Does your DC primary school allow squash through a hot day?

[Neowwwm]

Sent my DC with a non- see through bottle with juice in today as since weaning and trying - DC has never drank plain water. Teacher removed the bottle stating water only in the day which will be provided with their own water bottles from school and juice only at lunch time.

AIBU or should this rule be relaxed during heatwaves?

One of my autistic DC never drank water. So there was an 'additional need' - the other of my autistic DC, who is now an adult, has only ever drank water, and obviously milk as a baby.

Why won't your child drink water? Unless additional needs, you just need to be encouraging this. Drinking squash all day is bad for their teeth, and too much sweetener brings problems of its own. My kids are fussy, and prefer juice/squash, but when they don't have a choice, they will drink water.

Water only here.

Surely flavoured water = squash?

If the teacher can smell it, it will be removed.

Water is usual - it’s pretty rare for a child to not drink water. If yours really won’t then you need to talk to school.

Clearly you know very little about it then. Many children with ASD, for example, will gag or make themselves sick if made to put something in their mouths that they cannot cope with.

If only I'd thought to tell my autistic child this, life would be so much easier. 🤦‍♀️

If there are additional needs OP, please tell the school. My child is autistic and will refuse plain water, HV said a little no added sugar squash is fine (he's not yet school age) as it's usually a case of squash or he won't drink, even on a hot day.

Your child, as a mammal, is genetically programmed to drink water 😉. That they prefer squash is not schools fault. Work on it at home.
Sugar free stuff is still full of crap and since there's pretty much no such thing as NHS dentistry anymore, they will thank you when they're older.

This.

These stupid rules make me laugh. I have 2 kids that dont like water, and 1 that will only drink water. Are the teachers only drinking water? Unlikely

I don’t drink water as I hate the taste and my son is the same, I give him watered down fresh apple juice in a coloured bottle. He also has ASD so in my opinion it’s a reasonable adjustment for him, Elsie ally as he would rather be dehydrated than touch water!

And all the people saying it's sticky when spilt, how much spillage is happening from a drinks bottle? Aren't most of them leak/spill proof?

My dc's primary school says only water. However the reception teacher says off the record that if children won't drink water then you can put in a small amount of squash. I don't know if they make allowances for children with special needs. I have 3 with autism but they are very keen on "rules" so would be horrified at the thought of drinking anything other than water at school.

If your children had never drunk anything other than water (and milk obviously), they'd drink water.

Water only. In fact both my kids prefer water as they got so used to it at school, and I think squash is a awful so never gave it to them at home.

Have you tried those water bottles with the flavour pods (think they’re called air up, or something)? My friend‘s autistic child uses them. It’s a scented ring that is placed round the nozzle to give the drinker the impression they are drinking something flavoured, but it’s actually just water. Works perfectly for him

My DC are happy to have water but this ‘water only’ rule is stupid.

What is stupid about it?

They're expensive but what about one of those airup bottles? Water but with a cartridge by your nose that makes you think its flavoured

Because if someone wants to drink squash they should be able to.

Honestly such a first world problem.

I doubt the children in parts of the world where they a forced to drink dirty water from a watering hole are fussy about added flavours, they would be grateful if it was at least clean!

Sugary additives are introduced to a childs diet by parents but are unnecessary, terrible for teeth and unhealthy. Schools are doing you a favour by not allowing anything but plain water throughout the day.

It really isn't a stupid rule.

I've had full bottles of squash spilled in a cloakroom that a member of support staff has had to spent an hour mopping and washing lunch boxes and rinsing out jumpers that had fallen on the floor.

I had squash spilled on the carpet which needed properly cleaning as when the children stood/sat on it they got all sticky.

I had a bottle of squash break and leak over a box of books that had to be then thrown away.

She hasn't said her child has additional needs. A thirsty child can drink water!

They can - outside of school. School is entitled to make rules for the benefit of the children. And it is to everyone’s benefit that our children are not fed a continuous diet of sugar. It’s just a shame that some parents are so woefully ignorant about their child’s needs.

I agree.

And just to add. Even if the bottle is not see through the kids sitting with him will know he's drinking a flavoured drink because of the smell and it's not fair on them because of course most of them would prefer the juice instead as it's a treat for them.

@MrsReeves you ever been in a classroom?

Water only usually they will drink it if they are thirsty and it's a good habit