To think most parents don’t do this

[Skyismylimit]

Out with my DD and my friend and her DD today. My friend froze her DD’s water bottle so it will last most of the day. When she asked why I didn’t freeze my DD’s I just said “I didn’t think of that” and then my friend went on to say “most parents freeze their DC’s water bottles in this weather. AIBU to think most parents don’t do this?

I’m glad we live in a society where we can keep hydrated. Nothing worse than being hot and thirsty.

We weren't allowed to take drinks to school either (unless it was holiday camp) but we did have access to water fountains (secondary) or squash and biscuits at break (primary).

Children (and adults, but especially children) should always have access to water or liquid, especially when it's hot, and when I went on family days out, my parents always brought plenty of water or made sure we went to via shops/cafes to buy drinks.

Being permanently dehydrated isn't actually a good thing!

you fill half lie it on side in freezer then fill the rest with fridge cold water just before you go out.

I was at primary school in the 80s and we didn’t take water bottles to primary or secondary school. There were water fountains dotted around instead.

I was doing this from 1984 onwards.

I’m a 60s baby, not sure I even purchased an individual bottle of water until the 80s. We had those fountains in playgrounds (can just imagine the horror of mums now if that’s all their wains had).

@Skyismylimit no one took food or drinks into school it just wasn't something that was done in the 1970s. People didn't snack between meals in general despite being more physically active, there wasn't anything you could have taken a drink in really, water bottles didn't exist! Fizzy drinks were usually bought once a week from a van in a bottle that was for the family

@maddiemookins16mum I can't even remember water fountains though there might have been some. I think you just cupped your hands under the cold tap 😂 or waited until lunchtime

I used to freeze yoghurts- those ones in a tube and cartons of drink
if you put them in lunchboxes they defrost by lunchtime and are still cool

My kids ask for this for their school water bottles when it is really hot. We half fill them and pop the in the freezer over night then top up with water in the morning.

I never did it when they were tiny though - didn't acure to me to do it.

No I've never done this for me or either of my kids. They have normal bottles of water and I just keep them in the shade wherever we are. My oh however always freezes bottles which I find annoying as you can't drink them until they're partly defrosted. I don't like drinking ice cold water anyway

I don't understand the comments about the water 'lasting them' to suggest freezing it makes it last longer or it takes them longer to drink. How is that a good thing? You want them to drink as much as possible, surely?

When we were in Florida on holiday we used to do this - meant the water stayed cool all day.

DS does it with his lunch, takes his frozen bottle out before he leaves for school and it keeps his food clothes as it melts through the morning.

My friend froze her DD’s water bottle so it will last most of the day
This is what I mean. Stay cool longer I totally understand, but doing it so it takes longer to actually be drinkable or something? Defeats the purpose of bringing water along, surely?!

I freeze a bottle to go in DDs lunch box for summer camp, it keeps her food cold and defrosts enough to be cold water by lunch.

I fill a bottle half way and freeze that then top it up in the morning as her morning drink, so it's like having a bottle of water with ice cubes in but I don't have to try to squish ice cubes through the neck of the bottle.

I’m not organised enough to be freezing water bottles. I would ignore your friend. I have never seen any of my childrens friends with a frozen water bottle. Much easier just to get an insulated one and run water till it’s really cold from the tap and fill. The water stays cold all day and is nice and refreshing.

I don’t but only because the DC have insulated metal bottles that I half fill with ice cubes from the freezer

I've never done it for my kids, but see parents do it for theirs. I'm Not sure why you'd want one bottle of ice to last all day. It's the kids can't get any liquid out for hours. I'm currently running a holiday club. None of the parents freeze the bottles and we have fresh water to refill their bottle multiple times a day in this weather.

Well it's easy of your friend to think of these things as she's got at least 50% of the world's parents to advise her.

I honestly don't understand your friend's attitude. We freeze water bottles if the DC are at an activity or something so that they can take a normal insulated bottle (with cold water from fridge) in it and then the frozen one for later in the day, but I wouldn't think twice if someone else DIDN'T do that? I mean, everyone has their preferred system surely!?

DD likes it if I make "ice water" and then pour that into her bottle with the bits of ice floating around. Lots of her friends get this before school, hence her liking it.

I freeze my DDs drink bottles but I only freeze half or 3/4 and then top it up with cold water in the morning so they can drink straight away.
i come from a hot country and my mum always froze our drinks in the summer, and also wrapped it in a tea-towel to keep it cooler as well.

My school has had to tell a couple of parents not to freeze their children’s water bottles because of the condensation going everywhere, but thankfully most have more common sense.

It's something my mum always did for me, I'm not always so organised but I do it when I remember, freeze half a bottle and top it up with water in the morning for DD. Or we have the long ice cube molds for metal water bottles that I'll use instead.

Some of the kids in my class do this. All you hear on hot days is the loud crunch and clatter of ice being shaken around a bottle/whacked on the desk to melt it into drinkable water.

Each to their own and all that, but iced bottles are more faff than they're worth IMO.

@ClocksGoingBackwards Ridiculous! Rather than asking them to give them a tissue/cloth ban cold drinks! I know of a school that cut down a beautiful old cherry tree because they were worried that the berries would poison the children!