In refusing to send DCs to school with plastic water bottles?

[MadameCastafiore]

Right may be a bit long winded but here we go.

DCs have a new head at their school and a couple of months ago were sent home with really shite plastic bottles with sports caps which we were told had to be used for them to drink water in class - now I refused - the bottles were made of the same plastic you buy evian, you couldn't put them in the dishwasher to clean them and IMO you can never get a sports cap properly clean and the ones on these bottles were really soft plastic which after they had been chewed a couple of times (which all kids do I think) they looked grotty and really filthy.

Anyway fast forward to DCs getting in trouble for not having these bottles - I worte to the head and told him about the crappness of the plastic and the fact that they were made of a type of plastic that was not meant to be used over and over again and I said my kids would be using their sig bottles due to the fact that they were easy to clean, did not have sports caps (a urologist I spoke to said sports caps are vile and harbour germs and he told all of his kidney patients not to use them but to sip straight from the bottle) and they were made of metal which did not leach chemicals into the water (don't want my kids drinking from bottles which leach chemicals that mimic oestrogen into the water they are going to drink) and they were not see through so sunlight and heat wouldn;t affect the water and make bacteria multiply if the bottles were not properly cleaned.

He then fought a bit and last week they were selling new bottles (because the first one was free after that you have to pay £1.50 if you lose or break them), new bottles that are made out of a different kind of plastic and can go in the dishwasher but they still have sports caps.

The headmaster says that the bottles have to be see through so he can be sure we are not sending the kids to school with juice or fizzy drink (doh flavoured water is what most of DSs friends have in theirs which nulifies the point to some degree!) I said I am quite happy for him to check the DCs bottles and to make sure it is just water or I am happy to send them in with empty bottles which they will fill up from the water fountain at school.

Now do you think I am making a big thing out of nothing, I do think it is silly to kick off about lots of little things but it grates on me that this man does not trust us enough to do the best for our children and I know some parents don't but really this level of control is a little purile IMO. DSs teacher hasn;t said anything else to him after the first few times but DDs teacher is on her case telling her she muct have this see through bottle.

Can he make us use them is something I would also like answered?

Thank you for taking the time to read my ranty essay.

In my DC's school there is a jug of water on the side and cups for anyone who wants a drink. I think water bottles are a complete faff.

Sorry - no help to you re your problem though

I imagine the requirement for sports caps is to prevant major spillages.

Can't see his problem - he is a control freak. The metal bottles do not lose their seal as quickly either. Any plaxtic bottles dcs have had start to leak after a while.

The metal sig bottles have a twist cap that do not leak.

Can he make us use them is something I would also like answered?

No he can't make you use or endorse a certain style of bottel - he can't make you buy the bottle from school either as this is not allowed - you have freedom of choice.

I had a similar problem with UTI's as my dd2 was being given a bad mark if she went to the loo in class time.

i worte to the head and the governers and stated that punishing a child who could likely become ill form not using the loo was not fair and if they continued to do this bad mark then I would take further action against the school if my child become ill as it wasn't fair.

The school stopped all punishment. They hadn't undersood what they were doing would cause a child to become ill.

TBH I would do the same write and explain and copy the letter to the governes and explain you will let your dc do this but if thsi effedcts your childs kidney to will take further action against the school.

IT's not about leaking, it's about children not putting the top bak on properly, and knocking things over. Popped-up sports cap leads to far less destruction that lid-not-on normal cap.

I hate sports caps too, by the way, but there is a reason behind it.

Sorry this doesn't help your problem, but do children seriously have to take water bottles into school? Why? Can't they just drink at water fountains at break time like we used to?

Thanks guys - everyone feels I am making a fuss about nothing - most of the women at their school are happy to send their kids in with these vile bottles because Mr Control Freak says they have to have them - I asked some of the mums with boys what they thought about a chemical that mimics a female hormone being ingested by their kids and they didn't seem to mind! They all think I am a bit of a weirdo and a clean freak - I just hate bloody plastic bottles they are vile and all the energy that has to go into recycling them is appalling even if he has sourced better quality ones.

Mr Control Freak - did say he bought the first lot of bottles from a company called 'Bottles for Schools' in good faith but I feel as a headmaster and someone who is supposedly concerned about our kids welfare he should have looked into it a bit further and well to me it is a matter of principle.

They are a twist open mechansim rather than pop up open mechanism - basically same thing but different operation - no top to put back on basically and can't get your lip stuck in to which some small children do.

IvyKaty, thats madness! glad you sorted it out!

Sorry I was replying to TrillianAstra about lids.

YANBU I'd have a talk with Headmaster and making it clear that there is no way I'll be following his pathetic rules. WTF to make sure he knows what's in the bottles surely head teachers have better things to worry about!
Send them with what you deem safe.

But then I'm considered 'mad' 'paranoid' 'anxious mummy' etc etc by others because I don't allow my children to have any plastic cups, bowls,plates and cutlery. And allow no plastic toys at all for babies and toddlers only allowing a little plastic that I deem safe for them when they are older.

I can understand the sports cap thing, it's a nightmare with bottles being knocked over on desked. I bet he'd have parents complaining if their dc's beautiful artwork/ story was wrecked by spilt water. It's a bit of no-win situation for the school, to me it sounds like he's thought about the issue and tried quite hard tbh. He's tried to find a good solution, but he'll never make everyone happy. IN my class I've endd up banning bottles from desks due to spillages over work. I'd rather they could drink freely. THe jug and cup solution can be a bit rank too, they're often at least accidently re-usd without washing and in our school once really quickly sent a vomiting bug around a class so we knocked that idea on the head.

I think the fair solution is to get the head to agree to the bottles he chose OR bottles of another material with a similar spill-limiting top. I can't see a school objecting to that as long as the size/ type was within reason.

sigg bottles do have a similar spill-limiting top.

I think just go on sending in the bottle you are happy with and maybe print out material re plastics and chemicals for him to look at?

As a teacher I always ask parents to send in bottles with sports caps because I think they should be able to drink water when they need it, would prefer that they could do so without wandering around the classroom but do not want bottles that, if knocked over, will spill water across the tables/other children's work/reading books etc.

If the Sigg bottle has a top which means it won't spill more than a drop if knocked over whilst in the 'drink' mode then I really don't see that it matters.

I'd prefer that a parent sent in a spill-proof bottle of their choosing than I had a class full of dehydrated children who forgot to drink at lunch/play because it was their turn on the football pitch.

FWIW my DD takes a Sigg style bottle with a sports cap top.

I'm not disagreeing with you but seem to remember that the bit about plastic bottles leaching chemicals was shown to not be true (if you Google it you can find lots of links showing it's an urban legend).

The head does seem to be being rather draconian though, is it worth trying to get some literature showing the other bottles are better for the children re kidney infections? He should listen as his argument is that this is for their health.

That is, when you think about it, really disgusting.

I completely agree with you about sports caps and plastic bottles.
I dont send my children with any now, and they drink from the fountain during break times.

I'm not disagreeing with you but seem to remember that the bit about plastic bottles leaching chemicals was shown to not be true (if you Google it you can find lots of links showing it's an urban legend).

The head does seem to be being rather draconian though, is it worth trying to get some literature showing the other bottles are better for the children re kidney infections? He should listen as his argument is that this is for their health.

The idea of water bottles in the classroom stems from the idea a few year's ago (pre fishoil and brain gym) that children's brains work better if they are allowed constant access to water.

Speaking as a teacher of 6 year olds, it is very annoying to be speaking to children who are suckling on bottles! We keep ours in the classroom in trays and I am very firm about the children not being allowed to drink whilst I am speaking. They are allowed to use them at other times - i.e. when they NEED a drink - and they do use them sensibly. I insist on the bottles having sports tops - water ALWAYS gets spilt over someone else's work!!

Personally, I think that if a school has water fountains (which I allow access to in class time if a child is deperate for a drink), water bottles in the classroom are not really necessary. If children have had a drink at breakfast, there is an hour until playtime (fountain), then a little after an hour until lunch (fountain and lunch drink), an hour until afternoon play (fountain) and then less than an hour until hometime - these children are hardly going to dehydrate in the meantime!!

That said, I don't really care either way, bar the suckling bit!!

It's none of the head's business if the kids take juice rather than water ffs.

I & ds never drink tap water because it tastes bloody horrible, we always have squash in it and am too much of a cheapskate to buy bottled water.

What a load of fuss!!
They can drink from the water fountain, good grief.

Eurghhh this kind of thing really pisses me off. As if parents havent got enough to juggle without having to keep track of a pxy water bottle.

My daughter only drinks water for the record as its all shes ever had and therefore all she knows. But if I wanted to send her to school with juice I bloody well would.

When she was poorly with tonsilitus the doctor advised me to give her ribena for a while to help her build her strength back up.

Are all the bottles labelled then so that they dont get mixed up?

Also, I have read that the plastic used in those cheap water bottles seeps in to the water if used over and over again. Dont know if thats true but it could be... water definitly tastes rank if you reuse them..

What a knob. He's just been sold to by some entreprenur wanting to make money out of 'water bottles for schools' he probably realises it was a crap mistake but he's wasted the school money now so he has to stand by his twattery.