Am I wrong? Should the teacher let?

miami85

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 3:28 pm

amother Lemonlime wrote:

I can imagine the other kids being jealous & also wanting "juice" so I think it's ok for the teacher to not allow.

I also agree with the above poster. Rather give a bit of juice with the water than artificial sweetener.

There is very little benefit to juice without pulp and my kids eat real fruit, so they get whatever benefit from fruit juice from the actual fruit.

It was in an opaque thermos, so no one would know. The teacher herself told the kids to bring a water bottle as the water in the school water fountain isn't so great, so that means she wasn't letting my daughter drink after lunch--isn't that worse?

amother

Purple

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 3:40 pm

miami85 wrote:

My preschooler is in a class with a morah who is very nutrition conscious--like when there's a kiddush in shul brings her own food for her kids. My daughter has been liking flavor enhanced water--like Mio or the store generics (we have hard water and this helps my kids drink more water). They are 0 calorie but sweetened--I know that the super health conscious would object to artificial sweeteners, but in my mind it's getting my daughter to drink water and nutritionally it is still "water" and not juice or soda. My daughter came home today and told me "my morah won't let me drink 'juice' after lunch". I informed the teacher that it's not "juice" or "koolaid punch" but a 0-calorie alternative to water. I know that the school doesn't allow "soda" for preschoolers, but shouldn't they be encouraging water in any form?

Most of the backyard morahs ive sent to in my 20 years in Lakewood only allow water. They and I are certainly not super healty conciouse. Allowing only water is quite mainstream.

Allowing exceptions confuses the kids.

Were almost done with the year, does your kid still not drink water?

amother

Purple

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 3:42 pm

miami85 wrote:

Amother leminlime was telling you to add a bit juice for flavoring, not nutrition.

Im sure she just gave your dd water from the fountain. The water fountain wont hurt her.

notshanarishona

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 3:47 pm

miami85 wrote:

But this IS water, just slightly flavored, if it was infused with lemon, strawberries or cucumbers, is that different?

Yes it is different. And as a teacher I can tell you that it goes from flavoring to cool aid to hot cocoa very quickly. It’s much simpler to have a blanket rule.

miami85

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 3:48 pm

amother Purple wrote:

It's a fairly recent thing that she's discovered, I add them to my water because I don't always love the tap water.

It was a Thermos metal container, I guess she opened it or saw the colored water through the straw, I don't know.

miami85

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 3:53 pm

notshanarishona wrote:

Yes it is different. And as a teacher I can tell you that it goes from flavoring to cool aid to hot cocoa very quickly. It’s much simpler to have a blanket rule.

This is water, slightly flavored water. If she doesnt' want the water from home, then why would she want the water fountain that the teacher herself doesn't recommend.

If I was the teacher I would say "It came from her house, that's what her mommy gave"--just like anything else in her lunch/snack.

I don't think it is in the school handbook, that's why I feel it's her personal judgement call rather than a school rule.

I mean there are some studies that show that little kids actually benefit from the sugar in drinks (not to excess like in soda but like koolaid/punch powders) because it gives them the calories that they need because they are so active. If there are no other obesity factors, its not necessarily bad for them, but today nutrition is so subjective.

mummiedearest

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 3:55 pm

Op, I agree with the Morah. What children drink absolutely affects their behavior. I recommend you get your dd a brita water bottle and fill that with water. It should taste better with the filter. Also, she will learn to drink water better in a social setting.

amother

Trillium

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 3:59 pm

miami85 wrote:

It's a few drops of the flavoring, there is absolutely no evidence that artificial sweeteners in that amount is dangerous. If a full 1 liter of flavored seltzer is 10 calories, there's no harm in a few drops of flavoring. Please.

You're still teaching incredibly bad habits to a preschooler... I'd faster force the preschooler to put some fruit in the water if that's what it came to for flavor.

I spent a long time with the same mindset about what's the big deal. It's a few calories etc. In order just to drink the water. I still have a hard time drinking plain water unless it's ice cold, so I get it. However, this habit is so long-term damaging. It's something you really need to be considering now. If your child is not more than 3 or 4 years old and won't drink plain water, what are they drinking in 5 years?

In this specific case, even if the teacher can't see what's in it, I still think that the teacher is right.

amother

Outerspace

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 4:06 pm

It's probably because your daughter referred to it as juice, the other kids heard and commented on it, and now may go home and tell their parents that they want to bring juice too, and the teacher doesn't want to deal with the headache of several parents trying to "bargain" as to the acceptability of different drinks, and it's easier to just make a blanket rule of only plain water.

imaima

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 4:15 pm

miami85 wrote:

It’s not water in any form

farm

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 4:59 pm

I would make a fuss if it was my kid.
Not the teacher’s call if it’s her own rule and not the school’s.
You did your part by sending in an opaque thermos. She should stay out of it.

seeker

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 7:07 pm

The teacher is right because she can't have a whole other part time job policing kids' drinks and judging whether this one is healthy and that one isn't. The class needs a blanket policy like "plain water or milk only" and let everyone live. Give her more drinks at home if you're worried, in school she'll learn to drink water when she's thirsty enough. It's just not practical otherwise

amother

Phlox

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 8:23 pm

You are completely right that a hydrated child is essential and water or flavored water is better for health then juice. Artifical sweeteners are less of a concern then sugar according to the literature although of course you will have people constructing illogical arguments just because they are unnatural. Morah gets to set the rules in her own group though. She should either specifically say nothing other then water is allowed, or allow flavored water. Flavored water is not juice, and is not nutritionally equivlent to juice or full sugar soda. You might have luck with buying water flavorings without color but it but they will be more expensive. I was like your daughter and always hated, and still never drink water. My mom would give me bottled seltzer to take to school which might be another solution for your family.

tichellady

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 9:28 pm

I find it strange that the teacher is choosing what the children eat and drink if the parents are responsible for sending food and drink. I don’t let my kids have artificial sweeteners but I still think you should be able to make your own choices about that

mizle10

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 10:43 pm

tichellady wrote:

I think it's very reasonable to say only drinking water during class. Juice is ok for lunch, during class water only. OPs dd said she wasn't allowed to drink it after lunch.

tichellady

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 11:06 pm

mizle10 wrote:

I think it's very reasonable to say only drinking water during class. Juice is ok for lunch, during class water only. OPs dd said she wasn't allowed to drink it after lunch.

Why is this a teachers decision? I don’t get it. What would be the reasoning for such a rule? It makes zero sense to me. This is preschool so it’s not like they are sitting through lectures, and even so, I don’t think it’s a teachers business what a child drinks