To ask what you think to this school new rule?

[Redsatin109]

Just heard from other parents that apparently they’ll be reducing the amount of water y2 and upwards can have next year. So limiting the amount of times they can access their water bottle. This is because they’re only allowed to go to the toilets at breaks/lunch and it’s to limit toileting accidents in the classroom.

This
(sensible headteachers will set different rules for heat waves).

But drinking to a schedule prevents you feeling randomly thirsty 🤨

As an adult I drink a lot more than some other people. When I didn’t yesterday, I became dizzy and felt terrible. We all have different tolerances. Especially in very humid weather. Children should not have access to water restricted. We didn’t know as much about this when we were younger. Now we know how important it is to drink.

It’s fine to have rules about having a non-spill bottle, no air ups etc. anything to make a teacher’s life easier. Our teachers manage perfectly well in our primary school with water bottles in the classroom. Most people don’t drink enough. It is not a helpful rule in instil in children - metered access to water. Works for some, will not work for others.

When I invigilated exams, I used to warn students not to guzzle too much water because what goes in has to come out.

I remember one student who wasted a full 30 minutes of a three hour exam going to the loo.

Don’t be ridiculous!

They can drink plenty of water before school, during school breaks during the day and after school.

Still no science…

Our school limits it to a certain degree. The children have to put their water bottles on a trolley and if a child is thirsty during a lesson they have to put their hand up and ask if they can get a drink. The only exception to this is when it’s very hot. Tbh I don’t blame them. Constant access to water bottles would probably mean kids fiddling with them, knocking them over, spilling them and with some bottles containing squash, that means sticky desks and floors. Just general low level disruption.

I hesitate to post this-but does anyone feel a little uncomfortable focussing on our privileged developed world children’s constant access to water (which is absolutely not a “science thing”) when 450m children worldwide do not have access to to clean drinking water?
And, yes I know some children have a medical need…..

Lessons are pretty short in infant school. Maths for my year one class is generally about 45 mins. And no they don't need a drink in that time. They can drink to their hearts content at break just before and lunch just after. But during that 45 mins they need to be concentrating and not pissing about with a bottle. Because none of them bring in normal bottles they've all got stupid spraying ability or charms hanging off or fancy unscrewing lids so they can be knocked over and spilt. It almost as if parents want to make the bottles as annoying and distracting as humanly possible. And they don't label them with their names so kids with identical bottles fall out and argue. And kids with fancy bottles cry when they lose them.

We never needed water all the time. I agree with above.

Perhaps the posters whose little darlings couldn't possibly manage a short while without a drink would like to answer that one

Education doesn't matter more than health, and as for those commenting "we didn't in my day" well that's what progress is. We used to have kids up chimneys and workhouses, no sanitation or clean water thankfully previous generations where happy to move on from "we didn't in my day".
eric.org.uk/schools-and-nurseries/

But it's healthier for children not to constantly sip drinks so having specific times at regular intervals is the best of both worlds.

Except you seem to think there are these free times to do this. They have to walk the corridors in silence, not be late when transferring to lessons, have limited breaks, many don't even have time to go to the toilet (if they are lucky enough to be unlocked). They are so regimented in how they have to behave. Kids should be treated humanely and not as if they are in prison camps.

None of those things apply to the 7 year olds this thread is about

The ERIC website recommends 3-4 cups of water during school time. Before school, break, lunch and after school. Nobody has a problem with that.

But it still applies to secondary schools regardless of this particular thread.

Before and after school is not during school. It also states

• Open access to drinks unless this is clearly inappropriate, for example, in science or computer laboratories
• Provision of easily accessible water fountains or taps to top-up water bottles
• Encouraging learners to bring their own water bottles in from home, or providing water bottles in school.

Kids are already not drinking enough because schools don't allow them access to toilets.

It doesn’t say schools should specifically do all those things. It says “Schools should consider how they could facilitate good drinking habits among all their learners. This may include:….”

And, unless I’ve missed it, there’s no research backing that leaflet up either.

Clearly you mean some secondary schools, for whatever reason you hold very extreme views, the majority of schools are not prison camps, you dont actually believe that do you?

Yes I do. There are more and more posts where kids are wetting themselves in class/bleeding through because they are not being allowed to use the toilet. There are news reports celebrating 'the strictest heads/schools'. This is a growing culture and it is frankly awful.

What a strange response - why would it 'specifically' state exactly how to do it? Restricting access to water isn't going to help though. It also doesn't specifically state when kids can use the toilet but presumably they should also be allowed to when needed too.

Where are these posts about kids wetting themselves in class and bleeding through?

We would have a glass of water with lunch, and that was it. There was no water at break time, and anyway, the toilets were not open at break times. If you have not drunk anything since breakfast you can easily go through to.lunchtime.