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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:
DiseasesOfTheSheep · 29/06/2017 14:11

Doesn't sound well planned and water should be available at some point during four hours of sports really. But I'm just here for the "my OH is an osteopath and a personal trainer and therefore is an authority on all things metabolic and athletic". Best laugh I've had all day Grin

Kardashianlove · 29/06/2017 14:12

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!

But do you not think giving him a drink straight from school before setting off on a bike ride (yes a v.small one but still more exercise when he'd already done sports all afternoon) then another drink when you got in would have been a more sensible thing to do?
It may not have made any difference but it could have stopped him getting completely dehydrated.

I think it's really bad of the school but I can't get my head round you knowing he had done sports afternoon with only a couple of sips of water, knowing he had been sweating but not taking a drink and not making sure he drank lots when he got in.

Do you really not think you should have done that?

KurriKurri · 29/06/2017 14:13

Well exactly Liveformaps Grin
It's about time we started doing what other countries who have more regular hot weather do - i.e. seeing the provision of water as the norm, it should go without saying that water is available to which children can help themselves as and when needed.

All this throwing up of the hands in horror at the very idea that a drink of water is a special and rather outlandish request is bizarre !

In old people's homes and day centres they make sure that the people attending take on enough fluids throughout the day - on all days, not just hot ones. The same should apply to everyone. It's a drink of water FGS and people are acting as if OP was demanding ice creams, funny hats, designer trainers and the moon on a stick.Grin

livefornaps · 29/06/2017 14:22

....and we shall buuuuuuild jer-usaleeeem in Eng-land's green and pleeeasant lannnnd

Cantstopeatingchocolate · 29/06/2017 14:58

I think your right to be cross with school. Your DS should have been able to have his break time and whatever snack and drink you had supplied for that. I think you were right to let them know that they should have allowed water bottles out on the sports field on a warm day whether it was sunny or not.
All the kids at my DSs sports day came out with water bottles and there were a couple of gazebos up for anyone needing out of the sun that day. And at lunch he also only gets a small plastic cup of water/juice/milk (allowed to ask for a refill though) but he can take his bottle that I send and refill it through the day at a water machine. At 6 though, I had to remind him to drink more as he would forget (more likely want to get out to play quicker). At almost 8 he is much better at staying hydrated though.

RhubardGin · 29/06/2017 15:00

It was only 2 hours. I doubt they were doing high intensity Olympic sporting events.

Egg and spoon race anyone? Grin

You're being a bit dramatic.

arethereanyleftatall · 29/06/2017 15:05

Yes they should have allowed water, but precious parents (which you appear from the tone of your posts, not from the original complaint) do produce precious children.

Original poster
user1498726699 · 29/06/2017 15:15

Err Kardashian* WE DID NOT KNOW HE WAS DEHYDRATED THEN as we did not know he had done another sports day in the morning or what he has drunk that day.

Fuck me. How many more times. People want to find any which way that the parents can be blamed rather than the school don't they!

OP posts:
Original poster
user1498726699 · 29/06/2017 15:16

Quite! Livefornaps

OP posts:
Guitargirl · 29/06/2017 15:18

OP - you do know that people are allowed to disagree with you? Or are you another one of those posters who posts in AIBU and only want people to tell you what you want to hear?

Original poster
user1498726699 · 29/06/2017 15:18

How am I being precious arethereanyleftatall? Is that in reference to brain cells I wonder?

OP posts:
iknowimcoming · 29/06/2017 15:19

And another one ....

OP: AIBU?
Most People: Yes YABU
OP: NO I'M NOT!

Hmm
Nikephorus · 29/06/2017 15:25

Weirdly, I was thinking the opposite when I posted earlier that I didn't remember it being a big deal when I was at school. We were out in the sunshine far more, no hats, sunscreen, standing in the shade, drinks to cool down etc.
Totally agree. No-one wore hats, sunscreen was something you put on when you were on a foreign holiday (if you got one), you played in the sun until you got hot but that was your own decision, and you didn't have water bottles - at most you might take a drink with your packed lunch, otherwise there was a water fountain which you might have a slurp from sometimes. And not even that at secondary school. Playtime drinks?!
You knew he was thirsty and he had a headache - why not just give him a couple of big glasses of squash as soon as you got home, job done. Haven't teachers got enough to do without policing fluid intake as well?!

Ecclesiastes · 29/06/2017 15:26

To all those comparing it to their school days, the weather even in 90's never got to the temps we have seen recently. 24 max maybe.

This is possibly the funniest thing I have ever read on MN. But then I was at school in the 70s, before dehydration was invented.

Nikephorus · 29/06/2017 15:26

People want to find any which way that the parents can be blamed rather than the school don't they!
Or maybe some parents won't take responsibility for their own children and expect the school to run round after them....

Nikephorus · 29/06/2017 15:27

To all those comparing it to their school days, the weather even in 90's never got to the temps we have seen recently. 24 max maybe.
And there was me thinking that 1976 was a tad warm...

thisismadness77 · 29/06/2017 15:32

I was forever coming home with a stinking headache at primary school. We only had a small drink of squash at lunchtime. I drink gallons now and only get headaches with hangovers. :)

Original poster
user1498726699 · 29/06/2017 15:46

FWIW I don't put suncream on DS unless we are on a hot beach for the day, I like him to get a tan. Nor a sunhat although school insists on hot days or they have to stay inside if they haven't got one. Access to water if being very active for prolonged periods is a different matter. Even for animals, the advice is to make sure fresh water is always available let alone small DC.

Anyway as expected school have not acknowledged my note and 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 Hmm.

OP posts:
Sirzy · 29/06/2017 15:47

You use allowing your son to get sun damaged skin a a positive argument? Confused

Baalam · 29/06/2017 15:49

All this obsession with kids being hydrated!! Give him a drink when he gets home. He was probably hot and tired. I doubt he was doing a triathlon, he probably ran a total of 150m all in. Honestly.

Baalam · 29/06/2017 15:50

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

Yup. Why the 'hmm'

HipsterHunter · 29/06/2017 15:52

Look, I do think they should have been allowed / reminded to take water bottle so to the field.

But ultimately normal healthy people don't get dehydrated if they drink at breakfast lunch and straight after sports day.

RhubardGin · 29/06/2017 16:01

You use allowing your son to get sun damaged skin a a positive argument?

Just what I was thinking.

OP how can you be so OTT about your son being dehydrated but so blase about sun damage?

livefornaps · 29/06/2017 16:03

You like him to get a tan?!!!! Noooooo!!! Oh, come on. That's sheer stupidity.

runninggranny · 29/06/2017 16:03

Anyway as expected school have not acknowledged my note and 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.

But did he know that? He is only 7, they often forget information at that age. Also at that age they think they are missing out if the leave an activity. I have a 6 year old granddaughter who often comes home not dehydrated, but very thirsty because she is so busy she forgets to drink.

For what it's worth, when my children were at school 30 years ago they had waterfountains in school at primary level and I know that there were cups of water made available outside on tables on Sportsdays. I know, I used to supervise them. Smile