“Dad, can I have a non-alcoholic beer?” my 13-year-old daughter asked this week. “Uhhhh.. nice topic for a blog,” was my evasive answer. You can look at this question from a number of angles. “May” has a legal aspect, you can look at it from the health side and from the point of view of education.
Legally it is very simple: children are allowed to buy and drink non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beer up to 0.5% ABV. Only from that percentage is it an alcoholic beverage according to the Drinking and Catering Act . You must be 18 years old to purchase or even carry alcohol. But at home, parents set the rules and children are allowed to drink alcohol. Let alone alcohol-free.
From a health point of view there are also few problems. Especially for non-alcoholic beer (0.0), it has no influence on the health of the children. Although you have to keep an eye on how much sugar it contains, because it can be higher than a coke. Opinions differ regarding 0.5% beer and wine. In adults there is no health risk at this low percentage, but no research has been done in children. Researchers also do not (yet) know whether drinking non-alcoholic beer by children leads to (more) alcohol consumption later in life. An item from the youth news shows that children think it is cool to drink non-alcoholic beer.
"Dad, can I have a non-alcoholic beer?"
And now from education. What am I going to tell my daughter? The Trimbos Institute is very clear when it comes to what to do when children drink alcohol. Forbid it and start the conversation. Make sure you don't have much or no alcohol in the house if you have teenagers. This prevents children from drinking a lot later in life. And because my conclusion is that drinking non-alcoholic beer (or wine) leads to a lower threshold for drinking alcohol, I will also not allow her to drink non-alcoholic beer. At least not until she's 16. Sorry Bente..
No cheers!
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