To think it's primary school teacher's responsibility to ensure children drink during the day?

[LondonGrimmer]

Happy to be told otherwise. Child is in year 3. Frequently comes out pale, lethargic and today with stomach cramps. Transpires his full water bottle was still in his backpack so hadn't drank all day again (8.45 - 3.15) and he doesn't have a drink at lunch time either. He's an introvert who struggles with anxiety at times if that makes any difference.

Yes I have tried to explain to him the importance of staying hydrated and tell him he should try really hard to remember. I emailed the teacher last year and she said she'll try and remember to remind him (there are 23 kids in the class and one TA so I know they have their hands full).

Just frustrated and not sure if I'm being unreasonable?

YABU - your child is 7 or 8 and fully responsible for taking his water bottle out each day and remembering to drink.

YANBU - the teacher/TA should be helping more.

YABU but my 7yo is exactly the same so you have my sympathy. She won't drink unless we constantly nag her about it, and if we don't she'll end up with stomach cramps. It drives me mad, luckily her teacher has agreed to nudge her every now and then, which I'm extremely grateful for.

Y3 teacher here.

My class keep their water bottle next to their chair and, as long as they’re not messing about, they’re allowed to drink whenever they like. They’re allowed to fill up at break and lunch unless it’s empty because of a spill or forgetting to take it home.

I don’t have time to count bottles. During the register, I am busy checking which children are in, listening to them doing their times table fact and then looking at who is a dinner. The register would take forever if I was also checking the child has their water bottle next to them.

Part of my job is to nurture the children’s independence so I expect them to have a drink when they need one. I suggest it if they tell me they have a headache or a stomach ache but I can’t be reminding every child all day.

Those saying we never had drinks at school in the old days, we did have water fountains on the playground as well as water at lunchtime. Are there water fountains available op or have they been closed off due to corona? There were definitely water fountains when my kids were at primary school. The cups probably aren't really dirty at lunchtime. Could you get him to write on his hand that he needs to remember to get his water bottle?

@RandomLondoner

I find this post bizarre. People don't drink because they "remember" to drink, or someone reminds them. They drink because they are thirsty, and water is available.

I suppose it's possible for a particular child to have some peculiarity so it doesn't work the same way for them. But that means they have some special need that sets them apart from everyone else. The implication of the OP seems to be that it's perfectly normal to have to tell a child to drink.

I wonder if the teacher believed this was a real problem. when they got the email request.

You'd think this right? But apparently some of us have children with no self preservation skills at all, and who genuinely cannot (or will not) recognise when they are thirsty.

I can see your POV but I also know that it's hard to keep on track for a teacher.

I know with Ds we had the opposite. He was filling his bottle up all so teachers thought he wasn't drinking when in fact he drank loads and kept topping it up 😅 so they were keeping on track somewhat

I've had similar issues with Dd though. She won't drink enough at school. She does have sen though and I do ask if the ta can remind her to take a sip! She's never been affected by it though. I get more worried in the summer but I think she will drink more if she feels she needs to!

Definitely mention it again but I don't think you can expect teacher to keep on track but they could possible remind him to take a sip every so often.

This is why I think kids should be allowed weak squash if they aren't keen on water. I'd rather see a child drink weak squash than nothing at all.

I'm a TA. Of course we would try to remind them to drink but it's also really surprising how difficult it can be to get children to drink something even when we remember to remind them. I recall a yr1 child whose mum had asked us to remind him, which we did, and he would smile and say 'ok' then proceed to randomly stare around (yes he was actually holding his bottle at the time )

Year 3 (which I'm in now so I have a good idea of the age etc), it really depends on how much else is going on in the classroom I guess? We have one yr3 class which it would be easy to manage this, but another with quite a large range of SEN cases and someone who needs reminding to drink might slip between the cracks.

Maybe (in addition to whatever else anyone else has suggested) try sending a juice box in for break time so you know he's at least having that? We have a couple of children with Yakult and similar things for break.

Also if he were mine, I'd have him have a good drink in the morning before school as well because that would go some way to keeping him hydrated for a while.

your child is 7 or 8 and fully responsible for taking his water bottle out each day and remembering to drink.

about sums it up really!

@LondonGrimmer

I think it's the fact his bottle stays in his bag all day. It should be in the classroom. Not too hard to count 23 water bottles whilst doing the register, surely? (could even make it a fun job for one of the children to do).

Ok, I'll accept IABU

It doesn't work like that. Some have two or three because they forgot to take it home etc. others forgot theirs. Sorry - it's on your child.

Why don’t you buy Capri suns or some other treat drink that he would want to drink and pop one in his lunch box each day?

I'd give him a big drink before school (at the gate) and take the water bottle out of his bag himself.

If the cups at lunch time are dirty, you need to speak to the school directly about it. It could be something like clear plastic glasses getting cloudy or scratched in the dishwasher.

Don't know how I and anyone I went to school with managed to survive it, we typically had a small bottle of milk mid morning and a small glass of juice with lunch, I don't remember personally bringing bottles of water to school, nor do I remember anyone else ever doing it.

I used to work in Primary schools OP, ( only as a TA) but if a parent had come and asked I cannot think of a single teacher I worked with who wouldn't have given a moments thought as to how we could help. It might be a whole class reminder or more likely, I would have made sure his bottle was on the side and given him a gentle reminder during the day. I wouldn't have been surprised if it only took a couple of weeks to make a bit of a difference.
Children are all so different and grow up at such different rates. One of mine would have struggled with this kind of thing, so I get it. X

Could you suggest that he shadows a friend so whenever they drink, he does too?

The trouble is with 30 children in a class, a very full curriculum and very few TAs, it is logistically difficult to remember all the things that pare rs want you to remind their DC of. There will be Ben who needs to drink his water, Jane who has to remember to get her glasses out when she is working at her table, Sam who needs to go to the toilet before each break time. As a teacher I always do my best to remind the children of things that parents have asked, but there is an awful lot going on when you are responsible for 30 children. If you want him to drink reliably, the best way will be to find ways that encourage him to do it himself. I like the stickers idea upthread.

@Duxiejhrhrvjz

Why don’t you buy Capri suns or some other treat drink that he would want to drink and pop one in his lunch box each day?

Because, if it’s anything like my school, he won’t be allowed to drink anything too sugary.

As the teacher, I would remind him if you asked me to but I would suggest you give it to him in his hand each morning as lots of others have suggested.

If the cups at lunchtime are dirty, I would either speak to the head about it, or send him in with a lunchbox/drink.

We had the same problem, the school tried but it made no difference. We just tried to make sure she drank plenty at home. We switched to sparking water at home which she prefers.

To be honest so, it sounds like an extreme reaction if your son is so unwell after not drinking for a few hours.

@LondonGrimmer

I think it's the fact his bottle stays in his bag all day. It should be in the classroom. Not too hard to count 23 water bottles whilst doing the register, surely? (could even make it a fun job for one of the children to do).

Ok, I'll accept IABU

Are you actually kidding?

Those saying we never had drinks at school in the old days, we did have water fountains on the playground as well as water at lunchtime.

We didn’t. We had a rancid bottle of milk in the morning, and cups for water at lunch if we wanted. There were no water fountains until we got to high school.

@LondonGrimmer

I think it's the fact his bottle stays in his bag all day. It should be in the classroom. Not too hard to count 23 water bottles whilst doing the register, surely? (could even make it a fun job for one of the children to do).

Ok, I'll accept IABU

Well, there’s your answer. Retrain and become a perfect teacher. It sounds very easy

We have water breaks, just before playtime, after playtime, after lunch playtime and afternoon break. I also make sure they all have their water bottles on the table at lunchtime and remind them to drink.

Sometimes I'll find one or two don't have anything, and will explain the reasons why it's so important to have a drink. We do try.

Yanbu. My dd now in her teens v anxious, she wouldn't have dared get her water bottle out without being prompted by teacher/ta. Maybe ask if they can have designated water times for you child start of playtime etc so they have a specific time to drink?

I have to say that whilst I would help-your post title is very misleading. No, I don’t think in general that it’s MY responsibility to ensure that my class drink enough water. Their water bottles are on the side-there are regular opportunities to drink from them-if they choose not to, unless there is a medical/additional need, I don’t see it as my job to remind individuals to keep drinking. If there is, then our senco does a medical care plan.

If your post title said, ‘AIBU to ask my 8 year old sons teacher to remind him to drink because he has unusual reactions to going without water’, that would be different.

School's job is to dumb children down and make them good wage slaves to prop up the debt-based economy. Drinking water plays no part in that, as long as they are alive and can come to class.

Fecks sake. Every SINGLE parent rep meet I was ever in had that parent insisting that their kid either didn’t drink enough, wasn’t allowed to drink enough, wasn’t helped to drink enough or was being starved at school in some way.
It thankfully drops off a bit beyond year 2/P3.
Tell your kid to drink water. That’s all you can do.
If they don’t it really isn’t up to a teacher to try to monitor your child’s consumption.