No Water at Lunch?!

[shark_nurse14]

Okay, please tell me I'm not overreacting...I come into work, sipping my coffee as I read my emails, and I receive one from the kitchen staff asking for an updated list of children who are lactose intolerant because ONLY MILK IS BEING SERVED AT LUNCH.

This is to try and stop the water bottle flipping craze going throughout the 7th and 8th grades....there has yet to be anything done besides the simple "Stop doing that" when students flip water bottles...no lost recess, no punishment, no nothing.

Instead, the kitchen staff and the principal have decided that no one gets water provided at lunch for the next few days. No families were notified. We are a PK-8th grade and I know a lot of families are going to be very upset over this. It just doesn't make sense to me. Am I overreacting?

(Nevermind the fact that there are several other reasons besides being lactose intolerant for a child to need water at lunch, but don't get me started on that.)

[OldDude]

What exactly is bottle-flipping? (It sounds like an elicit party game.)

It's likely the most senseless, dumbest, and extremely irritating activity you can imagine. You'll regret ever knwoing about it once you've witnessed about 10 seconds of it.

It's

[debpontius]

You might want to check your school's wellness policy. By federal law there must be a wellness policy, and states must have a model policy. Our state requires free water be available at lunch. this may be federal part.

[MrNurse(x2), ADN]

Bottle flipping came from YouTube videos of kids flipping partially filled disposable water bottles and attempting to land them on their lids. I am amazed that young people have the patience for this, as it can occupy a good half hour. A noisy, irritating half hour, mind you. Hopefully it dies a quick death.

[DEgalRN]

I'm trying to get my kids to drink more water! (I'm trying to cut down on those dehydration headaches!) Not having it available at lunch would be incredibly counterproductive. Hopefully your admins will get some common sense!

[Julius Seizure]

So, I know nothing about bottle flipping other than what I have read in this thread. Is there something harmful about it other than it being noisy and annoying to the adults nearby? Or is the water ban entirely due to it being annoying to the adults?

It sounds like a boring game. I assume they will find a different annoying activity to take up sooner or later.

[MrNurse(x2), ADN]

So, I know nothing about bottle flipping other than what I have read in this thread. Is there something harmful about it other than it being noisy and annoying to the adults nearby? Or is the water ban entirely due to it being annoying to the adults?

It sounds like a boring game. I assume they will find a different annoying activity to take up sooner or later.

I think this has a shorter half life than adenosine.

[middleagednurse]

Water should ALWAYS be free, IMO

[OldDude]

So, I know nothing about bottle flipping other than what I have read in this thread. Is there something harmful about it other than it being noisy and annoying to the adults nearby? Or is the water ban entirely due to it being annoying to the adults?

It sounds like a boring game. I assume they will find a different annoying activity to take up sooner or later.

It causes no long term brain damage to adults but now that you word it the way you did, I think it could replace water boarding for enhanced interrogation techniques. Lock a prisoner up in a room full of kids flipping water bottles for a few hours and they would tell you anything you wanted to know to escape the room.

[LuvScience]

I'm not a school nurse but is there some reason why a cup of tap water can't be served with lunch in addition to milk?

[kidzcare]

So, I know nothing about bottle flipping other than what I have read in this thread. Is there something harmful about it other than it being noisy and annoying to the adults nearby? Or is the water ban entirely due to it being annoying to the adults?

It's not harmful, just annoying and distracting. 250+ kids eat lunch in our lunchroom at a time. Lets say 20% of them want to flip a bottle. Imagine the sound of 50 water bottles hitting the floor/table and the ensuing screams and cheers of the onlookers.

Actually, just imagine a large group of teenagers/pre teens anywhere. They are difficult to contain.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

It's not harmful, just annoying and distracting. 250+ kids eat lunch in our lunchroom at a time. Lets say 20% of them want to flip a bottle. Imagine the sound of 50 water bottles hitting the floor/table and the ensuing screams and cheers of the onlookers.

Actually, just imagine a large group of teenagers/pre teens anywhere. They are difficult to contain.

Even 2 young ladies standing behind you flipping a bottle over and over and dropping it over and over while my mother-in-law and I were watching my son play football is very distracting.

As mentioned, I told them to take their game somewhere else.

I just asked my 15 year old son if this is rampant on campus and he said yes, everyone does it. And he mimicked tossing a bottle.

[Emergent, RN]

I remember, way back when, string tricks were the rage. Cat's cradle, Jacob's ladder, Indian door. I loved them and became very skilled.

We would get string from the teachers for a while. Then administration banned string games. They banned string. They became repressive.

It was a wholesome activity. It was a rich part of the unique culture of children, passed from one child to another, and somehow largely lost in adulthood.

I did teach the string tricks to all of my kids. I hope they are still alive somewhere in the world.