Without caffeine, without alcohol - without effects?
A cappuccino while strolling through town, a glass of red wine at dinner with friends or something sparkling to celebrate: combining social events with drinks is a nice ritual for us adults - for children it can have a much deeper meaning.
Children naturally copy the behaviour of adults, especially that of their parents. In our ancestors, this characteristic mainly increased the chance of survival, but today it fulfils another purpose. Adults convey to children supposedly desirable characteristics such as status, influence, success or special abilities.
This can be wonderfully observed in the example of social gatherings. Although from an adult's point of view such social occasions are often multi-layered, children orientate themselves on the obvious aspect of the situation: sharing a drink. This action is easy to reproduce and gives children a sense of belonging - something that the catering and beverage industry has also recognised for its own purposes.
A few years ago, a hot chocolate or a cup of tea on an afternoon stroll through the city reinforced this feeling. Since relatively recently, you can find so-called babyccinos on the drinks menu almost everywhere. These are usually an espresso cup filled with milk foam. This allows children to enjoy exactly the same drink as mum or dad - but without the bitter taste of coffee.
7 tips for handling drinks
- Talk to older children about social rituals and how their significance goes beyond a drink.
- As soon as your child comes into contact with other children and families, it is inevitable that they will be introduced to children's champagne, caffeinated sweet drinks and other trends. Be proactive and discuss moderation with your child.
- Being transparent with your children can promote your credibility. Explain in child-friendly language why some drinks are not suitable for children.
- Practise consistency. Exceptions may seem particularly attractive at the moment, but in the long term they can lead to tedious, recurring discussions. It is then much more difficult to remain consistent.
- Therefore, choose the moment for an exception carefully. A glass of children's champagne on New Year's Eve is a better choice than a baby cuppa during a shopping break. Make sure you clearly declare the exception as such at this moment.
- Well-known child-friendly alternatives are a good compromise. A glass of milk is visually different from a cappuccino. This makes it easier to explain the distinction between «suitable for children» and «suitable for adults».
- Use your role model function. Drink a cup of fruit tea on your next «coffee date». Or toast everyone together with a glass of fruit juice at your next invitation.
Admittedly, there were already copies of drinks for adults that were adapted to the needs of children during our childhood. Just think of the classic children's champagne. Many of us can remember the special moment when we were allowed to stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve and toast with the adults. You felt like a fully-fledged member of the group and completely established socially.
In terms of socialisation, this certainly serves a purpose. From a nutritional point of view, however, there are other aspects. Most child-friendly alternative drinks have no health consequences when consumed in moderation.
Children's champagne lowers the inhibition threshold for consuming the original
In the longer term, however, they can lower the inhibition threshold for consuming the original products. This is because the ritual transition to «something that adults do» is no longer as pronounced. This may not be so relevant in childhood, but the effects may well be felt during adolescence.
The path from sweet fizzy drinks to alcoholic mixed drinks is not far.
This is because it is easier to gradually add coffee to the milk foam than to switch directly from drinking chocolate to coffee. And the path from sweet fizzy drinks to alcoholic mixed drinks is not far away either. It is no coincidence that the marketing of sugary alcopops was mainly aimed at teenagers and young adults.
At first glance, caffeine and alcohol-free products appear to be a suitable alternative. Full of flavour, so to speak, but without the risk. Unfortunately, not quite. This is because regular consumption can lead to a familiarisation effect in terms of taste, which in turn can lower the inhibitions against consuming the classic «with» versions.
In addition, variants labelled as alcohol-free are not always completely alcohol-free. According to the Federal Department of Home Affairs, drinks with an alcohol content of up to 0.5 per cent by volume may be labelled as «alcohol-free» in Switzerland. This means that a beer that is supposedly alcohol-free can still contain small amounts of alcohol. And this can have a negative effect on the growing body if consumed frequently.
