Primary school insisting my child takes water not squash to school, despite there being a medical reason for it

[TheOriginalNutcracker]

My ds is 10 and suffers from frequent migraines. He takes daily preventative meds for them, and we try hard to manage them by eliminating triggers.

Obviously, dehydration is a major trigger, and so I need to make sure he drink enough during the day. I send him to school with weak squash in his water bottle, as he is not overly keen on water, and so will not drink enough of it. I know this to be the case from seeing him drink at home.

School are kicking up an almighty fuss about it. I have spoken to them countless times explaining why he needs the squash, and have also written a letter insisting he be alowed it, abd again explained why.
Today he was pulled into the heads office because of the squash.

I went in after school and asked to see the head. I was told she could only speak to me for 2 minutes. She came out and right away knew why I was there. She just went on and on about many people not liking water and getting headaches, but that other kids would think it was ok for their child to bring in squash also.
She then said that my ds had promised earlier that day, to try and drink only water next week. So basically they got him to agree to this in a meeting with no parent present.

I explained again about his migraines, but she basically insisted and just said that ds had agreed now.

Is there anyting I can do about this ? I think their treatment of him and his condition is appaling. We have also had issues where they have made him wait for calpol when a headache starts.

Problem solved!!

I think it's a great idea

I have a friend who's a GP. She could make a fortune writing private prescriptions for precious parents. Squash, nome made cake for break time snacks.........

can he drink squash at break/lunch? drink loads then from lunch box

a parent can ask for their child to be taken to the office and the parent can administer their "medicinal squash" as often as needed.

you're joking right?, presumably Nutty has own life not time to pop into the school 6x a day, and anyway, her son needs to have lots of small drinks thru the day or lots at short notice, not constantly going out of class to get a drink.

This is not that unusual at DC school, 2 children I know of who had permission to drink squash had kidney issues, it was literally life or death whether they drank enough, they weren't old enough to make that decision. One of them turned into the most arsey 11yo you ever met, and he wasn't mature enough to figure out what was good for him either. If Nutty's DS doesn't drink enough he gets a day off school, bonus in the mind of most 10yo boys.

My little one is on a medical trial. He needs to drink a certain amount of water everyday. The trial is not endorsed by our hp so he wouldn't write a consent letter. I made a chart that is kept in his bag and everyday at certain times the teacher has to make sure my dc has drank water. I send in a water bottle and a plastic glass. My do is not allowed to drink out of the bottle otherwise he would just take 2 sips! The teacher has to pour the water into the glass I send and he finishes it.

Working so far x

yaking the school out of the equation. I cannot understand any child who refuses to drink water. Just say no squash and you have to have a small cup of water each hour. No discussion. The onus is on you to get your child to do whatever is necessary to manage their condition.

My DS has epilepsy with associated abdomninal migraine. Dehydration is definitely a trigger, as is sugar/sucrose. He isn't fond of water but its what is best for him.

I probably sound intolerant but I think that parenting sometimes involves making hard decisions. DS has to take 12 tablets a day - which at 8 years old he hates. They stop his seizures so he doesn't have a choice. The same with water.

My 10 year old gets migraines, for him not eating is a bigger trigger than not drinking.

Still, when the weather turns hot I worry about dehydration.

He loves juice, water and squash but I often give him water at home, so he gets used to the fact that not every drink is a "treat". It then became more normal to drink water when thirsty. And he knows to drink water at school.

Sometimes he forgets to eat or drink, and I get the call from the school to pick up a vomiting little bundle of misery.

but at 10 he is old enough to start taking a bit of responsibility for his own wellbeing.

I am sure your DS could start getting used to water, start at home, and maybe at school they could help by reminding him to drink?

" I cannot understand any child who refuses to drink water."

Because you have never met a child that obstinate. Believe me, they do exist.
How do you force a child to drink water? Can you advise the OP?

Another example is when DD was little. She was a poor eater. I got sick and tired of people telling me that she would eat when she was hungry. Wrong! She was on the 2nd centile for ages because she just wasn't interested in eating. Making her miss a meal because she didn't like what was offered wasn't an option because she was so skinny.

Sorry, but I have a 9 year old boy in my class that has to inject his medication three times a day at school or he will be seriously ill, even die. Does he like doing it? No of course not. But he knows that if he doesn't he will become ill so he has little option.
Drinking water rather than squash pales into comparison.

Oh I have the most obstinate 12 year old known to man. I have an equally obstinate 6 year old. My 8 year old who has to take 84 tablets a week is marginally less so.

I don't run a democracy.

I think it's reasonable of the school to expect the pupil to drink water but it is also perfectly reasonable for a parent to do everything they can to alleviate their child's symptoms.

I would speak to the school again, agree that you will support them by sending your son in with a water bottle. I would then ask that they support you by allowing your son to have juice at the office available if he is struggling.

In this much warmer weather the teacher or school could possibly promote drinking water, staying safe in the sun etc to support your efforts.

Spaniel - it appears where there is a genuine medical need the meds/water/diet are achievable.

My constructive advice to the op would be to set start on a weekend. Set a timer - every hour get the child to drink a small cup of water (125ml per hour is more than a sufficient for a child).

Explain to the child that the alternative - pills/injections/the pain of horrendous headaches were the alternative.

That's a good idea mrrected.

If a child gets a migraine from low blood sugar levels, but doesn't like fruit / cereal bars that are part of the school's agreed snacks would you ask for a chocolate bar instead? And before people start questioning chocolate/migraine link - my family all suffer from migraines and we have tested that chocolate is not a trigger; it isn't as cut and dried as chocolate, cheese, caffeine, etc.

MrRected: I assume you hold him down screaming and shove the pill down his throat several times a day, right? I mean, what else would you do with a child who refused?

This is not about break time snacks or lunch boxes. It's about the water bottles that children have so they can drink whenever they want while in lessons.

As I said, we're talking about denying a child access to squash for a whole 90 minutes at a time.........

If a child gets a migraine from low blood sugar levels, but doesn't like fruit / cereal bars that are part of the school's agreed snacks would you ask for a chocolate bar instead?

That has actually happened in my school Maybe. Except cereal bars are not allowed at break, it's fruit or nothing. The parent insisted that the child had to have an alternative snack because he wouldn't eat fruit or veg. But the head said no and stuck to it.

No Ljkk I don't have to hold him down. He cries and objects but ultimately has no choice. When a condition truly cannot go without medication/dietary intervention (eg Coeliac disease) - the treatment is a fact of life. There are no choices.

He takes his meds because - even at 8 years old - he recognises that it's better than having numerous seizures every day. If I made it optional - you could bet your last pound that he would play up far more than he does.

My heart breaks for him. Perhaps I am a little intolerant of special cases which aren't that special .

MaybeBently. It's exactly the same principle, is it not?
Fruit or cereal bars would be quite sufficient to stave off the migrane, child is not actually allergic to either option, but would prefer chocolate...
Why should the school pander to this? If you feel so strongly that they should, try getting a doctor's letter "prescribing" chocolate as a medical must have. Good luck.

Yes Floggingmolly, that was the point I was trying to make.

Oh God, sorry! . Thought you were discussing an actual real life scenario

Probably trying too hard not to be confrontational, Molly!

I think it is probably also worth bearing in mind that no child (or adult from that matter) should be sipping squash throughout the day. The constant sugar wash is incredibly bad for teeth, and particularly serious given that we'll be talking about many adult teeth (can't remember what age you lose your final milk teeth).

Any child who is refusing to drink water even if they will become ill (and I'm willing to accept that happens from people's stories, rather than because I have personal experience) is, by 10, going to need to learn that it will then have to be larger drinks in one go rather than small sips every few minutes.