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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To create a fuss about my son not having access to water today in school

292 replies

Icantfeelmyface · 19/06/2025 21:58

Hello .
My 8 year old son is a bit of a fidgeter, and has difficulty with keeping still . He has a replacement teacher for the past 6 weeks and he has struggled with various issues relating to her " shouting at him all the time " and him feeling picked on everyday no matter what he does .. won't get into the detail but meeting was held and she reassured me that this wasn't the case and she works on praise as well .. .. he told me after the meeting the teacher said in front of the class " why you telling your mum that I'm picking on you "?... Decided to leave things and move on... However today he comes home from school and tells me he had no water the whole day as the teacher said he was fidgeting too much with his bottle and told him to put it away from the table . All the other kids had their bottles on their table . He has said he had a few sips at lunch time and then nothing until after school club at 4 pm 😳
Am I being unreasonable to email the head teacher ?

OP posts:
Sofiewoo · 19/06/2025 22:00

Surely if he only had a few sips at lunch he wasn’t actually thirsty?
There’s like 3 hours between lunch and 4pm,
it’s really not that long to go without a stream of constant sipping.

Wowzel · 19/06/2025 22:00

Why didn't he have a proper drink at break time and lunch time?

Was he thirsty?

Neodymium · 19/06/2025 22:01

yes you are being unreasonable.

he was fidgeting with it so it was moved. He had access to it at lunch. He obviously wasn’t thirsty as he only had a few sips.

all the other kids have it on the table cause they know how to sit still and no play with it.

RobertaFirmino · 19/06/2025 22:02

We didn't have water bottles when I was at school and I didn't die of dehydration. Not even once.

Soontobe60 · 19/06/2025 22:02

If he had been thirsty, he would have had more than a few sips at lunch time wouldn't he? And if he hadn’t been fiddling with his water bottle, he wouldn’t have had to move it. He’s 8, not 4. He should know better.

SailingWonder · 19/06/2025 22:02

What’s the problem? What do you think will happen to him if he doesn't have access to water for a couple of hours.

Yes, I know it hot, but he will be fine.

LadyWiddiothethird · 19/06/2025 22:03

Well I live and learn,since when did children have water with them in the classroom!Bloody ridiculous.

KarolKickie · 19/06/2025 22:03

Yes you are being unreasonable

theotherdown · 19/06/2025 22:04

I’m reading this totally differently to the title, to be honest.

There is a massive difference between ‘if you can’t stop crackling / bashing / messing about with your bottle it will have to go away’ and ‘you may not drink.’

RightSaidFrederica · 19/06/2025 22:04

Was he thirsty?

If so, tomorrow he might be less of a pain in the neck.

EdithStourton · 19/06/2025 22:05

Long, long ago (1970s and 1980s) we used to go from 9am till break, from break till lunch and from lunch till we got home after school with nothing to drink. We were offered a drink at break and lunch, and if you didn't like what was on offer, you didn't get any options. No bottles on our desks.

We survived the mild discomfort of occasional moderate thirst.

If he was being a pain and faffing about with his bottle, it was probably distracting all the DC around him. I can understand why the teacher took it away.

Pricelessadvice · 19/06/2025 22:05

What’s this obsession with children needing water on them constantly? Adults aswell actually!
We weren’t allowed drinks in lessons at school. Even in summer and heat waves. We could drink at break and lunch. We all survived.

Han86 · 19/06/2025 22:06

Where I work children don't keep drinks on the table (spillage risk) and only get them freely at break and lunch. If they ask they are allowed to get their drink and have some at an appropriate time, many of whom don't if they have had a big drink at the end of lunch and are fine til after school.

BingoBling · 19/06/2025 22:06

He just needs to ensure he drinks a breaktimes surely? Does he need a constant supply of water at home?

As pp said we didn't have water bottles at school. Just weird metal beakers at lunchtime.

Shenmen · 19/06/2025 22:06

I know it's a cliche but have you done the ADHD checklist sounds a possibility?

theotherdown · 19/06/2025 22:07

Tbf the ‘we survived’ comments are true but I do remember being very thirsty a lot of the time as a child. And it has been very hot today. But kids dicking around with bottles is one of my most hated things.

Beautifulspringsunshine · 19/06/2025 22:07

Has he been assessed for ADHD?

Shenmen · 19/06/2025 22:07

The teacher sounds very unprofessional in regards to the comments he said she made.

Iwontlethtesungodownonme · 19/06/2025 22:08

EdithStourton · 19/06/2025 22:05

Long, long ago (1970s and 1980s) we used to go from 9am till break, from break till lunch and from lunch till we got home after school with nothing to drink. We were offered a drink at break and lunch, and if you didn't like what was on offer, you didn't get any options. No bottles on our desks.

We survived the mild discomfort of occasional moderate thirst.

If he was being a pain and faffing about with his bottle, it was probably distracting all the DC around him. I can understand why the teacher took it away.

And the drink on offer in the morning break was the little bottle of full fat milk that had been left on the school steps in the full sun all morning 🤢🤢🤢

Navigatinglife100 · 19/06/2025 22:08

Tell him to stop messing with his water bottle and he can have it on his desk like every other child.

And remind him a drink at breaks is actually perfectly adequate so he doesn't need to worry about dehydration. We tested that for him in all the years pre 1990.

ExtraOnions · 19/06/2025 22:08

In the 80s you got a carton of Kia-Ora or Vimto from the tuck shop, at break time … we all survived

Navigatinglife100 · 19/06/2025 22:09

Iwontlethtesungodownonme · 19/06/2025 22:08

And the drink on offer in the morning break was the little bottle of full fat milk that had been left on the school steps in the full sun all morning 🤢🤢🤢

Show quote history

It's was yuk!

fitnessmummy · 19/06/2025 22:11

My concern would be more about the teacher saying why have you told your mum about me!

CrackOnThen · 19/06/2025 22:11

YABU, My kids went to school in Australia. They didn’t have water bottles in their classrooms. There were water fountains in the playground and they had a drink at recess and lunchtime.

What do you expect the teacher to do if he won’t stop messing about with his water bottle? What’s the solution?

Alltheyellowbirds · 19/06/2025 22:13

EdithStourton · 19/06/2025 22:05

Long, long ago (1970s and 1980s) we used to go from 9am till break, from break till lunch and from lunch till we got home after school with nothing to drink. We were offered a drink at break and lunch, and if you didn't like what was on offer, you didn't get any options. No bottles on our desks.

We survived the mild discomfort of occasional moderate thirst.

If he was being a pain and faffing about with his bottle, it was probably distracting all the DC around him. I can understand why the teacher took it away.

We didn’t get a drink at break either. We drank at meals - breakfast, lunch, tea. I don’t remember once being thirsty in class.

Not saying that was right or better, just that generations of kids survived before portable water bottles were invented and suddenly had to be carried at all times. I promise your son will be ok.

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