Tuesday, 14 July 2009
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Kids and Energy Drinks
I work long hours at a convenience store and everyday I see all kinds of people stop by. The most frequent are children by themselves and i'm a little bothered about this- not necessarily because most of them are unsupervised, but what I see them buying for themselves. And i'm not talking about candy; the most popular item kids around the age of 10 buy is energy drinks. They aren't limiting themselves to redbull either but even purchase those 16 ounce cans and sometimes, even worse, those tiny extremely concentrated bottles(they're really expensive too!).
Naturally when I saw them first buying these drinks I was full of questions such as "is this allowed?" "Should I be selling this to them at all?" "are they going to be ok?" and I even asked them "are your parents ok with you buying this or know your drinking this?". Of course they answer yes although there had been one situation where a parent came to complain. But the thing is, I'm working for someone else and there isn't anything that says I can tell them what they can and cannot buy(this often creates more problems) so I let them, but there have been times when I've seen a child try to buy more than three in a short amount of time and just had to say no. However, i'm not the parent, shouldn't someone who is be supervising their own kids on what they buy? I'm sure most parents would keep an eye on what goes into their child's mind like a hawk but what about what's going into their body?
Further more, what will this do to these kids in the future? If you think about it, it'll end up like drugs if these children who arent able to control themselves and what they want at this age begin to create a dependancy on these drinks. Sooner or later what will be a normal level of "energy"?
There are very few energy drinks that actually have an age restriction on their drinks(usually to under 18) or feel the need to while most do not. Many say they are natural or healthy and there are even energy drinks made for children. But I still question how "healthy" a drink can be that charges people the way it does even if it claims it is and I especially doubt whether they're healthy if a young child is drinking it. Do kids need something to give them more energy than they already do?
I feel I can leave out the health facts out since the drinks vary and most people are aware of them, it can be left for discussion.
Should energy drinks have an age restriction, or stricter ones, for kids or do you think they're ok? Should parents supervise what they're children buy?
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Comments (165)
I'm not a fan of energy drinks for the most part but I hated seeing kids come to school with tons of energy drink can tabs all put on a chain for a necklace. :/
some schools are banning energy drinks. they should be for restrictive use for adults and children alike.
I used to work as a makeup artist on a tv show set. On set, the rules were that the child actors weren't allowed to have the energy drinks. But the parents would get it and then sneak the drinks to their kids during down time.
i think they probably should, but how likely is that to happen? there's no restriction on coffee, but it's an old thing, and parents used to control their children enough that they knew that they weren't supposed to be drinking it. and until it's proven it causes severe side effects (like cigarettes and alcohol), i don't think the government will have enough leverage to implement a restriction.
the kids just want to be the "cool kids," and the parents obviously don't care or don't have enough control over them. YOU are doing your job, and it's amazing that you seem to care more about the health of these children more than their parents!
(that's assuming that the parents didn't tell them not to buy energy drinks, and when they found out that that was what they bought, the children didn't get in trouble).
Parents should definitely supervise their kids on that. Energy drinks and kids just don't mix.
I know a ton of people who can't even get up in the morning without having an energy drink or two. Am I the only one who thinks that's ridiculous? One of my best friends also had a seizure while drinking one (I believe it was called a "Superman") and his blood pressure went throught the roof. He was taken to the hospital immediately, all during school hours.
I've never had one, and I don't feel required to drink one. People tell me I shouldn't because I'm a little too energetic as it is. (-_-;) Haha.
These kids will need liver transplants before they get to high school.
Straight mineral water on the rocks is fine for me.
I honestly dont know why so many kids like these energy drink
I dont think they taste good
but I think its because its becoming a trend for them
so if someone has had it
other kids want it too
why do they drink them in the first place?
i myself don't drink such stuff...
@Sorrows_xx_Soliloquy - wow i didnt even know this has been going on for that long haha
@LetheOfHeaven - true, it can have negative side effects for adults and children and it isnt for sure that anyone can handle themselves
@youngvan - Thats really interesting(youre job sounds really cool too haha), I kind of ech don't know how to feel about hearing stuff like that, I think they're more into giving their kids what they want and keeping them happy and forgetting how bad it could be for them
@PenaltyLife - Thanks! But i know what you mean, its because those things generate so much money for them :(
@crushediamonds - I agree, i'm sure they have their reasons(trust or privacy etc) but these kids arent aware of the things they buy and someone who is should be there with them :\
@tokyoloveletters - haha i'm that way too and yeah when things happen like that it's just one example of what kind of danger could happen :/ scary stuff
I don't drink energy drinks unless I got 2 hours of sleep because one of my best friends was making out with some guy and sounding like a pig eating slop while having a swim meet the next day. [[yes it has happened V_V]]
yeah...
Where do you live? Because every time I go to buy an energy drink or those concentrated sprays, I get carded.
I really doubt the kids need the extra energy. I don't think they should be able to drink them, but really that's a parenting decision. I don't see why kids would want them either, the ones I've tried don't taste so great.
i agree with you completely..all of my friends are in on the energy drink trend and i'm glad to say i am energy drink free. :)
I think they should at least be banned for those under 16 to purchase for themselves. If a parent wants their kid to have it, they can buy it for them.
@black_lie - Monster is super (sickly) sweet. I bet most of the kids don't even care about the rest of it, they just want the sugar.
When I was that age, I didn't need help getting hyper. You couldn't even get me to sleep most of the time.
Wow, children who drink energy drinks? Scary!!! If they are not naturally energetic, something is wrong and there's no way a drink can simply fix it. I guess some parents just don't think ahead when it comes to their children because they believe they know everything that comes from being a parent. My friend who worked at GameStop refused to sell a video game with mature content to a minor so the kid's mother had complaints about having to get out of the car to purchase it for her son. Then, the next day, she came in again and yelled at the same employee for letting her son play such a violent game. What kind of sense does that make?
Parents should keep a closer eye on their kids for sure, but really you don't wanna be losing your job or tarnish the store image by not selling something legal to someone. I like energy drinks like Redbull and Rockstar, but some of them like Cocaine or Spike will get me fidgety. We sold Redbull at my store, but I worked in a market so most of our customers were young adults.
It's not always the parents fault.. being a kid once, I know how easy it is to sneaking things behind my parents back. Going to the store by themselves probably meant the parent didn't even know they were they. They could have used tons of excuses or whatever so they could get the time to go get one. I am just saying.. Kids are nuts and they go behind their parents backs one way or another even if the mom or dad is a good, well-fitted, parent.
I don't allow any of my younger family members that I'm close to have energy drinks. I don't see the sense. They have enough energy.
Heck, I only drink them once in a great while. And that's only because I like the taste.
great topic to bring up. i wouldn't allow my kids to have energy drinks.... or soda pop for that matter.
@cutesycharm - Canada :)
@radicalramblings - haha monster is the most popular
@T0m03 - I know what you mean, we don't know what will make them made so we just do what we're told to do, not necessarily what we feel we should do
@prettyxgirl333 - Thats very true, I myself though don't know many kids who would be going off places on their own (especially the location of where i work is kind of secluded >_<). But most them also have someones debit card haha, kids get into a lot of things
i dont get it, energy drinks taste like glorified grape cough medicine.