Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I never used to go around with a water bottle, let alone, grab a cup of coffee

741 replies

LittleBookofCalm · 13/10/2018 12:46

every time I went out.
what is it with people having to be constantly Slurping!

the world cannot cope with all the rubbish this causes.

OP posts:
Angelil · 13/10/2018 16:23

@Childrenofthesun

A glass is fine if you stay in one classroom all day. If you change classrooms every hour it's totally impractical.

@LittleBookofCalm

...your little book of calm is clearly malfunctioning.

Cheerymom · 13/10/2018 16:25

Students constantly squeezing plastic bottle of water, ahhh! I ask them to leave them in their bags and ask if they can take a sip. It is also a distraction, can they leave the room to refill etc, no you can't. Its 45 mins, you will live. A water cooler was placed outside my classroom, hundreds of plastic cups strewn everywhere. Parents spending a fortune on 'smart' water. Drinking water is not the problem IMHO, it is the faff, distraction and expense the marketing encourages. On an anecdotal note, my granny died aged 100 and never ever drank water. Lots of tea, milk and beer. I never carry water in a normal day ( heat and exercise being the exception). So yes I think it is complete and utter marketing.

scarbados · 13/10/2018 16:26

Kidney stones in a 12 year old must be highly unusual - not at all. Less common thtn in adults but still occur in chiildren of all ages and the incidence among early teens has increased by over 25% in the last few years. Main cause of kidney stones - concentrated urine caused by inadequate hydration.

And this pensioner does drink water throughout the day, whether on a bus or not. And I've never 'slurped' in my life, thanks very much. Nor have I concerned myself with how much other people spend of their own money on water, coffee, gin or any other liquid. Not my money, not my business.

Angelil · 13/10/2018 16:28

@PuppyMonkey

Contigo bottles are the best ones around IMO, if the leaking is the main thing that bothers you. I have tested quite a lot and the Contigo ones don't leak even if they are upside down in your bag.

@thenightsky

Teachers have bladders of steel don't you know :p
And as for those saying teachers should be able to get by without "as it's only an hour"...not for all of us. I could, in my previous school, for example, be teaching from 9.00 to 1.00 with no break in between, or equally from 2pm to 6pm (plus an extra 2 hours a day the other side of lunchtime). Factor in running around like a blue-arsed fly for the rest of the day, from 8.00 on, photocopying, marking, dealing with pastoral issues, attending meetings, replying to emails, completing administrative tasks, and there's practically no time to top up a water glass or go to the toilet. So a large 1.7l bottle is just the only way to go for me.

Delatron · 13/10/2018 16:29

Coffee really isn’t a status symbol. People buy it because they like it and need the caffeine boost.

pinkhorse · 13/10/2018 16:31

I carry a bottle of water literally everywhere. I drink about 3 litres a day.

Angelil · 13/10/2018 16:31

@girlandboy

...you think I get a tea break? Oh dear.
Oh well, I'll just work from 8.00 to 1pm with no hydration then, shall I...

SoyDora · 13/10/2018 16:31

Yeah I’ve never really heard anyone ‘slurping’. If they do it’s a case or poor manners.

Sashkin · 13/10/2018 16:32

Are all the pensioners on the bus slurping water, no, they have managed to live without constant hydration

My mum’s in her 70s, she always carries a (refillable) bottle of water with her on days out. Always has. I remember her bringing drinks for us for after sports etc in the 1980s so no, not everyone just lived with dehydration until they got home. Some people planned ahead.

And you should see the queue outside the Waitrose coffee machine in a morning! All pensioners. I have no idea where you live where pensioners never buy coffee, but it’s a very different place to me.

SoyDora · 13/10/2018 16:36

My mum doesn’t take a water bottle with her but she does stop for approximately 15 cups of tea a day! She drinks far, far more than me and is always hassling me about not drinking enough.

Antigon · 13/10/2018 16:43

It seems like the OP's frustration is clearly fuelled by unnecessary waste. So personal anecdotes of how you use a reusable bottle or your rare disease that means you need to drink lots are all quite irrelevant, aren't they?

That's what I thought too.

ladydickisathingapparently · 13/10/2018 16:45

Really? Why mention slurping then? Do people only slurp from disposable cups or bottles?

Gazelda · 13/10/2018 16:56

I agree with you on wastage OP. I always try to remember to take reusable bottles and cups with me.

But I don't understand why you're bothered by people drinking while out and about. I'm pretty sure the rise in carrying drinks came at about the same time that the habit of 'elevenses' and stopping for a cup of tea at 3pm. Most work places had a tea lady that came round at these times, most SAHMs stopped their work for a break at these times. Pretty much all older people that i know still have this routine.

FormerlyFrikadela01 · 13/10/2018 17:16

I carry a reusable water bottle with me at all times and have done for years. I have a metal one I've had for years. I get headaches if I don't drink throughout the day.

I also remember feeling thristy a lot when I was at school and would run home to get a drink as soon as possible so clearly the glass of water at lunctime wasn't enough.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 13/10/2018 19:17

I wonder if the Royals run round with a Costa when theyre out and about when they’re not cutting a ribbon on a hospital somewhere.

I can’t imagine Kate doing it but I can totally see Meghan.

autumnleaves1234 · 13/10/2018 19:20

I think the difference used to be that we used to accept that we were.. gasp... THIRSTY. Not 'dehydrated' and certainly not on the verge of death or at risk of kidney stones or whatever. And when we were thirsty we found somewhere to have a drink ( usually) We drank, felt better and went on with the day. It now seems as if no-one can bare to feel uncomfortable, that every discomfort has to be sated immediately

LisaSimpsonsbff · 13/10/2018 19:27

God, life's getting pretty bleak when the volume you do or don't drink is your way of feeling superior to others.

vitazee · 13/10/2018 19:28

I can’t imagine Kate doing it but I can totally see Meghan.

Plenty of pics of her when she was younger our and about with a Starbucks in hand!

BumDisease · 13/10/2018 19:30

Christ almighty. I wish my life was so trouble free that this was the kind of thing I could get annoyed about.

And btw OP, I always carry around a bottle of water because... I like to drink water.

didyouseetheflaresinthesky · 13/10/2018 19:34

Like a few other posters, I take tablets that give me a bit of a dry mouth so I carry a drink. That ok with you?

minisoksmakehardwork · 13/10/2018 19:35

I'm sure there were more public water fountains years ago. Or people would stop for a break morning and afternoon whereas now people are more on the go.

It's been proven that children work better if they are hydrated hence the greens for water bottles in class. Quite honestly I'm glad as we have continence and kidney issues in our family which are greatly aided by more regular access to drinking water.

I also remember going to the toilet as a child and going to get a drink from the school water fountain. A lot of schools seem to have removed these.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 13/10/2018 19:35

I think water and a takeaway coffee are two completely different things though. One’s a commercial caffeine kick with minimal thirst quenching properties and the other is pure hydration.

If I see someone with a bottle of water I assume they’e having a busy day and have not had much of a chance to get a drink of any kind. You can drink a bottle of water in a couple of minutes and most people don’t sio a tiny bit, hold it for ages then sip a tiny bit more. They’re just rehydrating themselves.

If I see someone with a takeaway Costa I think “what a waste of money”, “unrecyclable landfill waste” and “that’s a shit load of caffeine and probably calories” and “that’s gonna be too hot to drink for most of your journey so you’re going to get pissed off carrying it about” and “you’ve got a pram, a toddler and you’re standing at the bus stop - how are you going to have enough hands to pay the bus driver” and in the last situation “why don’t you just get a Costa at your destination, surely that would make your life easier? Confused”

And lastly: I am sad that coffee-drinking has become a rushed and solitary activity. Sitting down with a friend for a coffee and a chat - lovely!

Sitting down in a freezing playground with a takeaway coffee to keep you warm while watching your kids somehow seems acceptable as it’s serving a practical purpose in the same way that someone on a hike up a freezing fell with a thermos uses it for energy and to keep their temperature up.

There you go, all you people who accuse anyone who has any thought about coffee drinking on the go of being judgmental. it’s just random musing mostly, isn’t it?

timeisnotaline · 13/10/2018 19:41

I get thirsty. I carry a reusable bottle. I’m currently breastfeeding and would never leave the house without water. The times I have I have been so thirsty!

LisaSimpsonsbff · 13/10/2018 19:42

If I see someone with a takeaway Costa I think “what a waste of money”, “unrecyclable landfill waste” and “that’s a shit load of caffeine and probably calories” and “that’s gonna be too hot to drink for most of your journey so you’re going to get pissed off carrying it about” and “you’ve got a pram, a toddler and you’re standing at the bus stop - how are you going to have enough hands to pay the bus driver” and in the last situation “why don’t you just get a Costa at your destination, surely that would make your life easier? confused”

Gosh, you are not a busy person, are you?

NotMeNoNo · 13/10/2018 19:46

Yes but we used to go around with those glass thermos flasks that broke all the time. And squash in an old pop bottle.