Is checking contents of childrens bottles and confiscating them if not water only illegal?

[devonvalley]

New head has instructed staff to do above!!
They get returned 2 hrs later a t lunch, so my son who is working towards water only,has a drink at 8am then not til 1pm ! the idea behind preventing dehydration is to increase a childs fluid intake to enhance concentration levels in school and a dash of good squash or flavoured water which a lot of parents would /are using will be confiscated !!(hs sugar free additive free, natural flavouring dash of squash to take rawness off for time being) all rest of family drink water, but son has food issues,and refuses to drink water on its own.we keep trying,others did convert a t there own pace!(children should be treated as individuals at school are they not??) If it was coke i could understand!
We have to give written consent to many things in school time, this needs our permission does it not?checking, confiscating. We fought two wars in this country to deny dictorial leadership??

they aren't confiscating it, he will be given it back at lunch.

if it is only a dash of flavour he can surely do without it. at 4 he is old enough to know that rules are rules.

TBH I wouldn't make a big fuss about it, but I do see where OP is coming from. I mean, is it really such a big deal if children want a bit of weak squash to drink as opposed to plain water? Those that want squash can have it, those that are happy with water can have that-where's the problem? Don't agree with confiscating the drinks though-the child might be really thirsty.

DS has just started reception, they have to take a bottle of water which they can sip when they want, but can have whatever drink they like (within reason) with their lunch, e.g squash, juice, milk. Fizzy drinks are discouraged.

Oh, it's all so different from when I were a nipper... none of this 'hydration' malarkey in the 70s, all we got was a luke-warm quarter pint bottle of milk that had been festering in the classroom since early morning. If anyone had suggested that children should be allowed a drink of water whenever they liked they would have been considered a bit eccentric

At our school, there is a strict water only policy in the class rooms. There are no exceptions. Parents here manage and on some days (when it is 40o), their kids drink water, because they HAVE to!

Believe me, children WILL drink water only, if they need it. It is surprising how many parents advocate for their child to have something other than (on Gov council, so am aware of abuse of school policies etc), but when push comes to shove, their kids drink water. Because mum isn't there to pander to their whims.

And you haven't address my comment re Aspartame in his sugar free squash. I thought that would worry you, (as a nurse) more then the fact they can't have squash.

OP - why can't your child just drink water?

All the people saying 'he'll drink it if he's thirsty' - not all kids are the same, I have a water refuser, she's never drunk it, no matter what.

I've also had a horribly dehydrated child, and that's seriously bloody scary.

Dd is 5 and in yr1. Her school has a water only policy and she has yet to drink her daily water bottle. She does however drink a HUGE amount of dilute juice/squash when she gets home.

I haven't tackled the school, I haven't broken the rules, and I persevere with the water, but I know things aren't going to change any time soon. Not all children are the same, and to suggest they are is ludicrous.

If you are not happy, move schools.
Otherwise campaign with other parents to change a rule you feel is unjust.
Back in the old days, children were not allowed to drink in class and teachers were allowed to smoke on school premises, parents were kept in the dark about everything and everyone knows that educational standards were higher.

i have some sympathy with OP - ds1 drinks nothing but water, but ds2 won't touch it without a splash of orange juice in it, ds2 has just started pre-school and is unimpressed by water only, so just doesn't have a drink until lunchtime when he gets home. I think the OP makes a fair point that it's a bit stupid policing water if you're not going to police lunch too.

BUT i think you have to pick your battles, and this wouldn't bother me enough to fight over it.

I must say i agree HUGELY with the post about flippin teachers dressing casually when kids are in shirts/ties etc, drives me mad, especially in the height of summer seeing ds1's teacher in flip flops and sun dress while the class were sweltering in their regulation knee length woolly socks.

I get sick to the back teeth of wiping up sticky 'juice' drinks from spilled bottles at school.

Let's face it, it's bad for their teeth in any case.

We've had kids come in with half litres of Lucozade Sport because their parents claim 'they won't drink water'

Utter tosh.

Our head will not enforce a water only policy but I wish she would.

There is no such thing as a squash that is sugar free and additive free - a sugar free squash contains artifical sweeteners - horrid things to have a child drinking all day!

Squash is awful for your child's teeth - even the very dilute stuff. Can your child not have some school milk for a drink as a bit of a compromise or won't they drink that either?

As for the no fizzy drink is bad but squash is ok that makes me howl with laughter. Have a look at the ingredients on the packaging before you judge which foods are better than others - squash is horrid stuff imo, drink it if you must with meals but don't kid yourself that it's any more saintly that a fizzy drink.

Yabu and bonkers to boot!

I don`t think my grandfather, and others, died in the war so that your son could have the freedom to drink squash.

If you cannot handle any school rules, and feel you have the right to pander to your child who is big enough to "cope" with water, then that is your problem.

Wean him off the nasty aspartame laden squash you wimp.

How are schools supposed to teach children to have massive issue around food unless they introduce hysterical bottle-smelling investigations that show children that lots of liquids they like to drink are just like poison?

LadySanders power suits would not be appropriate in the primary sector, unless you wanted to frighten the kids.

Or be an Ofsted inspector.

Frankly I would not be donning designer gear for a painting session.

"A great media debate would be interesting...governments reps..."

Are you being serious?

I think this is madness, some children will not drink water, surely its more important that they drink something rather than nothing even if it is weak Juice.

My sons school give each child a full water bottle at the beginning of the day it makes water drinking a bit more 'fun' they put these through the dishwasher each afternoon to keep them clean. They also have a water fountain in each classroom and in the playground. They are really hot on keeping children hydrated and offer Milk at break time, they don't mind a bit of Juice here and there though.

Is this serious? Media debate? You're pulling our legs arnt you.

I feel sorry for schools with all these precious parents running about trying to undermine simple rules...illegal? Are you mad? Get him off the crap, end of. As for dehydration, it is so rare and this obsession with water drinking has been blown out of all proportion. An apple at break will be sufficient for water needs.

I was told to be aiming for 6-8 200ml drinks a day for DS, i don't know if its different for him as he has health needs but i can imagine that in scorching hot weather if children are running around getting even hotter than dehydration is entirely possible.

I'm amazed at the amount of Children and adults that don't drink during the day, i myself am guilty of going a whole day without drinking...

when I was a kid we didn't get anything to drink till lunch

I'm glad they can have a drink with them in the class

my kids dont like water but if they are thirsty they know its there and will drink it

I wil admit that on occasion I have let them have flourvered water but each time my dd1 has said I dont want to have this again, its not allowed

bless her cottons

yabu
ds managed on water at school, and he hated it
I think there is a time to pick battles and this is a silly one, perhaps stopping water in class would solve the problem

OP you are right!! It's over the top. If I was a teacher I'd tell the head I had better things to do than sniff water bottles - like EDUCATING the class - let him do it and realise what a petty prat he feels. Tell him to shove his stupid policy where the sun don't shine. Tell him to let them drink juice at break if they want to. What on earth is wrong with that??

To those of you that don't think this is a serious matter - it is your apathy about government interference and education policies that are sending this country down the drain. Apathy - the biggest enemy of democracy there is.

AIBU?
Yes you are x100
no I'm not

Opps, ignore me I wrong section

kids that WONT drink water???

then they are of YOUR making,because how would they live if we didnt have bottled juice or squash to make it more palatable for the precious little darlings!

children are in school to learn.....leave the schools to it,they are in charge,not the parents!!

*Spinkle, I agree with you 100% that power suits aren't appropriate for teaching staff in the primary sector.

Neither is collar and tie for primary children. But if primary children need to 'smarten themselves up' then the same level of smartness is appropriate for their teachers, surely? Tailored trousers instead of jeans, blouses and shirt/tie instead of t-shits and casual shirts...or is it only the pupils that need to get their act together?

I loved the sweatshirt/polo shirt combo that my KS2 dd1 used to have and it was ideally matched by the staff dress. But if the kids were deeemed not smart enough then why not the staff?

Oh for goodness sake, I am so sick of precious parents who think that teachers and support staff should have to follow the same rules as children. Do you want them in uniform too? Do you want them to run around the playground and climb the climbing frame? How about a bit of finger painting?

They are there to teach your precious kiddies, not to be them for God's sake. Stop using such a ridiculous and petty argument (not just the OP) and as others have said, pick your battles or home educate.

And as for Bullethead's "To those of you that don't think this is a serious matter - it is your apathy about government interference and education policies that are sending this country down the drain. Apathy - the biggest enemy of democracy there is." Get a grip. "down the drain"? did you lift that directly from this morning's Daily Fail?