Views on Monster Energy Drinks?

[CurryLover55]

At the moment DD12 has one can a week but DH & I aren’t really happy about her having it at all. She’s threatened to buy it in secret if we ban it altogether. I need to do a bit of research on it but wondered what you guys think?

I would 100% not want my DD 13 drinking this…. It’s effectively poison. Not a single bit if goodness in it. I used to drink energy drinks in nightshift and the pains they gave me In My stomach were horrendous….

She also shouldn’t be able to buy it…. Is it not 16? It’s effectively like her saying at 14 well I’ll just get my own vodka…

@Nap1983

She also shouldn’t be able to buy it…. Is it not 16? It’s effectively like her saying at 14 well I’ll just get my own vodka…

Unfortunately there isn't an age limit on monster energy drinks so she could buy it herself

Most shops around me (in Scotland) restrict sales of energy drinks to people under age 16. It's a voluntary ban rather than law...at the moment

I wouldn't be letting my teenagers drink energy drinks. A girl I went to school with drank energy drinks regularly and started having seizures.
It was probably one of those one in a million things and it wasn't only one drink a week, but I wouldn't take the risk.

I would tell her if she disrespects your wishes for her health you'll stop her pocket money and she won't be able to afford to buy them.

At 25 my ds was taken to hospital with a suspected heart attack..
Dr blamed energy drinks and told him he must stop drinking them...

There is an age restriction for a reason ? You have to have I.d in Tesco to buy it like you would buying alcohol so she can’t buy it for herself .

Not monster but my 13yo is allowed Lucozade and it's no worse than other fizzy drinks. It's the caffeine in Monster that would bother me but it's the same in Coke and less than a cup of tea. Once a week is OK looked at like that. Loads of teens drink tea and coffee regularly.

I wouldn’t allow them at all. They are addictive and have proven side effects.

My dc 10&12 are not allowed Monster or Lucozade/Powerade

The caffeine overload in these drinks can make a grown adult sick, never mind a kid. Add in sugar / sugar free chemicals, and you have a huge problem.

The average 280ml can of energy drink is equivalent in caffeine to three cans of Coke. Monster is 500ml so she's basically drinking six cans of Coke in one go.

My dd's cardiologist has specifically told her (and my 22 year old ds) to never drink these. He had admitted a fair few teens for severe heart palpitations because of these energy drinks.

Have you see the level of caffeine in them OP.

I am not in the UK, but I am pretty sure they have a warning on them here to not be consumed by under 18's.

Please try to find some type of alternative to this. What about a smoothie, or some other fancy (less harmful) drink. I get that they are 'cool' to drink. But then again so it taking drugs and drinking alcohol when it comes to peer pressure. Put this into that same category for a 12 year old.

Oh I thought there was, there should be.

@Beyondword

My dc 10&12 are not allowed Monster or Lucozade/Powerade

Powerade and Lucozade has it's place, in moderation.

Powerade has electrolytes in it, so my sporty dd does have one of these every now and then (we live in a hot country and dehydration is a issue we need to be aware of). Also during/after a d&v bug. But not as an normal every day drink though, I agree.

@gingercat02

Not monster but my 13yo is allowed Lucozade and it's no worse than other fizzy drinks. It's the caffeine in Monster that would bother me but it's the same in Coke and less than a cup of tea. Once a week is OK looked at like that. Loads of teens drink tea and coffee regularly.

Monster's standard 500ml cans have 160mg caffeine. Equivalent to more than 3 pro plus tablets and five times the amount you would get from a can of coke.

They also contain B6 from what I can tell. It's very easy to overdo B6 and it is toxic with sometimes irreversible damage in large amounts.

You'd need to drink six cups of tea to match caffeine in one monster can. And each of those cups of tea would need two spoons of sugar. And you'd then need to eat an extra two spoons of sugar again.

I have a work colleague, a strapping very fit 25 yr old , he drank a can a day ( generally split into 2 or 3 drinks ) He had very severe heart palpitations one day while driving home he crashed into a bus .
Fourtunatly no one was hurt as he was only going slow but a few minutes later he would of been on a motorway.

Like PP said , it may never happen to your DD but imo it is not worth the risk.

Sorry yes you're right! I got sucked in by the crap labelling should know better!

They are massively addictive in teens in my experience. It's not just the crap in them, they also prevent uptake of essential nutrients and lead to serious health issues.

If she’s doing what many teens do and drinking them for the look/lifestyle then it’s going to be difficult to get her to stop as she’ll feel like it’s a part of her identity. It’s a bit like ‘cool/edgy’ kids smoking in the past.

Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t think she should be drinking them.

Interesting to see that there's no age limit on buying these drinks - I was in Tesco the other day and they refused to sell it to some teens without ID.

A lot of shops have voluntarily put an age limit on buying them

A lot of my teens friends consume these like they're going out of fashion. My older teen occasionally has one but tends to only drink half. She knows we don't like it because of the massive health concerns. They always get asked for ID when buying.

God no! But tbh I’m not sure how you’d stop a teen buying it without your knowledge - I’d have to try and explain and show the risks associated with such drinks