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

[user1498726699]

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?

You must have a very different sports day to us ( and a very big sports field) if each child does 2 hours of continuous exercise. At ours, they do each race in turn segregated by year group and in KS2 by gender too. There is only one track. The majority of the time, the children are waiting their turn and cheering on other members of their house. At ours, they are allowed water bottles though and are encouraged to drink from them.

As some others have said, it's quite likely he was already ill with a virus. Dioralyte was unnecessary ( unless he had diarrhoea/ vomiting which you haven't mentioned). A drink after the event along with a salty snack would have been fine.

Prove it I want to see medical evidence

You want medical evidence that children are not adult athletes?

Then you need to book me and pay me by the hour. I'm not your private researcher.

I'm a biologist.

IIRC when my teenage dd was at Primary School sports days, parents sat separately from the children and the children were supervised by teachers, so weren't allowed to go over and see their parents. Had I got up and gone over to the children to give DD a drink I think I'd have been spoken to. So I sympathise with the OP not feeling she could get her DS to drink a whole bottle of water.

My 17 yr old had heat exhaustion during the recent hot weather and that lasted a few days, even when it was overcast but humid. She's very slim and tall and her blood sugar and blood pressure drop frequently, making her dizzy. Whether this makes her more prone to heat exhaustion, I don't know, but she seems to get dehydrated easily. Hers was exacerbated by doing AS levels in the school gym which is boiling. No sports drinks allowed, only water.

So I sympathise, OP, and yes, I would let the school know how poorly DS was and ask them to take measures to let the children have water available at all times.

Not single track events. Lots of different activities such as sack races, rounders, hurdles, pulling selves through tunnels etc. Each group constantly moving around to next activity. Waiting max of a few mins for next turn on same activity until time ran out kind of thing.

You sound a bit precious!! We had a sports day and there was lots of running, sweaty children and I think my daughter had the milk with her cereal ,half a cup of water at lunch and that's it till dinner!! A bit less than usual but she was busy and excited. She might have been a bit dehydrated (maybe) but she didn't complain of an "aching brain". She didn't complain at all!
My other DD was very ill with d and v and didn't keep down fluid for 2 days in a heat wave! The Doctor said she wouldn't dehydrate too much as the body is pretty good at conserving water. Again,no brain ache!
Your son had a virus.

I don't think there's any harm you mentioning this to the school OP, if some think it's PFB well whatever.

The good news is our school sports day (tomorrow) has been cancelled due to the rain. Way hay!

There's obviously an issue if he thought he'd get told off for having a drink out of the bottle you brought.

I think there's a feeling around (I've seen a thread on MN about it) that people carrying water bottles around with them is a fad and you don't need to drink so much. I seem to remember a previous head at my son's junior school having the same view. She did not seem to appreciate that we are all different and some people need more drinks than others. I get very thirsty. I drink a lot. I go to the loo a lot. But as someone mentioned above about teenagers - I need to chivvy my ds along to have a drink.

Definitely raise it with the school in a calm manner. Even if your ds did have a virus and not dehydration, all kids should have a drink with them for sports day.

By the way I remember the summer of 76 - school sports day was cancelled then too because it was too bleddy hot.

I was just musing that the idea of carrying a water bottle at all times would have been seen as utterly bizarre 30 years ago.

Nearer 40 years ago for me, but no bottles of water. Tall, plastic Tupperware cups with lids, filled with warm, weak orange squash. That's what I remember from my childhood.

I think whatever the age of the children it should be standard to have water available in hot weather and to encourage them to keep themselves hydrated. Lots of children don't drink enough. For sports day I would have expected a table set up with drinks for the children - just water is fine - to have whenever they need one.
Where I live they have a shelf with bottles of water you can help yourself to on the trains on hot days - I think it's a thing we all need to be more conscious of.

Lucky you to have uncomplaining DC ItsJustA. DS was feeling very unwell so I would be more concerned if he didn't 'complain'. Did your DC
essentially do two sports days in one day? I don't think I'm precious at all actually. DS is my 4th DC and having battled through the school system with a severely failed (by his school) SEN child, I don't get cross anymore unless I feel it is very important.

@HorridHenryrule, boasting about your partner studying Osteopathy makes you look foolish rather than furthering your cause. Osteopathy is an "alternative" pseudoscience, with no basis in medical fact.

If you are so keen to prove that small children and elite athletes are the same thing, then why don't you provide evidence.

OP - I reckon your son had a virus. You are probably battle weary at the school over other issues and this was the last straw which has tipped you into blaming the school over this one thing (incorrectly IMO).

It's bonkers to put the training needs of professional athletes in the same bracket as a primary school sports day. FFS.

And am at the poster who reckons she knows what she's talking about because her partner has trained in osteopathy. My next-door-neighbour is a chef, doesn't mean I can cook!

I agree the school are in the wrong.

But, I think you contributed too. Even if you didn't know about him missing his morning break drink, you knew he was doing the sports afternoon, knew he was sweating, knew he had only had a few sips of the drink you took yet still only gave him a drink when he got home.

Your DH shoukd have given him a drink on the way home and more to drink when he got home too. I think you should raise it with the school but maybe need to take some responsibility too.

She did not seem to appreciate that we are all different and some people need more drinks than others. I get very thirsty. I drink a lot. I go to the loo a lot.

Then you don't 'need' to drink so much if you are frequently passing a lot of very clear wee.

You might want to e.g. if you are on medication that makes you have a dry mouth, or if you like to drink because you're board/tastes nice/habit etc but you don't 'need' to drink all the time.

I'm very surprised that the kids don't have water.

My DC's school has arranged it one of two ways:

A water stop programmed in for each class as they move round the race stations. Each class has a plastic box with a labelled water bottle for each pupil.

Or (on very warm days)

The plastic box with water bottles in moved round each station with the class (two pupils carry it) and kids can access as they need to.

(Full, labelled bottles are sent in that morning by parents.)

This is in Scotland btw so it's not usually that warm either.

My DC are instructed to bring water bottles to all the sports activities they do. I'm really surprised a school wouldn't have water at sports day.

That doesn't sound right. And worrying he was scared to stop for a drink too?!

Our school is always going on about drinking water, water bottles go everywhere and they're encouraged to drink at regular intervals.

They're only kids, teachers should be encouraging them to drink regularly as it's easy to forget, even for adults!

He's still a little child for goodness sake, of course he should have been offered drinks at suitable intervals on sports day. It's not difficult to organise and is a basic need. All this 'well he's 7, he could have asked!' is ridiculous. I think we've forgotten how to take care of people in this world.

Getting to/from school takes exactly 3 mins by gentle bike ride Kardashian timed it myself so can leave it til last minute! so wouldn't have made much difference that he was given a drink 1 minute after he got in!

I think it's an over reaction, and agree you should have given him your drink and told him to drink it.

Kids survive without water even if they are titting around doing the sack race etc etc.

Sounds like he over excerpted himself or had a virus. Kids get sick for reasons other than a lack of water station at sports day.

In the summer of 1976 there was no water in the school building at times as they had turned it off due to the drought. We had a temporary water storage tank in the car park.

Not having their water bottles with them on a sports day? Massively irresponsible of the food.

It really is. Write a letter to the school and governing body so it doesn't happen again.

In my schooldays people only got dehydrated in the desert (at the cinema!). We would go all day with only a small bottle of milk mid-morning.

So he had no drink at dinner at all?