinking and sugar free squash is perfectly acceptable,

I went to hospital with dehydration when I was five because I refused to drink water and we were in a hot country. My parents tried everything, I just hated it. Still do unless exercising/on very hot days etc, most of the time I drink squash or tea.

I don't see any reason not to allow squash at lunchtime.

I can't see how any living being can get dehydrated between breakfast and lunchtime.

You can't just ban everything you don't like. Typical UK nanny state-ism, haven't you learned yet it doesn't work?
Lunchbox police in every school, water only, healthy eating drives, weighing them and sending out letters and your kids have never been fatter (on a population level, before you all screech about how skinny your kids are!).

You can't just ban everything you don't like

what do you suggest? allowing parents to send kids to school with a can of coke, oh sorry, diet coke because it's healthy? The point of banning all the rubbish is to try to get some decent food and drinks in these kids once in awhile, and to try to explain to stupids what is healthy or not.

It would be great if schools would lead by example and would serve healthy food at lunch. That would make too much sense.

I remember this from my primary schools in the Latish 90s everyone going to get flavoured water before school trying to sneak it in and then using the compass to poke a hole in the lid instead of lifting the white bit

what do you suggest? allowing parents to send kids to school with a can of coke, oh sorry, diet coke because it's healthy? The point of banning all the rubbish is to try to get some decent food and drinks in these kids once in awhile, and to try to explain to stupids what is healthy or not

I guess the idea of banning the bad shit and letting parents do some shit for themselves just didn't occur to you? I mean, obviously what I was saying was that everyone should bring a liter of coke and kfc for lunch.

Keep on telling any parent that isn't up to your exacting standards that they are "stupids" that will work for sure. Bound to. Going so well so far, hey?

I'd have no issue at all

The school is in the UK, it's quite rural and they tend to do things their own way. Set in old ways. Hopefully this will all change now with the new head who started after Christmas, she seems open to change. It's a shame some staff still want to stay in the dark ages. I believe in starting children off on the right track early on and hopefully they will have fewer problems later in life.

And sugar free squash is the wrong track, is it?

Well fuck me that must be the source of all my problems! If only some wonderful person had stepped in and made sure I never had a carton of Ribena, I'd probably be prime minister by now.

Holy crap the sanctimommies are out in force today!

But are you talking about lunch or a drink in classrooms?

My school rule was water in the classroom and water or squash or fruit juice in lunch boxes.

Seemed fair to me.

What is your role in this and why are you pushing your agenda when your colleagues don't agree with you?

No fizzy drinks, no sweets and chocolate, fine. Leave it there.

Are you sure you're cut out for working in a rural area? You seem distainful.

Janice you mentioned allowing certain food/drink 'as a treat' that's as bad as a restricted diet.

I was raised without a huge amount of discussion at home as to what was healthy/unhealthy simply provided with good quality healthy food as part of normal life. Wasn't given loads of snacks, always a full fruit bowl available etc

We have an over reliance in the British diet culture on sugary drinks, too much snacking, processed foods, poor eating habits (not eating as families, eating mindlessly), poor psychological connections to food all of which need addressed.

It is an awful idea especially for children on the spectrum. My child aged 4 would only drink milk or milk based drinks, no matter how hard we tried, that child would not drink water or even juice. Now aged 8 after years of gentle coaxing, plain water is their favourite drink. If they had forced that upon her in reception, she would have been incredibly stressed out, unhappy and thirsty at school. I wouldn't like to be thirsty at work and I don't think its OK for any child to be thirsty at school.

If you want to give your kids squash because it's your human right to do so, at least be honest, cut the crap and don't pretend it's "healthy". FFS.

Back in the day, everyone had free milk mid morning. Drink with lunch which was usually weak squash or a cup drink, then nothing in the afternoon.

Don't remember ever feeling deydrated.

We are two thirds water, just like the earth. It is essential for our bodies to function. I drink mainly water. My child will drink water but there have been many occasions were I have given her juice/pop/chocolate milk and even ice lollies to get her fluid intake up.

And personally I'd ban 'energy drinks' full stop! in terms of the effect on the body they're basically liquid speed and banned in many other countries. I'm horrified when I see parents give them to babies and toddlers!

How can a child 'not like water'?! It is essential to existence! They surely can't drink sugary squash all the time?? Is it not simply the case that they prefer the sweet taste of squash, but they will drink water if that's all that's on offer?

Water is fine. The more water fountains provided the better, though, because my DS - who likes water and drinks it at home, voluntarily (not my good example, I drink tea) - hates the grubby water-jugs, complete with floating bits, in the canteen, and won't drink out of them.

When I was at primary school a lad in year 2 would only drink mars milkshakes. He had a chocolate spread sandwich and a mars bar with it. I've tried to find him on fb to see if he survived to adulthood but I can't find him (or remember his name!)

80's mum sadly there are some parents (can we please not just blame mum's?) who give babies juice/squash before they're even weaned off baby milk.

Just look at how many kids you see, sitting in buggies with a carton of juice and a pack of crisps. If you never give them water, I am sure they can refuse it at school and wait for their normal treat. It's not even funny.
Even children center baby groups, very keen on healthy food, serve squash.

I wonder if the French give wine to their kids the same way we give rubbish to our own kids.

I don't like water unless it's exceptionally chilled so I can see where some of you are coming from. Both my daughters drink water so I think it may be a generational thing. When I was young the only access we had to water during school was via the disgusting fountains that you had to hold the button and the water scooshed in the air.

I had no idea we were "demonising" soft drinks simply because we always gave dc water or milk at home. I suppose if that is the case we have also been demonising lobster and venison and quails eggs, because I don't think we've served those on a very regular basis either. So presumably dc will spend the rest of their lives gorging on them.

When did this idea arise that having squash as an everyday drink is so normal that serving water instead amounts to "banning it"? Instead of just doing the normal natural thing?