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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that the rules are RIDICULOUS and infantilising?

398 replies

OhBling · 09/07/2023 18:37

Was just in a Co Op buying a few bits. DS negotiated with me that I'd buy him a Monster, and he'd drink half (they are such huge tins it drives me mad)....

... the man in co op would not sell it to me because I was going to give it to a child.

FFS. I'm an adult. He is my child. I can decide what he can and can't have. And caffeine is NOT illegal for children.

I'm also fully aware that lots of people will say I AM BU because no child should ever drink anything except fresh water, preferably from your local stream.... But I'm extremely annoyed. These rules are ridiculous.

OP posts:
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7
Original poster
OhBling · 09/07/2023 21:49

GrinAndVomit · 09/07/2023 21:29

The government need to put laws in place because parents are wilfully stupid about these kinds of drinks.

It's not, in fact, illegal, just like it's not actually illegal for a parent to allow a child to drink some alcohol. There are recommendations and guidelines, as with alcohol. All of which seem like a good idea to me.

My issue is that co-op decided to make it a rule. That was my irritation.

Clearly, lots of you agree with co-op. Fair enough. I still think it's ridiculous and a but pointless- all of the people who agree with the rule would never allow their children to have it. The rest of us will just buy it elsewhere. 🤷‍♀️

OP posts:
Stravaig · 09/07/2023 21:54

It's not just Co-op, OP, it's most major retailers, and it's been in place for five years already!

To think that the rules are RIDICULOUS and infantilising?
Justcallmebebes · 09/07/2023 21:56

It's poison so I'm with the coop worker. Can't believe you would give this to a child willingly

Justcallmebebes · 09/07/2023 22:02

OhBling · 09/07/2023 21:49

It's not, in fact, illegal, just like it's not actually illegal for a parent to allow a child to drink some alcohol. There are recommendations and guidelines, as with alcohol. All of which seem like a good idea to me.

My issue is that co-op decided to make it a rule. That was my irritation.

Clearly, lots of you agree with co-op. Fair enough. I still think it's ridiculous and a but pointless- all of the people who agree with the rule would never allow their children to have it. The rest of us will just buy it elsewhere. 🤷‍♀️

Show quote history

But why would you buy it elsewhere for your child knowing how unhealthy it is? I don't get it.

Why not just be an adult and say no?

Izzy54321 · 09/07/2023 22:03

Children have died after drinking monster not from the sugar but the caffeine. All shops are not allowed to sell it to children. The young man who served you was right to refuse you the drink. Looking at your replies and your refusal to admit you are wrong buying your child monster shows us who you really are as a parent. Makes me wonder why you even posted your question on here. you don’t like the replies so you doubled down.

Maverickess · 09/07/2023 22:06

To all those frothing about me wanting to get the assistant fired etc etc - projecting much?! I was complaining about the rules, not the polite young man who was enforcing it! He certainly did the right thing to enforce the store policy as its his job on the line I assume. I still think the rule is ridiculous.

Aah, this is really where you've let the side down, don't you realise that the assistant is supposed to be a power crazed lunatic who was smirky and sneering when they refused the sale and hasn't an ounce of common sense?
It really adds weight to your argument you know 😂

GreenWheat · 09/07/2023 22:06

I agree, OP, that a shop trying to police what happens after the sale is a bit silly, because it's just as easy to give alcohol etc to a minor who isn't with you as one who is. I understand that the alcohol thing was designed to stop teenagers asking their 18 year old sibling to get alcohol for them from the corner shop while they wait nearby with their mates. But refusing to sell alcohol, energy drinks etc to women in their forties who happen to have a teenager with them at the time is OTT.

Bumdealoftheweek · 09/07/2023 22:10

OhBling · 09/07/2023 21:49

It's not, in fact, illegal, just like it's not actually illegal for a parent to allow a child to drink some alcohol. There are recommendations and guidelines, as with alcohol. All of which seem like a good idea to me.

My issue is that co-op decided to make it a rule. That was my irritation.

Clearly, lots of you agree with co-op. Fair enough. I still think it's ridiculous and a but pointless- all of the people who agree with the rule would never allow their children to have it. The rest of us will just buy it elsewhere. 🤷‍♀️

Show quote history

And herein lies the problem. Take some responsibility for your child's diet and educate them on the shite being put in their bodies rather than laughing it off. It's the normalising of all this crap that has led to an obesity crisis.

Scirocco · 09/07/2023 22:25

YABU. High caffeine energy drinks aren't suitable for children. The health warnings aren't just there for fun, there are very real health concerns.

TeaGinandFags · 09/07/2023 22:27

My ds who is late twenties had to keep showing id until he was mid twenties and I stormed in and threw a major wobbly with the Co op manager.

Conversely I blatantly bought a PS game hecwas too young for in HMV gave it to my ds since he was standing next to me.

GrinAndVomit · 09/07/2023 22:33

OhBling · 09/07/2023 21:49

It's not, in fact, illegal, just like it's not actually illegal for a parent to allow a child to drink some alcohol. There are recommendations and guidelines, as with alcohol. All of which seem like a good idea to me.

My issue is that co-op decided to make it a rule. That was my irritation.

Clearly, lots of you agree with co-op. Fair enough. I still think it's ridiculous and a but pointless- all of the people who agree with the rule would never allow their children to have it. The rest of us will just buy it elsewhere. 🤷‍♀️

Show quote history

Did you mean to just back up my point or was that purely accidental?

Begonne · 09/07/2023 22:43

Please don’t give your dc water to drink from your local stream op; caffeinated energy drinks are a healthy option by comparison to the waterways.

CostelloJones · 09/07/2023 23:46

I’m by no means in the “only drink water” category of mums, but I agree YABVU to be annoyed about this.

they aren’t allowed to sell it to children, they aren’t going to risk their job by letting you buy it for a child. There are all sorts of rules in the world and you aren’t above them.

& honestly that stuff is absolutely foul

gherkeen · 09/07/2023 23:53

Enough caffeine for three cups of coffee, sugar plus sweeteners which are carcinogenic and even worse than sugar, colour, additives and taurine which mixed with the above can affect blood pressure and your heart and cause anxiety.

Your poor child

Desiredeffect · 09/07/2023 23:56

It's not law and currently no laws stating energy drinks cannot be sold to a under 16/18. The government were going to introduce a law to ban under 16s from buying energy drinks but got put on hold. The shops own policy then to not serve energy drinks to children,.

gherkeen · 10/07/2023 00:02

OhBling · 09/07/2023 21:45

No, it's sugar free.

In fact, I have far more of an issue with the chemicals and sweeteners and preservatives than the caffeine.

Show quote history

Sugar free isn't healthy. It's poison. Those sweeteners are carcinogenic and confuse the heck out of the gut and body and can cause diabetes. The WHO no longer recommend them and label done sweeteners as cancer causing. They can be bad for ADHD too. I avoid them and it seriously annoys me how many products have sweeteners in these days.

LordSalem · 10/07/2023 00:25

Reminds me of walking past a street stall in Liverpool with DD. She noticed that they had purple Prime drinks and made me ask how much. £10 for one bottle. I told DD she had no chance and the lady stallholder said "Just drink some water kid, it's much better for you than this anyway"

motherofawhirlwind · 10/07/2023 00:37

I was totally against these drinks but then DD had one (OH bought it), said her brain went quiet, and we realised she had ADHD. So they're not all bad....

Her psychiatrist days this is common and meant the meds would help her. She still has an occasional can, but not plus the meds. That way madness and death by chattering incessantly lies. Grin

MonkeypuzzleClimber · 10/07/2023 01:08

OhBling · 09/07/2023 21:13

This has been entertaining. Had no idea the response would be so intense!

He is 13 - but tall for his age.

As a pp mentioned, we are not too stressed about some caffeine as a short term support for inattentive adhd and overall I don't mind a bit of caffeine anyway, although not a whole can of Monster! Based on the wide variety of healthy, academically successful, pleasant and polite children I meet regularly through my children and friends, I feel pretty confident I am not the only who feels this way, notwithstanding this thread!

To all those frothing about me wanting to get the assistant fired etc etc - projecting much?! I was complaining about the rules, not the polite young man who was enforcing it! He certainly did the right thing to enforce the store policy as its his job on the line I assume. I still think the rule is ridiculous.

Haha re co op not being open. Its 2023!

Being accused of being a wind up has been bizarre but strangely entertaining! Not least because I've been on here since at least 2008, possibly earlier! Certainly never been accused of that before!

Two weeks ago you said “DS has just turned 12”. Maybe the caffeine makes him age fast 🤔

Nat6999 · 10/07/2023 01:46

GeorgiaGirl52 · 09/07/2023 19:33

These same drinks - Monster, Red Bull, etc. - are available without restrictions in the USA. Even in vending machines, accessible for everyone.
As far as the caffeine content, many parents of ADHD children who are anti-medication use hi-caffeine drinks as natural remedies. Before energy drinks appeared, I was advised by my DD's pediatrician to give the a cup of coffee with sugar every morning before school. The caffeine would overstimulate and cause the hyperactivity to slow down. If it worked, then the doctor recommended a coffee drink for lunch to keep the caffeine level up.
Yes, I understand that drinking 12 at once could land a child in the hospital. So could drinking 12 pints of water. Or 12 beers. Maybe at some point in time, let parents make decisions for their children.

America are talking about banning prime energy drinks, it's on Sky news, they have double the caffeine of a can of Monster.

paellabella · 10/07/2023 03:32

My teenage son (who looked 16) bought one from a nearby shop.

He was incredibly unwell and was sick and shaking etc.

I complained to the shop for selling it to him at his age.

Codlingmoths · 10/07/2023 04:45

I think it would be really helpful for a study or article to explain if kids with adhd whose behaviour can benefit from caffeine are still subject to all the health negatives. It’s easy as a parent to go well it helps with this so then forget about all the downsides that are why many parents wouldn’t let their kids touch the stuff. If I were letting my kid have caffeine earlier than I would normally due to adhd (which I may be doing when my oldest is about 10,12) I’d make sure it was stuff that came with minimal levels of synthesised crap, and ideally not too much sugar. Buy a good coffee machine. Let them make a coffee.

RainyDate · 10/07/2023 04:45

To be honest, I think it's a shame that such rules are needed but clearly they are because parents like you will feed their children muck unless it's regulated.

MarieG10 · 10/07/2023 05:27

@OhBling Sorry...nanny state in action...you won't get sympathy here as MN is full of the ultimate nanny's!

I wish the govt would spend time fixing everything else that is collapsing instead of supporting stupid stuff like this