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.

Feckless was not mentioned with direct reference to the OP but the fact it was a phrase used by FasterStronger to describe parents at her partner's school associates parents with the description.

Spoiled was used earlier on in the thread by Chandon.

Oh ok, well if it was a phrase about Parents at someone's partner's school, I'm probably ok with that.

I can see why Chandon might have been concerned that this is the sort of attitude which risks resulting in a spoilt child.

Hmm. I've noticed a few people who feel sick at the thought that anyone who turns their nose up at water clearly isn't considering the suffering of people in developing countries and a few more people who think that when you have a problem, all you need to do is imagine yourself dying in a desert and then you'll realise what a silly time waster you are.

And all this to stop a child from thinking it's OK to drink squash! If it's not a big deal, it's an amazing way of turning something that's not a big deal into something that sounds pretty massive - involving developing countries and dying of thirst, and all that...

Perhaps if he were told that drinking squash is tantamount to murder, that would work?

Well, in the red corner, we have talk of kidney failure, psychological damage and the Op's child being 'left to die'. All's square!

rabbit I love the way you post - and another thing...

I aim to amuse myself.

Mind you, I don't think anyone mentioned kidney failure. Kidney stones, cystitis and a migraine are a distinct possibility, however. Migraine in particular, I understand, can be brought on by not imbibing enough water.

Can anyone get this thread to 666 for me, and then stop it there?

Apologies if it's been mentioned, but one way to encourage intake of fluids is to mark the bottle - so they are expected to drink down to the first marker by break, the second by lunch, etc - or hourly markers if they could handle that instead. Practice at home but ultimately it breaks down the "just drink it" into something more manageable and that the child can be actively involved in / more independent with.

I would be quite astonished at a doctor giving your child a letter stating he must drink squash because he doesn't like water. He doesn't have a medical reason just because he won't bloody well drink water! I'm sorry but you are being ridiculous.

And I get migraines, and yes, they are awful. But if I were in your situation there is no way I would be pandering to this.

Having more of the thread I am SHRIEKING at the suggestion that a kid who refuses to drink water because he prefers squash probably has special needs. My kids would refuse to drink water too if I was silly enough to let them have squash instead!

Can I just ask something? Are schools allowed to give calpol?
Ds2 school won't administer any medication like painkillers or hayfever medication.
I thought all schools were the same?

Although I may be wrong and it is just ds2 school.

WRT to the squash thing, tbh I would imagine that given the choice, most 10 year olds would rather drink a sugary drink rather than water.
But surely sometimes you have to do things you don't particularly like?
The school has a water only rule, and personally I think it is better to have water available during the classroom time rather than the constant drinking of sugary sweet drinks.

So, that is the rule. There is no actual medical reason that the ops DS cannot drink water. He just doesn't like it.

I also do not understand why sugar free squash is being touted as a healthier option when the sugar free stuff is a trigger for migraines. My DH cannot drink anything with artificial sweeteners as it will bring on a migraine attack and we were given a lot of information about this from our doctor.

Also, AFAIK, getting headaches from being dehydrated is a different thing to a migraine attack.
A lot of people who do not suffer from migraines, myself included get headaches in the hot weather especially from not drinking enough, it is not the same as a migraine which IME from DHs attacks, means literally lying in a dark room unable to move. No paracetomol is going to help with that.

My DH and mother suffer from them- they have to lie in darkened rooms without moving- I can't believe that if you are 10 yrs old and get into this state that you would refuse to drink water because you want it sugary!
My body doesn't deal well with hot weather and I had a background headache yesterday- I didn't bother taking anything for it.

That's what I think exotic, I've seen DH with migraine, I cannot believe that a 10 year old would honestly get into such pain because they want to drink squash.
I know it a different situation but my ds2 is 9.

He knows he can't play football on a hot day without drinking water before the game, at half time and afterwards.
He knows that because he has tried to do it, and felt ill.
And because I have drummed it into his head, no water, no football. And because the club only allow water.

I'm sure he would prefer to drink a blue powerade but they are banned by the club so water is the only option.

Migraine and a headache are very different things, which is confusing me a little because my understanding of migraine is that giving calpol or any painkillers within half an hour has no effect. But obviously I might be mistaken, I am only going on my DHs situation.

You need to get in there and insist he is allowed powerade, Tantrums.

shall I start a campaign for blue powerade?

Tbh, ds2 isn't a fan of water and probably wouldn't choose to drink it. But his school insists on water only, the football club is water only, I don't buy sugar free squash so at home he drinks fruit juice or water or milk or the odd fizzy drink.

I don't tend to mither them about only drinking water at home, I don't need to

But I can't see why anyone should need to be the exception to the rule, over something as simple as water.

But then, I don't kick off about the lunchbox monitors or the list of banned foods at school or the fruit only at break time rule because I don't see the harm. I don't see the need to go out of my way to insist my ds2 has something different because he hates fruit.

Water, fruit, lunchboxes, none of these things are harmful or poisonous. And it's a few hours at school, no one is insisting you follow the rules at home are they?

Wasn't there some "research" recently that showed that water didn't actually quench thirst? Or something like that.........

Incidentally, tantrums, my ds hates fruit too. How on earth did that happen? How can you hate all fruit?????

I don't think that you find people deprived of liquid saying ' oh not water - it won't quench my thirst'!

I wish I knew curlew

I've been trying for 9 years to find a fruit he likes. But no. He hates all fruit.

Me too. His sister offered to pay him to eat fruit once- even that didn't work! But I've not yet met a vegetable he doesn't like. Very odd.

We may share the same DS

Loves all veg, will happily sit eating carrot sticks, cucumber sticks and red pepper at lunch time whilst his friends are eating apples, bananas and strawberries.

I used to try and hide fruit in things, he always found them.

Now, what you need to do, TantrumsAndBalloons, is tell him off for spurning fruit when children in the developing world are starving and would kill for that fruit. You could also tell him that he would eat fruit if he were stuck in the middle of the desert with no other options, so logically, therefore, he has to eat it at home and at school. You could also mark his fruit, so he only has to eat a bit at a time. Simples.