NC for this in case ExH/Ex-PILs are on here.
DD is 6, year 2. Has some additional needs but is at a mainstream school.
Chatting last week to her teacher and ExH was also there (zoom parents evening – its odd for him though usually he ignores school stuff). I mentioned I’d noticed DD bringing her water bottle home still 3/4s full and asked what DDs drinking at school.
Teacher says she’s never seen DD drink from the water bottle but she doesn’t appear dehydrated. Teacher said knowing DD as she does she’s probably a child who drinks in a routine i.e. she drinks when doing specific things rather than when she’s thirsty. Which makes sense to me, they offer milk or water with the school dinner (which DD loves) and she often says she’s had milk but can’t remember when, also DD is very routine focused, she thrives on a structure – she very rarely at home asks for a drink but that might be because everytime I have one I offer plus she gets one with meals etc without me even really thinking about it. Teacher has said she will remind all the children that they can have a drink when they want one but she can’t do more than that as there’s no specific concern about DD drinking.
ExH has decided that school are preventing her from drinking water and that he’s going to the GP to prove how harmful this is. He wants me to remind DD every morning to finish all her water and wants me to make her drink it at the end of the day if she’s not finished. He says if I don’t support him he will use it as evidence that DD is “unsafe” with me.
DD likes water, milk and of course squash and juice, no-ones ever mentioned it being a problem when I take her to appointments. She’s a healthy weight, below average height but that’s one of her conditions causing that. I asked her teacher about it to see if she’d noticed it but I am reassured that it’s just DD (I am also certain that had the teacher noticed it was an issue she’d have raised it with me before now!). She appears to drink more in the summer when it’s warmer but at a guess with milk at lunchtime, milk on her cereal and water with breakfast, tea and in her water bottle at school she drinks about the right amount.
She doesn’t appear to be thirsty or dehydrated but I only have DD so don’t really have any other children to compare to her.
To add context ExH only sees her for 1 night EOW usually but due to his own –excuses—circumstances he only has her EO Saturday for a few hours at the moment.
So what will the GP do? And will they be bothered about a child appearing to not drink much at school?