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School has water only policy, son only drinks squash. What are my rights?

kaza

Hi,

My son is in mainstream primary school and he has ASD. He is non verbal apart from a few words and has sensory processing disorder. The School he attends has a water only policy for drinks. The trouble is my son only drinks squash. He has a very limited diet.

At first i sent him to school with the fruit squash shots for the ta to put into his water for him to drink. As the weeks have passed they have been giving him less and less squash and now he has water. Well they say he drinks it but i don't believe them as he comes home from school and all he wants is drink drink drink. He also is now constipated all the time which he has never suffered with before and i am sure its connected. He is not toilet trained yet and sees the incontinence team who have agreed without doubt he should have squash. The school still say he can have water as he drinks it but i know this is not the case.

My question is what are my rights with regards to School rules? Can i insist he has squash or do they get overall say? Also how can i know for sure he is getting enough to drink.

If anyone could help i would be must grateful as i seem to be going round in circles with the school and would like to know my rights as a parent.

many thanks, Karen

  • I too, only drink squash and not water.  People look at me at the gym (I'm 52) and laugh at me  they're all water freaks.  I would think that flavoured water that looks clear would be a good try too.  He doesn't need to stand out from the crowd more so than he does at the moment.

    I've ASD by the way, so I'm talking from own experience.

    Margaret

  • Hi,

    Thankyou for your reply. Yes you are right that obviously it is best to have water, my other children do but this isn't as simply as it sounds with my Son.

    As far as the incontinence team are concerned i have it in writing from them that my Son should be able to drink squash. They were shocked to think he was not allowed considering all his History and background with regards to eating.

    Each case is individual and i don't see why the School in my case don't feel i as a parent know my Son best. I am left to feel like a bad parent for wanting my Son to have a drink.

    I don't really want a debate on the rights and wrongs of squash as i know it's not the best thing to give a child, i would just like to know what rights i have as a parent when it comes to School rules. Again as i asked before, do they have overall say on the matter?

  • I think the school are doing the right thing in trying to wean him off the stuff. 

    Squash is very acidic, and drinking it instead of water is probably not doing his waterworks any good, let alone his teeth. I am surprised that a continence team would advise squash over water, perhaps you could double check?

    Another issue is that drinking sweet stuff trains young tastebuds to find healthy food objectionable - which will be storing up a ton of trouble for the future.

    It might be an idea to ask for a referral to a dietician, and speak to the teachers again and ask for their help working out a strategy between yourselves to wean him off the bad stuff:  For instance you can buy water bottles with measuring marks on them, so you know exactly what he has drunk.

    If he knows he is going to get squash at home, he may also be more likely to hold off from drinking until then! You can do a rough check for dehydration by looking at the colour of someones wee - although obviously do not rely on this instead of medical advice......
    www.urinecolors.com/dehydration.php