Juice in school

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My DD’s teacher is being very combative about her taking juice to school (primary) in a clear drinking bottle. He says it’s against school healthy eating standards, but if she brings it in a non clear bottle it’s fine! She brings a very healthy lunch and has perfect teeth. She is also very sporty . She point blank refuses to drink water. Yet others in her class bring crisps and chocolate and nothing is said .
AIBU to stick with the (new) clear bottle?
i dislike petty rules that have no bearing on her education ! Especially when the rules are not enforced for others !

Have you even met children? Of course they make the most godawful mess, even with the best water bottles in the world.

And of course school lunches need to be better. However, we have to start somewhere!

Although these threads show us that even if we had the most nutritious three Michellin star school meals, there would be parents rioting at the lack of chicken nuggets.

It really isn't. It cotains a lot of sugar and should be diluted 1 part juice to 4 parts water.

You can start diluting it slowly so she doesn't notice and her taste buds will adapt gradually.

When my now husband first moved in, he would not drink undiluted orange juice and it was costing a lot of money. I asked him to dilute it and he said he would rather not have anything. However, I persisted and now he can't drink undiluted juice as it is far too sweet.

I just popped on here to add that when I worked in a sports centre the biggest problem we had with the beautiful and expensive sprung wooden basketball court was that people splilled fizzy drinks and juice on it.
Let me tell you both have a huge amount of sugar and other things in them which literally stripped the varnish off the floor!
I stopped drinking both until the image of those dried black messes faded from my memory. Honestly both as bad as each other they dry black and they strip varnish think what that does to a child's stomach and intestines. Or yours.

The school rule is 'water only'.
The teacher is willing to turn a blind eye because they have so much more shit to be dealing with.
If it's very obviously juice/squash in a clear bottle they have to say something.
Stop being so ridiculously defiant, get a new bottle or give your child flavoured water. If you're so concerned your child is anxious about breaking the rules enforce the 'water only' rule. You can't have it both ways. Save your ire for something important.

It’s not about the juice it’s about the hypocrisy of saying you can’t have juice it’s against school standards. But if you put it on a non clear bottle it’s fine! What is that teaching our children?

The hypocrisy has only arisen because they are trying to keep your face straight because you are already whining after a week at school and they cba dealing with you. They have been down this path before of ruined kids and indulgent parents saying their children “can’t” follow the rules and must have them bent so they are bending them. You don’t want them bent because it’s hypocritical and teaches your dd to be sneaky - fair enough, I wouldn’t want my kid thinking she can do what she likes one week into school either. Stop bending the rules and send her with water and your problem disappears. She can’t have juice - it’s against the rules. They don’t want 10 parents in tomorrow saying “I don’t want my kid mithering me for juice, why is Princess Furbar swigging juice in class?” So they were willing to compromise so your kid can break the rule without winding everyone up but you aren’t happy with that so don’t do it.

Buy a non clear bottle

What, exactly, is the issue with just getting her a non clear bottle? Such a non issue.

To be fair, there’s plenty of ‘looks like plain water’ fruit drink options if the OP’s daughter won’t change her bottle. Bet half the class are already doing that.

I don’t think I’d make an issue out of this and have a confrontation with the teacher so near the start of term. Just get a different bottle. Less likely to make other kids want juice if their parents are sticking with water.

Schools in England get far too involved in parenting decisions. Totally ridiculous.

Exactly- I cannot comprehend that we’re in a situation where anyone “won’t drink water”.

It’s like saying “I don’t like air, I have to breathe specially scented air” - except scented air wouldn’t be bad for you!

This

Accept the compromise of the opaque bottle or follow the rule of water only. This is not a hill to die on. It's not even a hill.

The teacher is not obliged to offer this compromise, it is not a medical/ additional needs reason to require a reasonable adjustment. The teacher is offering a simple solution that gives everyone a quieter life, something that can be too rare in life, but is valuable.

Water bottles in schools (or everywhere else!) is a relatively recent thing. Through my 80s-90s school years, fluid intake was a small cup of water at lunch and possibly a few gulps from the fountain in the toilets. It was a standard set up. 30 years on, there isn't an epidemic of middle-aged people with failing kidneys.

DS is autistic. He doesn't want to drink in school because he doesn't want to use toilets in school, or carry the weight and bulk of a bottle. He drinks a small cup in the morning and drinks well in the evenings. He's fine. Most healthy people don't need to to be permanently sipping all day every day.

@MinervaMcGonagallsCat it’s a school rule, simple as that. Along with uniform, start time, break time, end time, queueing up for things, not hitting each other etc etc. If you don’t like it, home school your child. Or alternatively, thank your lucky stars you have a nice teacher who’s prepared to give you a way of having what you want without him/her having to object.

Bizarrely OP still isn’t happy.

Some people, I am one, don't like water. Some water in fact makes me thirsty. For water to hydrate us it needs electrolytes in it. Tap water has been stripped of its natural minerals and electrolytes.

We had the opposite problem - when DC were at primary school, they weren't allowed to bring in the coloured bottles that I had unknowingly bought them, in case they were bringing in squash in disguise! I had to buy new clear ones, as like the OP's DD they hated to break rules. We never had squash at home, or sent to school, they both drink water most of the time now, but love a fizzy drink given half the chance.

Doesn't matter how sporty a child is if they don't drink water? they're constantly dehydrated.

He's being lenient, accept the compromise and put in a coloured bottle. Or better yet send water.

it’s not about the juice , it’s about a teacher teaching my child it’s okay to bend rules as long as no one knows about it . She is an anxious child and she doesn’t want to be doing something she shouldn’t do 🥂. It has never been an issue before but this year it seems to be a problem

This doesn't make sense, she doesn't want to be doing something she shouldn't but she is bringing juice in which is against the official 'rules'. Which in your mind is somehow fine if it's in a clear bottle as it's obvious she's breaking the rules but not okay to be a bit more discreet and have it in a non clear water bottle so other children don't start asking why it is okay for your child to have juice but not them.

So, to summarize, you are okay with your DD being a rule breaker but only if it's out in the open? The teacher is trying to be accommodating to your child as obviously they do not want your child distressed by not drinking all day but they understandably don't want to open the flood gates unnecessarily to others who are not having the same issues. It's perfectly reasonable as a compromise

Remember everyone juice is a gateway drug 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Oh definitely just buy a different bottle - not a battle worth fighting! I have one dd who happily drinks water and takes it in a transparent bottle - the other really doesn't like the taste of water so takes no added sugar squash in an opaque bottle. Works fine for them, they both stay hydrated, and no headache for the teachers!

I feel so sorry for teachers with parents trying to overrule them.
The teacher is agreeing to the juice as long as it is not in a clear bottle.
Has it not entered your mind that the reason you are being asked to do this is so that other children will not see the juice in the bottle! Every other child in the class will then be wanting to bring juice in instead of water.

Do what you want. I don’t care, but you started the thread. Doctors recommend giving babies and young children water to drink. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-guidelines-and-food-labels/water-drinks-nutrition/

If you give your child water from birth then they will not think twice about drinking water. There’s nothing not to like about water.

You’re not supposed to have fruit juice for every drink though. The same way you can’t have fruit for every meal. Water is the basic sustenance for life. It cleans your kidneys, hydrates your skin etc.

YABU! You failed to get your child to drink water. I didn't. It's not fair that my child should feel like they are missing out. So get a suitable bottle or give them water. They aren't going to die of dehydration in 6 hours!

Quite frankly, you are lucky they allow it at all. Kicking up a fuss is a complete and utter waste of the teachers time. Do you have any idea the amount of nonsense they deal with in a day!

Were you mostly given water to drink as a child?