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Children tend to imitate adults, and a rare child will not take an interest in what kind of amber drink sparkles and foams in his father’s glass. To avoid an unpleasant scene, some parents allow the baby to take a sip without thinking about the consequences. In this material, we will figure out whether children can drink beer (regular and non-alcoholic). Let’s look at the situation with teenagers separately.
Popular excuses for parents giving beer to their kids:
- if the baby wants beer, it means that the drink contains substances necessary for the child’s body;
- beer is useful, it increases appetite, improves the condition of hair and skin, the child falls asleep faster and sleeps more soundly;
- bitter beer, once tasting it, the child will no longer want;
- let him learn to drink in front of his parents rather than with friends in the alley.
Let’s determine how true these statements are.
Beer in traditional medicine recipes
There is always some grandmother or neighbor who will tell you that beer with sour cream improves appetite, and if a child drinks a tablespoon of the drink before going to bed, he will stop waking up at night and waking up his parents. Beer also improves digestion and relieves constipation. This is partly true. Quality beer contains:
- vitamins C, PP, group B;
- amino acids;
- potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, chromium and other trace elements.
However, in addition to useful substances in the composition of the drink – 4-6% alcohol. In addition, unfiltered beer contains fusel oils formed during fermentation. But the weight of the baby is 10-15 times less than the body weight of an adult. At the same time, the child’s liver copes much worse with the toxins formed as a result of the breakdown of ethanol. Carbonic acid enhances the effect of alcohol and fusel oils on the body.
A tablespoon of beer for a baby is equivalent to a glass of drink for an adult. A daily glass of beer for an adult is a direct path to beer alcoholism. In children, addiction occurs much faster.
Ethanol has a detrimental effect on brain cells. A kid, accustomed to small doses of beer, becomes nervous, absorbs information worse, as it is difficult for him to concentrate. Growing up, the child experiences an increased craving for alcohol.
Why beer improves sleep
Hop cones contain morphine (the main alkaloid of opium). The concentration of the substance is scanty, but this is enough for the baby. From a tablespoon of beer, the child falls into a state close to drug intoxication.
The effect of beer on appetite
Beer to stimulate appetite is a serious blow to the digestive organs of a child. Appetite increases due to the fact that alcohol irritates the mucous membrane of the walls of the stomach and stimulates the production of gastric juice. Regular exposure of this kind is a direct path to gastritis.
Permissibility of drinking beer by teenagers
Sometimes parents themselves offer beer to 12-14-year-old sons or daughters, arguing that it is time for growing children to master the culture of drinking. There is an opinion that beer for teenagers is normal, let children drink low-alcohol drinks rather than anything stronger.
In teenage girls, addiction to beer provokes menstrual irregularities, alcohol can cause bleeding. In addition, ethanol negatively affects the condition of the eggs. Some of them simply die, others are injured. If the subsequently damaged egg is fertilized, the child will be born sick.
Non-alcoholic beer for children
Non-alcoholic beer is considered by many to be “children’s”: it allegedly contains vitamins and trace elements, but there is no ethyl alcohol. Contrary to the name, non-alcoholic beer contains 0,25–0,7% alcohol. But even such a portion of ethanol is dangerous for a small child. In addition, a variety of chemical additives in a non-alcoholic drink is not less, and sometimes more, than in a regular one.
Pouring non-alcoholic beer to children at the festive table, parents themselves form a bad habit in them to enjoy alcohol.
What to do if the child asks for beer
The child does not always understand what is useful for him (a vivid example is the children’s love for chips and poisonous-colored lollipops). Toddlers reaching for bottles and glasses most likely do it out of curiosity, a desire to keep up with adults. Therefore, the attention of the capricious crumbs needs to be switched by offering compote or tea in a beautiful cup. If a child really needs trace elements, it is better to purchase a nutritional supplement “brewer’s yeast”: at least it does not contain alcohol or cobalt.
A teenager cannot be distracted like that, but it can be explained by examples of how the abuse of beer leads to illness. Boys are unlikely to want to acquire a “beer” belly, and girls will be scared by the prospect of getting fat and ruining their complexion, and in 10-15 years they will give birth to a sick child.
It is not in vain that the minimum age for buying and drinking beer is 18 years old:
- by this age, young people mature physically;
- it is assumed that at the age of 18 boys and girls are able to behave reasonably and know the measure in the use of alcohol.