Mom ‘be-cider’ self, faces bac

Image: Twitter/@MissGU_

Mom ‘be-cider’ self, faces backlash for non-alcoholic drink in kid’s lunchbox

A child was expelled from school on Friday 14 May after her mother packed a non-alcoholic cider in her lunchbox.

Mom ‘be-cider’ self, faces bac

Image: Twitter/@MissGU_

A mother recently took to social media to ask what she did wrong after she sent her child to school with a non-alcoholic cider.

Questionable lunchboxes

According to IOL, a mom with the Twitter handle, @MissGU_ shared a picture of her child’s snack box with the caption: “My child was expelled from school on Friday, but what did I do wrong mina because I didn’t have juice so I gave her a non-alcoholic savanna [sic].”

Here for the memes

Tweeps in Mzansi were quick to ask what her reasoning behind the decision was:

When told: “So you have beer in your fridge but not your child’s juice. You must have adopted that child,” she defended herself by saying: “It’s a cider, not beer. She drinks juice every day and I don’t drink alcohol every day so juice is bound to finish quicker than my Savanna. Shush please.”

She later said that “people are judging me”, but Mzansi just couldn’t help but see the funny side:

One Twitter user asked why she didn’t just give her child water, when she said her child “wanted something flavoured”.

“The fact that you don’t see anything wrong is the first problem,” said another.

Others believe she did nothing wrong: “It’s non-alcoholic chomi. U did nothing wrong [sic]”.

Not for Sale to Persons Under the Age of 18

When Savanna released its non-alcoholic cider last year, they made it clear that it is not sale to children. A Twitter user asked them why it is the case, in which they replied:

“Due to Savanna non-alcoholic lemon’s association with the alcoholic Savanna brand, it’s important for us to remain responsible when we communicate. That’s why we’ve applied the age-limit statement, in keeping with the code set out by the AARE.”

Ingrained in their subconscious minds

Meanwhile, educational psychologist Mandy Arnott told IOL that youngsters consuming non-alcoholic drinks is “only the tip of the iceberg of a much bigger problem” and “one that needs to be addressed with great urgency in our country”.

Arnott said non-alcoholic drinks were seen as a substitute and precursor for the consumption of alcohol at a later stage.

“During lockdown, many adults have taken to drinking non-alcoholic beverages, not as a life choice but as a substitute for the ‘real thing’. Children watch this and internalise this sentiment. So, although they may be drinking non-alcoholic beverages, it is only until they can ‘have the real thing’, so that message has become deeply ingrained in their subconscious minds.”