To say denying kids water is neglect

[YeahWhatevver]

www.eastlothiancourier.com/news/18649619.children-left-without-water-school-rules-confusion/

Kids back at school in Scotland. Local Authorities have left a lot of the COVID19 arrangements to individual schools.

Many pupils across the country describing how they weren't allowed to refill water bottles despite 20+ degree heat on the basis of some sort of concern over contamination. An arrangement that hasn't been communicated to parents!

Our DD7 took her usual 500ml bottle to school, drunk by midday, sat all afternoon thirsty, explicitly told by staff that no water was available and to bring 2 bottles tomorrow. She said there were a few who drank their water by break time.

Looks like its been sorted with a clarification from the LA to schools but AIBU to think that the kind of adult who thinks this is OK shouldn't be in charge of kids.

It was one day and it’s been remedied.

Where I work you can only drink on your break. I work 6 to 7 hours with either 15 or 20 minutes break, it's not a problem.
Your child had 500ml that day and why didn't any parents include a lunch time drink (which they didn't as you claim they went 4 to 5 hours without a drink). I thought everyone did that.
With 500ml they wouldn't have dehydrated and might learn to pace themselves.
No one needs to drink 500ml in an hour especially as I assume they had a drink with breakfast (but maybe not if you don't include a drink at lunch time).
It's a fuss about nothing. We didn't have water bottles and sometimes the water fountain broke we just got on with it.

@VashtaNerada

Strange how most of those of us over the age of 45 managed to get through a school day with nothing to drink at all except a swig from a drinking fountain at break They didn’t have access to a drinking fountain. THAT’S THE POINT OF THE THREAD.

I don't agree. The pp was making the point that in the past it was very normal to no have half a litre of water a day, just drinks from a fountain and then a drink with lunch. That would add up to less than the OP's child was able to have. There were many things I remember not liking about my schooldays, but being thirsty just wasn't one of them.

The op . didn't mention a lunch box drink also the op hasn't been back so has achieved the "debate" ,they were after.

This obsession with hydration has gone from 'we should all drink more water' to '
'kids must carry a bottle of water with them at all times to ensure they don't die'

Although it's good to drink water, it's also become an obsession by some that is not as essential as lots of people make out.

There are exceptions to this for medical need but they are exceptions and the vast majority of kids in the U.K. will be fine with one drink in the middle of the day assuming their parents aren't withholding water at home.

The water bottle at school think is a relatively new thing. Both my primary and secondary school there was no access to water to drink bar a jug on the table at lunchtime and a glass offered in the main office if you were sick.

The posters going “well in MY day we just got severely dehydrated and got on with it!” are the same people who think seat belts and infant car seats are a load of twaddle. There’s tons of dangerous stuff that was the norm in the olden days.

I see we've reached the 'making up the opponents' argument' stage of debate. It's quite common to link something you're having trouble combatting with things it's easy to combat, in the hope that people will not realise what you've done and think 'dammit, yes, saying one can tackle the school day on half a litre of water is exactly as stupid as saying we shouldn't wear seat belts'.

I got through school quite happily on less fluids than are now available. Whilst I think it's sensible to offer more fluids than I had, I'm also aware that getting through the day on 500ml of water, yes even a day when the temperature is in the 20s, is not cause for a panic or accusations of neglect. If the child did get a bit thirsty in the afternoon it's a good idea to give them a bit more to take with them the next day.

I'm baffled. We survived school without having drinks on our desks. A miracle, apparently.

I wonder if teachers develop a twitch because all they hear all day long is children. Chugging down water imgage 20odd kids doing it all day long

Hmm. I think drink obsession is too much and get I always wear my seatbelt and bought a very expensive extended rear facing car seat
Another difference from the "old days" is that parents wouldn't start a social media campaign against every tiny thing their school did, especially when they were doing it to try to keep schools functioning in the middle of a pandemic.

The posters going “well in MY day we just got severely dehydrated and got on with it!” are the same people who think seat belts and infant car seats are a load of twaddle.

What a bizarre thing to say, @boltzmannbrains. I haven't seen anyone saying what you quote. If you simply intend to refer to those who point out the undoubted fact that millions of children did and still do get through the school day without drinking copious amounts and without dehydrating, can you point to ONE of them who also denies the need for car seats and seat belts? Certainly in my case I guarantee you won't find any post saying that, because that isn't my view.

Not sure that having half a litre of water to drink is the same thing as not wearing a seatbelt. Very strange logic.

@Artesia

How on Earth we all survived to adulthood without constantly swigging water bottles I will never know....

I know, it’s baffling! A friend posted holiday photos on Facebook and in one hand was her phone, and in the other, a water bottle! Every photo! 😂

Back in the good old days we didn’t have water with us all the time, we weren’t allowed! And we weren’t obese and hardly anyone was fat. Not a coincidence imho

It's not really been a surprise for my kids as our high school told us before the holidays all their plans for different types of returns and they made it clear that there would be no access to water fountains and no cooked meals available!
My two went back yesterday, dd forgot her water and ds drank his by break, both survived. Ds came home at lunch and refilled his bottle, luckily we live 2 minutes max from school so they are very lucky that they can do that. I bought both of them a second bottle yesterday so they can take enough to last the morning.

I went through my entire school life without having anything to drink other than at lunchtime. And not always then either.

I'm pretty sure they'll all survive one day.

I think. Water has. Zero/zilch/no calories do you think that has caused children to be fat bubbleybarbara water retention?

The Other day the Scots were all over the thread about the poor children going back to school in blazers when London was having a heatwave falling over themselves to pint out that it's never hot there, now the poor mites are suffering dehydration because they didnt have a drink for a couple of hours.

I'm also from the era where we didn't drink during the school day, bodies can't have changed so dramatically that it's now neglect to do the same. Literally millions of school days were survived without water up until the last decade or so comparing it to asbestos in schools is laughable.

Oi! I'm on both threads, but I'm not on the ops side in either!

I have no idea how those of us at school in the 1970s survived.
A drink at breakfast , stinky milk at break , a plastic cup of water ( or more from the time jug if you wanted ) and that was it till home time.

We didn't have water at my primary except from the foubtaibs at break. We all lived so I find it hard to get excited avout this!

@MsEllany

I was having a conversation with my mum about this. I don’t recall ever having a drink at school outside of lunch time when we got a plastic cup of water. Milk at morning break in infants. I’m sure on extremely hot days we would have been allowed a glug from the tap in the classroom, but I don’t recall us ever keeling over.

So no, I don’t feel as strongly as you do.

I was thinking this. When I was at school in the 60s we didn't drink all day. There was a beaker of water at lunchtime but they tasted of metal so I didn't have more than a sip. the toilets were outside with no washing facilities so maybe it was just as well.

I'm not against children having water in school, I'm sure it's a good thing but it is certainly the cause of a lot of messing about and time wasting.

I went to school in Australia. We were only allowed water at breaks, noone died.

I do remember a water fountain but it was rumoured children spat in it so I didn't use it.

...I allowed my bubble to refill their water bottle if they needed to, it usually tied in with when they washed their hands.
I’m confused about how this is an issue?! Children were doing it other bubbles too, so I definitely didn’t miss some procedure for refilling bottles. Maybe this is silly but I do think it’s wrong to not give the children water and not communicate it to parents, if I knew it was forecast to be really hot I would send a message home saying please bring two bottles.

I also don't ever remember having a drink at school ever on the 70s/80s apart from milk at morning break (which I didn't drink). There were water fountains but I never used them as Leon mistook them for the urinal.

I get that some children came out of school thirsty. The normal response to this is to send your child with two or even three water bottles the next day and maybe have a word with the tea her (and suggest a jug in the classroom for refills) not take to social media or go to the paper.