A city councilor is seeking for a mandatory water break in all schools in the city.
In her proposal dubbed as “A Minute Water Break,” Councilor Jessica Bonguyan wants schools to have water breaks at least thrice a day during school hours.
“The school may ring a bell thrice a day as a reminder for all the students and also the faculty and staff to drink water. Drinking an adequate amount of water is among the most essential requirements of life,” Bonguyan said.
Bonguyan is encouraging the schools in the city to have at least a minute of water breaks, as water is important in the system, especially that studying can also be draining. Faculty and staff are also encouraged to drink water to energize and refresh them during their working hours.
According to some studies, drinking water is vital especially during school hours due to the many activities that students have, such as Physical Education (PE) activities, which always require physical efforts that can drain the water in our system.
As a mother of a five-year-old pupil, Bonguyan said she is worried that students are consuming less water in the midst of school activities.
The councilor said she has witnessed a lot of illnesses associated with the lack of water intake.
Growing children have the tendency to drink less water than required by the body, Bonguyan said. “(This) has many ill-effects in the health, not to mention, Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) in the children.”
She emphasized the importance of water especially in the children, as she said “one reason for malnutrition in children is that they drink less water than the required.”
“Consuming adequate water is the easiest way to stay healthy,” she said.
Children are said to be vulnerable to dehydration, which is a common cause of illness to children.
The councilor said that promoting drinking of water may divert the children’s urge of drinking sugar-sweetened beverages as most of these beverages are unhealthy.
“Regular water intake throughout the school day is a vital role for schools in promoting health and a healthy environment,” she said.
