AIBU to be surprised by a five-year-old given cola in a bottle?

[Freshtona]

On a flight the other day and a child of about 5 was having total meltdown and was given a baby bottle with Coca-Cola to calm them! The parents had bottles of coke with them to top it up!

I think child was ND, but regardless of that, why would anyone give that to a 5-year old child??? I try not to judge other parents and my own DC aren't strangers to sugar but cola is not allowed. The caffeine and sugar would surely make meltdowns even worse, not to mention the effect on teeth.

I wouldn’t give my child pop, no. And pop doesn’t hydrate you anyway, so would be come dehydrated even by drinking it.
They must have drunk something as a baby.

Exactly my question.

Just don’t give them pop as an alternative they they don’t rely on it as a safe drink.

There is ways to help but referencing children who live in food insecure situations as “proof” that kids will eventually eat rather than starve is extremely unhelpful.

No type of therapy for restrictive eating suggests creating the conditions that food insecure children live under.

Are you honestly saying if your child was dehydrated in hospital unable to tolerate drinking and the doctor said they need to be able to swallow liquids of some sort in order to come of the drip to be discharged - you would refuse to try other drinks like pop?

When my child was sin hospital we tried everything to get them drinking..in our case the child didn't have eating disorder like afrid but I can completely see how for a child with restrictive eating how this could cause ongoing issues.
Especially if the child associated the hospital and illness with water and the getting better going home with the pop

Ice chips made from either of the below.

Diluted fruit juice at a push.

Sugar free squash.

I feel for you but going straight for Coca Cola wouldn’t be my top choice nor did I have it as a child.

BTW I’m ND.

He would associate going home with the pop unless he was given it at home

And if the can't manage ice chips and they are refusing all of the above you wouldn't allow pop even if the doctor suggested it?

He had the pop then he got to go home - it's not that he associated pop with home it's that drinking it meant he got to go home.
So for some children this would become a safe food because it removed him from hospital and allowed him to go home. Water resulted in him going into hospital so it not safe.

It isn't logical to most people but when we look at restrictive eating for children with AFRID they aren't viewing it the same way majority of people would.

Being ND with a toddler who is also showing signs of being ND - I don’t agree with coca cola in a bottle. If they are ND (may not be, seems to be the go to for everything now) then they’ve been given that crutch by the parents and it’s not healthy. For all those stating caffeine helps, maybe a very milky tea or a square of dark chocolate would’ve been better. ND meltdowns happen, placating with shit food and drink is not going to help in the long run.

I will judge when others are so keen not to because on one hand we’re told it’s all of our responsibility to help children with their diets (think breakfast clubs and free school meals) but on the other we’re meant to ignore terrible diet practices we see in real time in case the child is ND. This is all at a point where more and more children are having teeth removed and the govt are on about bringing tooth brushing into schools because the dental hygiene of UK children is so abysmal.

I understand the ‘safe foods’ angst some parents have as I also have a child who would rather not eat. However, unlike some (including my own relatives who’d rather she ate even if it’s crap) I don’t give in to it. So she sometimes has a dinner of just meats and cheese, but it’s not McDonald’s or biscuits because as hard as it’s been (and it’s really been hard and I’ve had plenty of unsolicited advice) - I’ve not given in. I also believe that if all she sees is her parents drinking water, she has no idea there are other offerings. A lot of kids addicted to pop will come from a family who drank a lot of it, I know this because my own family don’t stop drinking it (loads of it) and it was normalised for me at a very young age - something I didn’t want to continue with my own kids.

I’m not perfect and I’m not saying this to be smug at all, but diet and especially UPFs play havoc on most people but especially those with ND. I feel this myself. I really think as a society we should be a bit more concerned with kids diets generally.

I would not allow my child to be downing fizzy drinks like water, no. Now you are stuck with them only drinking that and before long you'll
have them with rotting teeth!

Agree. Well done for not taking the easier option and sticking with it.
People seem to forget that proper parenting includes making the difficult choices!

No.

I’d like to believe your lived experience that a Dr told you to, but I am not budging that Coca Cola wouldn’t even cross my mind. Especially when there are also flavoured sparkling waters available with limited sweeteners.

Usually its ice chips on the tongue if someone is dehydrated and won’t swallow.

The child won't be diagnosed with ADHD at 5, but if they had it they might find the caffeine in coke helps them calm down and regulate as this how stimulants effect people with ADHD. The parents have probably noticed a calming effect if they are giving it this way.

Is it how I want to parent? Nope. But it's hard to say what their alternatives are with any confidence. It sounds like they are going on holiday with a child who can be a pickle and are trying to help them through a tricky flight.

That's not what I asked.
Your avoiding the question because you know full well that people dont go from nothing to here drink lots of pop

I don't think this is a "these days" thing. I remember being at a caravan park about 20 years ago and seeing a family who repeatedly put coke into a toddler's baby bottle and would also take the dummy of their (under 1yo) baby and dunk it in their own glass of coke too and give it back. It was before I had children and I was shocked and a bit judgemental about it.

It is a stupendously bad idea, but I can only imagine they didn't know, or didn't think it was that bad. I think they probably hadn't thought any further than we're on holiday and we're enjoying ourselves with a drink we like the taste of, let's share it with the kids, they will enjoy it too, children like sweet stuff. This bottle is the way this child drinks, this dummy is the way the other child can have a taste.

I don't think anybody ever in the history of the world has ever thought oooh yes, coke, what a perfect vehicle to deliver sugar, caffeine, tooth-destroying acids and whatever other chemicals into my very young child.

You're a strong person to ignore a doctor's advise.

Two things. 1) A bottle at age 5? wtf?
2) Cola at age 5? wtf?

What did you ask? Would I allow pop … I already said, NO! As have the many many people on here … I don’t think many people agree with your choices.

I would be very concerned about taking any advice from a doctor that told me to give a small child cola or pop of any type!

I'm not the person on the plane you plonker.

My children didn't have pop routinely

I did however, have a child with health issues that struggled to drink after an illness and I absolutely would have tried anything to get them drinking and off a drip.
I'm explaining that genuinely people don't go to pop just for fun and that sometimes there can be reasons it's led to this.

We don't know the reasons the family on the flight gave cola. They could be real reasons or not but just to assume they are shot parents without any knowledge of the situation isn't fair. It's always worth keeping an open mind.

No one knows where life will lead.

Unlike you I would follow medical advice

You don’t have any idea whether the person on the plane was ND … and I’m well aware that you are not them, you plonker.
As for your excuses why you insisted on giving your child “pop”, they are unfounded, however, if you are secure in them then I have no idea why you are so desperate to keep continuing justifying yourself.
As for medical advice … not sure advising someone to give a small child fuzzy drinks really counts as medical advice.
Next you’ll be sat at the dentist waiting for your child to have a tooth extraction! Great “medical” advice.

Bit hostile.

I’ve seen many young children (even toddlers sadly) swigging pop or eating sweets around the places like the supermarket as a placating tactic. I don’t believe every single one is ND. I think we live in a world where there’s so much convenient crap it’s easier to grab and shut kids up especially as society has made even normal child behaviour like tantrums so intolerable so it’s placate, placate, placate. I can see why some ND parents choose a route to end the meltdown even if it’s kicking the can down the road (imagine being ND having to have dental surgery due to all the Coca Cola, quite traumatic).

I would also add I think permissive parenting under the guise of gentle parenting is a real issue.

What excuses I didn't insist on giving my child pop.
We did try lots of drinks while they were in hospital to try and get them drinking and off the drip.
With medical guidance. In our case we didnt need to get to pip as we found a squash that could be tolerated.

But unlike you I am and not so narrow minded to think because a squash worked for us that it will work for everyone. And yes we would have kept trying drinks until we found something that worked.

As the medical staff said at the time just keep trying different drinks until there one they will accept.

In most cases once they start accepting drinks they will accept different types but the important thing is that they start drinking

Until you’ve had to fly with a child with additional needs then you have NO IDEA just how hard it is and how much work you put in to keep them happy/stop you all being thrown off the plane/avoid the “looks”or comments of shut that kid up etc