AIBU Diet Coke at a party?

[early30smum]

DD (7) has just got back from a party. The only drinks put out for the kids were Diet Coke! She did get some water in the end, but the drink provided for each child was a mini can of Diet Coke!

AIBU to think this is a bit weird/uneccesary for a birthday party of 7-8 yr olds?

Guess that makes me a certain type of parent then! I don't think 7 year olds need caffeine and wouldn't be impressed if DS2 came back saying that's all there had been at a party.

Yep, you really do sound like that kind of parent.

Maybe I got it wrong but I read it OP like the mini can was ALL they got to drink, thirsty or not.

I don't have any problem with a little can for a party (in fact better than having big bottles to share as the amount is automatically limited) but having no other drinks at all for a couple of hours, probably with food, would leave me thirsty.

Is that what you were getting at OP? Too little to drink, not just that it was coke?

Thanks for the replies. I don't know, maybe I'm being naive but I just thought it's a bit young for Diet Coke? Maybe I'm weird but I'd actually have preferred them to have real Coke as it doesn't have the aspartame.

DD is unusual in that she only actually likes water or milk to drink, won't touch squash, juice etc (and her younger brother is the same) but they do love chocolate etc so I'm not being smug so maybe that's why it would never occur to me to offer fizzy drinks as a 'treat' at parties.

X post with lots of others. Obviously I know this is hardly the biggest problem in the world. I'm pretty relaxed as things go. And yes from DD the impression I got is there was 1 mini can of Diet Coke at each child's place, that's it.

I wouldn't have been happy, but not enough to say anything if you know what I mean. I don't want my children drinking fizzy pop at all, caffeine or no caffeine. 7 is too young imo not to offer juice.

Weird choice.

She is not unusual, two out of three of my dc still only drink water at the age of 19 and 14. Well the 19 year old only drinks water during the day, I think vodka features in the evenings sometimes.

Also I wasn't there as these parties are very much drop off. If I'd been there for whatever reason I (or more likely DD as she did!) would have politely asked for water, but of course I wouldn't have made any comment other than that! Was just posting to ask if others thought it was a bit weird or not.

Would you have preferred a Fruit Shoot?

Maybe I'm weird but I'd actually have preferred them to have real Coke as it doesn't have the aspartame.

Bingo!

No I would not have preferred a fruit shoot. Why?!

"Yep, you really do sound like that kind of parent."

That's a relief. Much better than being the kind of parent who thinks giving a bunch of 7 year olds only Diet Coke to drink is perfectly fine.

Parties at this age usually have jugs of squash, maybe some fizzy orange or lemonade. Not come across Diet Coke at a children's party at all, let alone as the only drink.

I would have offered more choices but there is nothing wrong with Diet Coke either. Especially in a mini-can.

What is the issue with aspartame? I've heard its the work of satan and makes you hungry. Ive just cut most of the sugar from my diet and do like the occasional diet coke but I've been told its baaaaaaad?

www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199402033300501#t=article

"We conclude from this carefully controlled nine-week study that neither sucrose nor aspartame produces discernible cognitive or behavioral effects in normal preschool children or in school-age children believed to be sensitive to sugar."

SeaLionsOnMyShirt, I agree with you. One of my DCs will only drink water through her own choice. Fizzy drinks not tolerated. I think diet coke is a poor choice for 7 year old.

'That's a relief. Much better than being the kind of parent who thinks giving a bunch of 7 year olds only Diet Coke to drink is perfectly fine'

Can you explain what isn't fine about it? What adverse effects will a small can of Diet Coke have on a 7 year old? I agree there should be choice, but Diet Coke isn't poison.

What is the actual problem with Diet Coke!?

It's not something I'd do, I don't think I'd be happy if all she'd drank is one can of pop either. I certainly didn't offer that up at my 9y.o party. We had water bottles, blackcurrent and orange cordial. We will offer up the same beverages at our 5yo party too.

What is the actual problem with Diet Coke!?

Apart from its dubious ingredients? It's disgusting

Unless you have an extremely restricted diet due to phenylketonuria, a tiny amount of aspartame will not do any harm at all. Some people are very anti but the evidence just doesn't support it and it's been around for long enough in widespread use now to show up if there were likely to be major problems. (Just like mobile phones and the risk of causing brain tumours) lights blue touchpaper and retires

Basically I have a bit of an issue with all sugary drinks, and I know that Diet Coke doesn't contain any actual sugar, but a load of chemicals. Obviously I'm not stupid enough to think parties should only have water and milk available, because as people have said, the odd Coke or Diet Coke is probably fine, it's a party etc, but it's the not having an alternative readily available that was weird to me. Also for me I just think parties have so much sugar anyway that more sugar in a completely empty form (fizzy drinks/juice drinks) is just unnecessary.

My ds2 is now 12 and had only now started to drink 'fizzy' drinks. Before now it was squash, water or milk. So for me that is very unreasonable, but I guess he's in the minority these days.

Water and milk are made entirely of chemicals so you'd better stop letting your kids drink those, too.

'It's disgusting'

In your opinion- plenty of people seem to enjoy it.