Am I wrong? Should the teacher let?

amother

Olive

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 11:13 pm

OP my initial reaction is the teacher is wrong. Its none of her business what the kid drinks, especially if its clear and looks like water to the other kids (does it?).
BUT
Artificial sweeteners...oh man. Im not a health nut at all, and I stay FAR far away from them. Do some research. Real, more than 30 seconds of research. Read the studies. Theyre all online. And every few years a new study comes up about a new sweetener. They typical zero calorie sweeteners are really not good for you-some studies indicate some of them are flat out dangerous.
Please dont give them to your daughter.

miami85

Wed, Apr 10 2024, 12:15 am

amother Olive wrote:

And I have heard studies to the contrary, that most of those studies demonstrating the harm are in rats, not humans, and giving them far more than a human would consume in a day. It's not all the time and not every day, but if it helps her drink more, my understanding is that is better than not drinking enough water.

Comptroller

Wed, Apr 10 2024, 12:52 pm

baltomom wrote:

Just a thought, I know some teachers say only water because if it's spilled, it's easily wiped up. But if juice/soda spills, it's a sticky mess....

Exactly. If they drink in the classroom, teachers have a good reason to forbid anything but water.

If tap water is not good enough, give her bottled water.

It's worrying that some children refuse to drink plain water. It's worrying that so many mothers don't see a problem with it.

But according to OP's reactions, what she asked is not really a question, but a quest to get confirmation for her own stance.

However, as far as I could see, more than 50% of responses here are on the teacher's side.

amother

Khaki

Wed, Apr 10 2024, 5:05 pm

While artificial sweeetners are not healthy, plenty of food served in schools is not either. They are often fried, they have too many calories, usually too much oil and lots of bread, breading and the likes.
This is one of those things that I think are overreach. Teacher can teach about healthy foods but ultimately it's up to parents. And I say this as the mom who sends her kids fruit and veggies because usually the school lunch doesn't have that or has it in small amounts .

Comptroller

Thu, Apr 11 2024, 8:42 am

amother Khaki wrote:

I agree. I am a big fan of japanese school lunches.

They cook it fresh every day. Boiled rice is a main ingredient, so no fish and chips for lunch.
With the rice, thery have a variaty of veggies and proteins.

In general, japanese food culture propose a maximum of variety with small quantities. The more different ingredients, as in different vegetables, different proteins, the better, the more festive the meal. A real festive meal will contain more than 70 different ingredients (and I'm not talking additives or E-numbers).
Take a look at this:

miami85

Thu, Apr 11 2024, 11:34 am

Comptroller wrote:

bottled water adds up, some people do and we do buy water bottles for trips, but every day? When a little squirt shouldn't be a big deal?

I was not a huge water drinker as a kid, and now I do. What children do does not mean that it is set in stone forever as adult habits.

amother

Yarrow

Thu, Apr 11 2024, 12:09 pm

Your post is confusing. Bc you said she doesn't like the taste of your tap water bc the water is hard.so u add flavoring, but as others have stated, unhealthy ones. Why not squeeze orange juice in, or mix in a bit of juice, that isn't fake flavoring and chemicals?
How is flavoring cheaper then bottled water?

Why not buy a Brita,or a facet filter, and save money all together? And this way it's healthy.

I get that this isn't ur question. But I'm struggling with the logic as whole.

Anyways, I guess to answer your actual question. No, as a teacher she doesn't have a say to forbid it.

I'm a daycare morah. I have a kid who struggles with constipation. Severe constipation. And her mom sends EVERYTHING that will make it continue being an issue. Corn pops, bamba, chips, crackers, Bananas, pastas, white bread etc. NO fruits, veggies whole grains, just straight up carbs and milk, never water. Water not Eben mentioned as an option for her.. I have politely hinted, suggested, etc. What would help. But to no avail. I now let it go.

miami85

Thu, Apr 11 2024, 12:50 pm

amother Yarrow wrote:

Because the water drops are shelf-stable and fruit juices often need refrigeration. I really don't buy juice that often because my kids do like juice and it disappears very quickly. "Chemicals" are not necessarily dangerous. Many of them do have natural flavorings with preservatives, but that doesn't make them "dangerous". I don't give them the caffeinated ones.
I've had GD before, and my nutritionist told me that artificial sweeteners are fine, so for all this "spikes blood glucose and insulin"--um, then a GD nutritionist wouldn't recommend them.
A bottle of the water flavorings cost $3 for 30 servings which is like $.10, and bottled water can cost $.25--our Costco which has the best price for water bottles is across town and we only go like once per month.
The hard water doesn't get filtered by the Brita and it likely just will clog it. My husband uses citric acid on our appliances like coffee maker and urn to keep them working. Brita says it doesn't work on very hard water like we have--Brita filters ALSO cost money.

I came up with a solution that works for our family. Why does that deserve judgement? There is something called "water poisoning" which if someone drinks too much water in a short time--these water flavorings also sometimes have electrolytes--like Gatorade, which help replenish necessary nutrients that get sweated out. Drinking "only water" isn't necessarily a "healthier solution".

miami85

Thu, Apr 11 2024, 2:27 pm

amother Quince wrote:

The chance of a preschool age child accidentally being water poisoned is basically zero. It's definitely not a reason to avoid water as the main source of hydration.

I'm not suggesting that it's plausible in her, just pointing out that there are benefits to having a variety of drinks.

Nutritionally flavored water is the same as water, unless you look at "organic" websites who use very skewed research to back their claims.

I just don't see a problem with lightly flavored water to the point of equating it with "juice"