I don’t know how all you moms feel about this, but I do not let my children drink Coke. If we go out to eat, I will let them have Sprite, lemonade, and sometimes, root beer. All these drinks have no caffeine, so they’re OK every once in a while. Of course, when they go with their grandparents or others, whoever it is lets them drink Coke. When they get home, they smile and say, “Mom, we drank Coke.” To some parents, their kids drinking Coke is not a big deal. If you’re one of those parents, sorry … I just don’t want my kids drinking it right now (that goes for all other drinks with caffeine like, Mountain Dew, Sunkist, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, etc. … you get the picture). Now, that’s not to say that I don’t drink Coke every once in a while. It is a major weakness for my hubby too. I love Coke Zero, but try to limit my consumption. I mean, there are sometimes when you just need a Coke. Am I right? I think so.
A Hole in Your Heart
I told you all this to give you the background behind what La Petite Belle said when we went to one of my favorite places, always serving authentic and delicious Mexican food … Taco Bell.
La Petite Belle: Mom, why can’t we have Coke?
Me: Coke is one of the worst things you can drink.
La Petite Belle: No, it’s not. Beer is.
Me: Where did you learn about beer?
La Petite Belle: At church.
At this point, I’m thinking … thanks CHURCH, for teaching my kid what beer is. We hadn’t covered that yet.
La Petite Belle: It makes a hole in your heart.
Me: No, it doesn’t. It’s not good for you either, but it doesn’t make a hole in your heart. (getting ready to explain the harm in drinking Coke)
La Petite Belle: Yes, it does. It makes a hole in your heart for Jesus, so does smoking.
I’m thinking … Man, you’re hard-core, girl.
Me: Oh. OK. You’re right. It’s not good for you.
I don’t let S. drink Coke either. Or really any soda or anything with sugar. But…when Daddy is around, it’s a free-for-all. I guess Daddy will be the fun parent and I’ll be the boring one.
That sounds like quite a Sunday School lesson she’s getting…wow! 🙂
“A hole in your heart for Jesus”
~can I just say that La Petite Belle Rocks?!
I could go on and on about this, but it bores people after a while. We didn’t let ours have caffeine, either, but we had sleeping disorders, so I was determined. We didn’t need “drug pop,” as I came to call it (which now cracks up my teenagers and friends). So when they got older, they had to make decisions, and believe me, they were fully informed. My oldest went to college and got hopped up on caffeine one of the first nights she was there and lay awake all night long. She was miserable the next day. Oh, the wild things kids will try at college!
My kids don’t get pop either…unless they’re at grandma’s, where she let’s them crack open can after can.
Your little girls a girl after my own heart 🙂
I’m doomed-I’m addicted to caffeine free diet coke-
and I do let mine drink diet coke when we go out! I know, Bad Mama!
But they don’t get it at home-
Out of the mouths of babes…