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Aussie mum confused over 'metal drink bottle ban' in schools: 'Doesn't make sense'

Original source (on modern site)

An Aussie mum has opened up a bag of worms after questioning why some schools have banned children from taking in metal drink bottles — and the range of answers will surprise you.

When Melbourne TikToker Olivia White posted about the ban online she was inundated with replies from parents from around the country, with some just as baffled as she was, many explaining why their schools had banned them and speculating about the reasons why.

"My school has not done so, but I've heard from a friend who said the school her kids are at locally had banned them," White told Yahoo News Australia. "I put that (post) up and I've had so many people saying they have banned them.

"They are not all for the same reason, some reasons sound a bit like maybe they don't want to say what the actual reason is. A few said that they had been used as weapons but really, anything can be a weapon.

"Another is the 'haves and have nots' drink bottle culture — just as many people have said that's the reason. Children are bullying each other about what they do and don't have.

"That's the thing about the Frank Green or Stanley, they cost $80 to $100. My daughter has a Frank Green but I send her to school with whatever drink bottle I'm prepared for her to lose.

"I have had hundreds of DMs from people, there's plenty of schools that have banned metal drink bottles, mostly for the reason children are using them as weapons and throwing them."

White said one odd reason parents had been given for the ban was that metal drink bottles weighed down students' bags, while others shared that their schools had said there were concerns about expensive bottles being lost or stolen.

No blanket ban on bottles from authorities

Many of the schools White's followers mentioned were in NSW and a spokeswoman for the state's department of education told Yahoo News Australia there was no blanket ban or order in place around taking metal drink bottles to school.

However, individual schools were able to make their own rules if needed, the spokesman said.

Yahoo understands that individual schools may decide to restrict the use of certain types of drink bottles in consultation with parents, carers and students. Such decisions are made locally and the department doesn't centrally record this information so they were not able to provide a list of schools where there was a ban in place.

In her TikTok, White said a ban on the bottles "doesn't make any sense".

"I don't understand why," she said. "I thought we weren't doing plastic."

Her post attracted hundreds of comments with one social media user saying, "I'm a teacher. The only thing I can think of is that they're so loud when they drop them."

Parents and teachers have shared some horror stories about how children are playing with metal drink bottles in the playground. Source: Getty

Another added, "In high school, in our playground, boys kick them round and use them as weapons in real and play fights with each other."

One more wrote: "It's so if the bottle is thrown around the playground, it won't 'hurt', or that's the reason my kid's school gave," while a school teacher revealed she was almost "seriously injured" by a flying metal drink bottle.

"My son's high school did it so kids couldn't hide what they were drinking," another wrote. "The rule was water only."

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