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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be very cross that school's incompetence may have made DS ill?

331 replies

user1498726699 · 29/06/2017 10:56

DS's year had a mini sports day on Tuesday. Parents were invited to spectate in the afternoon so DH and I went along. I noticed that drinks were not brought outside for DC (which has happened before so I had brought one with me) so tried to get DS to drink the bottle of water I brought but he was worried he would get told off so only took a few sips. This was a 2 hour event with no breaks. It wasn't hot but very overcast and sweaty. DS's hair was soaking. I went to the shop and left DH to wait for DS to come out afterwards.

On the way home with DH, DS said that noise/talking was annoying him as his brain hurt. DH put it down to lots of jumping around, gave him a drink/snack and told DS to lay down for a rest. He took himself off to bed and conked out very uncharacteristically! I woke him later as I was worried and he was very upset that his 'brain was hurting' and his body wouldn't work. He was clammy, and I realised that he was probably dehydrated. He then told us that he had not had a chance to drink his breaktime drink as some of the DC were chosen to practice for the afternoon event so he had spent most of the morning running around too. I asked if they were offered water and he said no. The only drink they were offered was after the afternoon event just before hometime when they were told to have a drink after they got changed. So DS did almost 4 hours of quite vigorous exercise with only his breakfast juice at home, a small cup of water at lunchtime, and a few gulps of water from the bottle I took with me.

DCs are only 6/7. Surely it is irresponsible of the school to not make sure small DC are hydrated during sports events in June?

I had to spend Tuesday night trying to get Dioralyte down DS (big battle as he hates it) and he had a high temp for most of yesterday with headache and lethargy so was off school. He is recovered today and has gone to school with a note that consideration should be given to this at future sports events.

AIBU to think this could have been preventable?

OP posts:
AwaywiththePixies27 · 01/07/2017 08:33

Water is a toxin? Confused

Heard it all now! Grin

SnickersWasAHorse · 01/07/2017 08:34

in fact water doesn't hydrate best anyway, drinking water is an artificial, unnatural product we would not have encountered during 99.99% of our evolution.

How the hell do you figure that? Are you honestly telling me that unlike all other animals human being didn't encounter water? And what is the 'during evolution'? Can you tell me when that ended?

Are you going to tell me that we invented Costa before the wheel?
Perhaps Stonehenge is a Starbucks?

RhubardGin · 01/07/2017 08:38

what are you talking about? It is nothing to do with any sort of conspiracy, just plain straight forward biology

I don't think you were paying attention in biology...

We don't pee to rid our body of toxic water!

Go away for 5 minutes, do a quick Google, educate yourself and come back.

Ginandplatonic · 01/07/2017 08:47

try popping a few of your blood cells in a drop of drinking water on a microscope slide, and watch what happens Ginndplatonic!

We're talking about drinking the stuff, not putting blood cells in it. The situations aren't remotely comparable physiologically.

I suspect your knowledge of human biology is at the "my DP is an Osteopath" level.

SuburbanRhonda · 01/07/2017 09:34

I haven't read the whole thread, but I've yet to meet single person who's vitamin D deficiency has been resolved by a supplement. I've been Vit D deficient for 10 years, supplements don't make the slightest difference.

How often do you discuss vitamin D levels with people you meet? Hmm

My level was on the floor when I was prescribed a 3200 dose by the hospital - it was within normal ranges a month later.

AcademicOwl · 01/07/2017 09:42

Child of the 70s speaking. I quite often got terrible headaches in hot weather after activity as a child. So I feel confident to surmise that dehydration did exist then.

OP I guess going in all guns blazing to school is unwise, but it does sound like DS did have heatstroke. I'd make an appointment with teacher & raise it in a nice way; y'know, you were a bit worried, what's the actual policy, does it need looking at...etc.

As for water as a toxin. No. It's not. Honestly. Your kidneys do indeed excrete it and use it to effectively carry all the other toxins out. Not the other way around. Along with the (no) need for constant snacking for children, this may be my favourite health misinformation thread ever.

keeplooking · 01/07/2017 10:35

drinking water is an artificial, unnatural product

Actually, yes, it is. There are lots of toxins added to our drinking water. That's why some people filter their water.

AcademicOwl · 01/07/2017 10:54

Oh good lord, it gets better.

Sunnymorningwithbacon · 01/07/2017 10:59

Some people here are drinking the koolaid never mind water.

JigglyTuff · 01/07/2017 11:04

Why would the OP need to talk to the teacher again. There was water available: "DS was told by his teacher that he could have left the field and gone to the water fountain inside school if he was that thirsty"

The school insists on sunhats and likes parents to put sunscreen on. Both of which the OP thinks are ridiculous because she is part of the 1/3 of parenting plums that think tans on children are healthy.

keeplooking · 01/07/2017 11:34

In answer to the clever comments, I'm simply stating a fact! Water that comes out of the tap is not 'natural'! There are chemicals routinely added to our water supply including

Liquified chlorine
Fluorosilicic acid
Aluminium sulphate - see Camelford

to name but three.

I'm not commenting on the safety or otherwise of the levels of chemicals used in the purification etc. of water, just saying that toxins are added. You can't deny it, however hard you scoff!

AndTakeYourHorseWithYou · 01/07/2017 12:50

Of course you can deny that TOXINS are added. Substances are added of course, but toxins? Prove that.

robinia · 01/07/2017 12:53

It's not a 7 year old's responsibility to make sure he is adequately hydrated, it is the duty of those looking after him.
I know at that age I was far too shy to ask for water or anything I might need, and probably wouldn't have recognised that any discomfort I was feeling (apart from being a bit thirsty) was due to dehydration.

catkind · 01/07/2017 13:04

Do people actually know what toxin means? It's a biologically produced poison. Something produced by your body (or I guess another plant or animal). Chemicals may be added to water, I'm pretty sure toxins aren't.

HeresMe · 01/07/2017 19:45

I thought I'd hear it all, but people saying water is a toxin and better to drink squash.

What absolute rubbish what do people think squash is made of and what do they think a large percentage of the body is made of?

user1497480444 · 01/07/2017 22:03

What absolute rubbish what do people think squash is made of and what do they think a large percentage of the body is made of?

do you actually think you are a large percentage pure water? You are not. You are a large percentage SALT WATER. Which is why your cells will die immediately if immersed in pure water, and why you will pee it out if you overdose.

Chemicals may be added to water, I'm pretty sure toxins aren't.
WATER is the toxin, and overdosing can and does kill.

user1497480444 · 01/07/2017 22:05

Particularly children, and particularly when participating in intensive sport.

Squash is better. Isotonic sports drinks are fine, but there is no need to spend the money, squash will do just s well.

AndTakeYourHorseWithYou · 01/07/2017 22:06

Oh dear. I don't even know where to start with that, so I don't think I'll bother.

Water is a toxin. That's hilarious!

user1497480444 · 01/07/2017 22:08

I'm not saying moderate amounts of water are going to do you any harm, or may not be better than nothing, but the way it has become deified in recent years is just a farce. This bowing down towater is simply the result of clever marketing by international companies who sell bottled water to the great detriment of health and the environment.

user1497480444 · 01/07/2017 22:09

what do you find difficult to understand,exactly? people die every year in the UK from drinking more water than their bodies can effectively eliminate. It isn't a complicated concept.

AndTakeYourHorseWithYou · 01/07/2017 22:10

I find it difficult to understand how you can spout such shit, but carry on, it's quite amusing.

catkind · 01/07/2017 22:17

WATER is the toxin, and overdosing can and does kill.
A toxin is by definition a biologically produced poison. Water is neither a poison in any normal sense of the word (too much of anything can kill, that's no argument!), nor biologically produced.

user1497480444 · 01/07/2017 22:46

nor biologically produced of course it is, it is a waste product from out metabolism. But that isn't the point really.

I find it difficult to understand how you can spout such shit,

explain which bit you don't understand?

SnickersWasAHorse · 01/07/2017 22:58

People have died from drinking too much water. It was a real problem in the rave era when everyone knew that they had to keep their water levels up when taking Es.

However I find the idea that squash is better than water a little ridiculous. Yes the squash has some sugars and stuff in it but what do you use to make squash? Tap water. Also, have you read the ingredients of squash? Most have all sort of random shit in them, like sweeteners. That is far more of a worry than overdosing on water.

and why should I listen to someone who can't be bothered to sort out a proper user name?

user1497480444 · 01/07/2017 23:02

However I find the idea that squash is better than water a little ridiculous. Yes the squash has some sugars and stuff in it but what do you use to make squash? Tap water. Also, have you read the ingredients of squash? Most have all sort of random shit in them, like sweeteners. That is far more of a worry than overdosing on water.

yes, but it isn't tap water any more, once its in squash, is it, totally different water potential. That's like saying chlorine is poisonous, and its in salt, so if you put salt on your chips the chlorine will kill you