This is a bit of a two pronged rant about energy drinks so I apologise if you drink them or you allow your child to drink them – this is just my opinion!
I may have said this before but Mr Frugal loves his energy drinks.
He started drinking them when he worked nights for six months as he used to come home from work at about six am and not go to bed until the kids were packed off to school. He moved to a different department after that but even though his job no longer involved night shifts, he would still have his morning can of Monster.
Several years later, he’s still having his daily Monster and it costs us a fortune.
We’ve managed to find it as cheap as £2.99 for four cans which is much better than the usual price of £1.39 a can but still, it’s works out to around £25 a month. Not cheap at all, is it?
He doesn’t want to give it up because he says that he doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink alcohol and rarely goes out and I guess he has a point but it still annoys me. I can’t force him to give it up but even he admits that it doesn’t have the same effect on him as it used to – it no longer gives him that boost that it used to. More than likely because he’s drank it for so long that his body is used to it now.
If he’s tired, then he should go to bed earlier and if he needs energy, then a banana or even a chocolate bar will give him a boost. Neither option will cost £25 a month! ;-(
There you go, part one of my energy drink rant done. Now, the second part of my whinge….
It really made me think about children drinking energy drinks when we were on holiday at Butlins a few months ago and I ordered a Monster at the bar for Mr Frugal (yes, I know!). The bartender wouldn’t serve me with it if I was giving it to a child and I actually had to point out who it was for before he would let me have it!
I wouldn’t dream of giving my children an energy drink like Monster or indeed any other energy drink that is labelled as not recommended for children. There’s a reason that they’re labelled not suitable for children – usually because they’re not suitable for children!
To be honest with you, I don’t even really care why they’re not suitable, all I need to know is that a company has labelled their own product as not for children – surely they would only do that if they had good reason to as it’s limiting their own potential sales. However, because I wanted to back up my rant I had a little look into why these drinks aren’t recommended for children.
- High levels of sugar in the drinks is linked to obesity.
- The high acidic levels in the drinks is bad for teeth enamel.
- The level of caffeine in just one energy drink can be as much caffeine as you will find in 14 normal caffeinated drinks. One website I looked at described that level of caffeine as toxic for children.
- Caffeine is shown to have an adverse effect on sleep quality and moods.
- Studies show that they’re actually no better off for children as a bottle of water after sports.
Knowing all that, why on earth would you give your children any form of energy drink?
You wouldn’t give them medication that’s labelled ‘not suitable for children’ and you wouldn’t let them watch a film that’s labelled not suitable for children (ie. a 15 or 18 rated film) so how is this different?
Rant over.
As you were everyone!
