AIBU to not want fizzy drinks at my kids party

[Anorthernlass]

So to be clear I'd bought the diet, caffeine free varieties, plus other homemade fizzy stuff just so they're not missing out (yes I know about the sweetners but it's a one-off). So when a parent turns up with 40 cans of sugar loaded drinks and they all run to grab them before I've even noticed or had a chance to offer anything else... its very annoying! Cue spirited, cheeky kids turning into little vandals - tantrums and tummyaches galore... not an exaggeration.

The tantrums and tummy aches in 10 year olds because of coke did not happen.

For a birthday party, turning up with all those cans would have been odd. Not rude, just odd. But for a random just-because party - definitely not odd to decide to contribute.

I think I’d raise an eyebrow at fizzy cans myself, but you had the diet stuff, so 🤷🏻‍♀️ You say that was a one off but then so might the coke dealer!

Well tbf the only person who had the diet one was my other child who is presxribed a sugar.free diet.

Yes.

It wasn't a party where it would have been a bit weird for someone to bring something, it was just you were having some kids over, it was a kind gesture for the parent to chip in with some juice. Might not be your ideal choice but at 10 some fizzy juice as a one off really isn't a big deal.

When ds had friends over I had one grandparent that would send her grandson with enough juice/sweets/cakes/savoury snacks to feed a small army 🤣 and they weren't cheap either, several large bottles of shloer etc. The kids would rarely finish them and I would end up drinking them myself sending them back when she was having them around at hers!

I think it’s a very rude thing to do. I’ve never been to a children’s party where they have fizzy drinks. We never have them at home - they are all vile - so it wouldn’t occur to me to get them in for a party.

I do think turning up with 40 cans for fewer than 10 kids and letting them help themselves is pretty shit parenting tbh.

But it was your party, there were only a few kids, and you didn't see it until they were all drunk? Or have enough control to shout over"oh thanks Gary, one each and the rest in the kitchen please? Or to stop the activity to remove 30+cans? If the kids opened all40 immediately and refused to hand them over, you'd already lost control

There is actually no proven link between sugar/ fizzy drinks and hyperactivity in children. It's all based on one study from 1970 in which a doctor removed sugar from one child's diet and that child's behaviour improved.

In another study, parents were asked to rate their child's hyperactivity after consuming a drink with sugar. Unknown to the parents, the drink was sugar-free, but the parents still rated their child as more hyperactive.

The kids may well have just been bouncing off each other and the excitement of the party.

There are many reasons not to allow too many sugar drinks (obesity, decreased appetite for meals etc), but any link with hyperactive behaviour is actually very dubious.

One sugary drink is not going to harm your child. Just let them enjoy it.

there is no way in earth that happened. 😂

It’s fizzy pop, not crack

Same thing as far as I'm concerned

Sugar doesnt cause that sort of behaviour. They simply behaved like that cause they were excited 10 year olds at a party and you've blamed it on the sugar. They've had done that anyway.

Put a bunch of kids in a room. Have their parents taken away for 10 minutes to chat. When the parents return, tell them all the kids were given a can of sugary drink/a bag of haribo and are now having a play. The parents will start saying, "look at that behaviour, they're all going crazy from the sugar" when actually, the kids had no sugar.

Sugar doesnt cause it. It's just your perception.

Which do you prefer?

Well yes, I don't think I've seen a 40 pack of cans in the shops. That would be huge and heavy, I feel like you'd need to bring it in on a trolley! How was it smuggled in

The disappointing thing is that their behaviour wasn't linked to fizzy pop, meaning your son and his friends just turn into little shits at parties.

I’ve never been to a kids party that serves fizzy drinks, it’s all squash / fruit juice round here.

I don’t understand why another parent was serving drinks at your party 🤷‍♀️ but yanbu to not want kids drinking fizzy drinks.

Hmm, it must be different in Scotland then, we still have sugar and diet versions of drinks. Do you only have sugar free where you are?

Crikey. I live on pepsi max. Seem to be doing ok though. Pretty sure my kids will have fizzy drinks. Pretty sure they will be fine.
Don't think I'd rock up to someone else's party with 40 cans at any point though.

I personally would prefer my children not to drink diet soda but at ten they are perfectly capable of saying “no thank you” and choosing something more normal for them. Sounds like you were having a group over to play and the other parent felt they were contributing.

Nonsense. A sugar rush is a very real thing - I react strongly to sugar and get dizzy and shaky when the sugar crash follows, so I’m very aware of its physical effects!

Can’t believe we’re even debating the fact that sugar makes children hyper. By the way so does anything with red food colouring, which is made from coal tar and is proven to cause hyperactivity in children - google it and notice the warning on the label…

Sugar doesn't raise blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and thus energy levels? Why do you think people drink it when they're doing sport and need an energy boost? Or have sugary tea for shock? Of course it does.

If we're having a big BBQ or something we bulk buy soft drinks from Costco. They come in slabs of 12. There is no way on this planet that a parent walked in carrying 40 cans, let along a gaggle of kids stampeded towards them before you even noticed.

We're not debating it, because you are wrong and it's been disproved. With actual science. You being dramatic after a can of coke is not science and does not add anything.

Sugar does not cause hyperactivity. It just doesnt.

It gives energy, just like eating any food.

It’s actually quite difficult to get full sugar drinks in England. Even Lucozade, which used to be the go to for people having a hypoglycaemic episode is now artificial and useless for its original purpose.

Eating anything raises your energy and allows your body to keep going. No one said sugar doesnt provide tour body with fuel. That isnt being debated.

Sugar does not cause hyperactivity. That is also not a debate. That's science. It doesnt cause hyperactivity.

What age are the kids? None of my dc had fizzy pre age 10 because they didn’t like the bubbles but as long as they weren’t sleeping over I wouldn’t care. I once did a birthday party dessert of ice cream then dc chose their own toppings. A mum complained I’d given too many sweets… I wasn’t aware there was a set rule. It’s a party and it wasn’t vodka.

Sugar doesn't cause hyper activity in children.
Studies have proven it doesn't improve energy levels or alertness in athletes either, in fact sugar can have a calming effect hence sweet sugary tea prescribed for shock.