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

[Icantfeelmyface]

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 ?

Precisely.

Tell me you’re not a teacher without telling me you’re not a teacher.

Put me off milk for life 🤢

He was probably being a pain with his water bottle. At 8 he will be aware when he can have a drink and water does not need to be on the desk.
teacher bashing again! Do you really believe that a teacher would deny a child a drink!!!!

I think your son has a great imagination and you think he always tells the truth.

He did have access to water, he had access at lunch time when he chose to drink very little, and he had access during lessons when he chose to dick around with his bottle and it was removed. So two good chances for water and he blew them both. Never mind, he'll know what to do and what not to do next time if he wants to be able to have a drink.
To quote the Grail Knight, 'he chose poorly'.

I always need a drink next to me. I can't focus without it. I notice in meetings I'm often the only one with a drink. Staying hydrated is important and denying access to water is inhumane. Sounds like this isn't about water though, it's about the teacher. Bringing up that private meeting in front of the whole class is out of order.

Maybe but you can't focus and concentrate when you are dehydrated.

In our school the pupils keep their bottles on the side and drink when needed. I’d be very surprised if the teacher didn’t allow him a drink, it sounds like she just asked him to put it somewhere safe.

Part of your job as a teacher is to look after their welfare or pass it on to classroom assistant.

I can't drink milk because our milk was put against a radiator and we were made to drink it. I was very sick afterwards and I haven't drank milk by itself since. When I was in hospital having my oldest this midwife said I had to drink the milk because I was being sick and milk would help, I told her I couldn't drink it or I would be sick again. Drank the milk as she was standing over me and was promptly sick on her shoes. If I drink milk it tastes she smells like the farm manure smell.

Your child was not denied water. Your child couldn’t sit with the bottle on the table without it causing issues so rather than your child getting repeatedly told off, the teacher moved it so your child and those around them could get on with their work.
Water bottles are a pain in the neck and I don’t blame the teacher for saying he couldn’t have it on his table. The other managed to not mess about with their water bottles and could keep them on their tables. Actions have consequences.
Only a few sips of water at lunch time was his decision.

You can email the head teacher but what a waste of time for them. Speak to your child about not fiddling with the bottle instead and then it won’t be a problem.

If water was that important to him he could have just behaved himself.

when i was p1 many years ago I loved cold milk. The blooming nuns used to bring the crate in in the winter and put it in front of the fire so it was warm and going off before we got it. Never ever will forgive them.

I survived the summer of 76 without access to water bottle in the classroom. We all did.

Sounds like he was being a distraction / was playing with his water bottle instead of focusing on his learning. He had water before school, at break, at lunch and after school so I’m sure he’ll survive. Complain if you want to but nothing will come of it.

Water bottles just another thing for teachers to manage. If they weren't being squeezed soaking children, sucked on like babies bottles, flipped in the air or children asking out to refill them during teaching they were being knocked over ruining kids work, art etc. Or the best 1 leaking water bottles in the bag that ruined everything in it. I stopped allowing them on desks they were in a box in class children could grab them after finishing a task, at break or lunch and no one complained

Tbh, I wouldn’t bother asking. Most (not all) of the women who pass comment on mumsnet appear to be extremely bitchy, they’re like trolls scouting out a post to be nasty about! Stick to you trusted friends and family for advice. I only registered to post this to you. xx 😊

Well said! I'm astonished at some replies.

It’s 30 degrees. As a paediatrician I am horrified a school would deny kids water due to fidgeting. They’re primary school kids of course they fidget. We’ve had kids admitted with heat stroke the past few days.
Please ignore all the people who say in their day abusing kids with dehydration was encouraged and advocate for your child. I would also raise it with school safeguarding

He wasn't denied it, he was just stopped from having it on his desk as he was faffing about with it and disrupting the class. Perfectly sensible.

Is that a fact?

According to op, yes. She says he was told to put it away from the table. Many schools don't allow bottles at tables as work would be constantly ruined.

I would imagine he would have access to his water bottle at break time and lunch time (he only had a few sips at lunch time.)
Clearly he wasn’t that thirsty but chose to make it an issue of it when he got home.

I started school in 1960. We had water in green plastic breakers poured from a metal jug at lunchtime. Nobody brought water to school. There was milk at break, bits of ice of it in winter, then left by the stove to go off.
We all were, apparently, fine on this regime but looking back it seems very strange …