Is your kid really drinking water?

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

This afternoon, I stopped at 5 Guys for lunch.  I was sitting across from the soda machine and watching the kids come in.  Most kids came up to the water machine with a water cup, many times with mom.  Mom got water, left their kid to get water and went to their seat.  Kid switched the screen to Sprite, filled their cup and walked away drinking.

After watching this happen about 4 times in 3 different families, I'm guessing it happens more frequently than not.

[Deleted]

I would choose water, but my kids would probably not. I really wouldn't expect them to in that situation, so maybe the mom wasn't expecting them to?

[Wisconsin Beth]

My kids don't like the carbonation in soda.  So I'm fairly positive they'd be getting water.  Or unsweetened ice tea.  Or lemonade.  But they're young and I expect this will change at some point. 

ETA - I got sweet tea a fair/carnival on the 4thand had them try it.  They both thought it was nasty and wouldn't drink it. 

[zibazinski]

Water can be tricky in some places. It's located right with a soda drink. I've messed up trying to get water a few times.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Is the water "free" but not the soda?

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jul 6, 2015 16:37:36 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Water can be tricky in some places. It's located right with a soda drink. I've messed up trying to get water a few times.

No.....this machine doesn't work this way.

There is a button on the top you press that says water.  Also on the screen is another button that says Sprite, Diet drinks, Lemonade, Coke, etc.  This takes you to another screen and you press the button of beverage you want.

So to get water, you stay on the 'home' screen.  To get Sprite, you have to press the Sprite button, and then press which ever Sprite you want.

[zibazinski]

Oh wow! I just saw one of those for the first time in Jacksonville!!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jul 6, 2015 16:35:02 GMT -5 oped said:

I would choose water, but my kids would probably not. I really wouldn't expect them to in that situation, so maybe the mom wasn't expecting them to?

There are different cups you are given if you ask for water (free) vs soda ($$).  Kids all had water cups.  

[Deleted]

I always get a bottle of water at 5 guys

[Deleted]

One of my favorite bbq restaurants had a sign that reminded you that getting soda in a water cup was stealing. This is the type of restaurant that puts a roll of paper towels on the table for "napkins."

[kittensaver]

Jul 6, 2015 16:52:37 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Jul 6, 2015 16:35:02 GMT -5 oped said:

I would choose water, but my kids would probably not. I really wouldn't expect them to in that situation, so maybe the mom wasn't expecting them to?

There are different cups you are given if you ask for water (free) vs soda ($$).  Kids all had water cups.  

This actually doesn't surprise me (that the kids slid their water cups under the soda spigot when mom walked away). They're kids. Without supervision they may/will make questionable choices (slyly choosing the soda AND the fact that it wasn't paid for). I'm not excusing the behavior, I'm just saying I'm not surprised by it. Kids will try all kinds of things if they are unsupervised and think they can get away with it.

[Deleted]

Our kids fill the water cups with water. It is super obvious at 5 Guys if you push the buttons for the wrong thing. I think water is the only thing they drink at home, so they are used to it. They have filled both their water cups & mine, so I know it is right. Plus if the thing had bubbles you would see it in the cup.

I am glad we have honest kids.

[shanendoah]

Pop Tart is generally responsible for filling all of our glasses with water. And trust me, water looks different from soda in the cup. But even if it didn't, she knows that there's a good chance C will end up finishing off her water, so if she were to get something else, I'd say it would be a 90% chance of getting caught.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I think I was just surprised at the number of times it happened.  The time I sat there, probably half had water cups, the other sodas.  Adults with water cups always got water.  Most kids with water cups got soda, either Sprite, lemonade or favored water.

i just thought it was funny. 

[alabamagal]

I usually get behind the kid making some awful combination soda and taking 5 minutes to get it right

[Deleted]

Jul 6, 2015 18:48:12 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

I usually get behind the kid making some awful combination soda and taking 5 minutes to get it right

LOL

I do that. 

[Happy prose]

Jul 6, 2015 17:03:31 GMT -5 @tbird said:

Lol, I thought this was going to be about vodka.....

So did I. It was a problem in my DDs high school. The kids filled the bottles with vodka and would drink in class.

[Ryan]

Every kid does this. This 'discovery' is on par with figuring out teenage boys are using the Internet to look for porn.

Me and my friends used to do it at Burger King all the time and walk around saying the water was coming out of the machine a little sugary and fizzy..must be broken, heh heh.

As for the costs, the cost of a pop in a restaurant is a ripoff so I consider it trying to make it even Steven. Kinda like when the waitress charges me for something I should get for free and I'm forced to take it off her tip.

[whoisjohngalt]

My two youngest will be drinking soda the second I will allow them to try it.  The reason I know that is bc they LOVE seltzer (that's all they have tried so far).  My oldest doesn't like carbonation, so I am not too worried.

But after the oldest two had 3 cavities each at their last dentist appt, I banned anything and everything that is not milk or water in the house.  Even though they never had that much to begin with, they still had store bought juices bc I am a firm believer in not depriving of anything 100%.  But I am on a major quest to get their cavities "fixed" without dental work, so that's what it is for now.

[giramomma]

Jul 6, 2015 17:42:09 GMT -5 @rockit said:

Our kids fill the water cups with water. It is super obvious at 5 Guys if you push the buttons for the wrong thing. I think water is the only thing they drink at home, so they are used to it. They have filled both their water cups & mine, so I know it is right. Plus if the thing had bubbles you would see it in the cup.

I am glad we have honest kids.

My oldest is a rule follower. So yeah, he's drinking water if we say that's what for dinner.

Most of the time though, we let them have soda out. Since that's the only time they really get it..a couple times a month won't hurt them.

[thyme4change]

Jul 6, 2015 17:04:13 GMT -5 kittensaver said:

Jul 6, 2015 16:52:37 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

There are different cups you are given if you ask for water (free) vs soda ($$).  Kids all had water cups.  

This actually doesn't surprise me (that the kids slid their water cups under the soda spigot when mom walked away). They're kids. Without supervision they may/will make questionable choices (slyly choosing the soda AND the fact that it wasn't paid for). I'm not excusing the behavior, I'm just saying I'm not surprised by it. Kids will try all kinds of things if they are unsupervised and think they can get away with it.

I wonder how many of these kids were instructed to pretend to get water because the parents were fine with them drinking soda, but not fine with paying for the soda.  Don't assume that all those mothers are honest upstanding citizens.  "Stealing" coke seems to be one of those things that people think is harmless.  

If the cup is see-through, I as a mother would notice the bubbles.  

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

At some fast-food places, you pay for the cup (and size of the cup). Doesn't matter if you fill it with a soft drink or fill it with water.

So they're really not suffering any loss no matter what you or your kid puts in the cup.

If you want your child to only drink water, then don't send them to fill the cup by themselves if you suspect they might swap it for Sprite.

[teen persuasion]

Jul 6, 2015 19:50:52 GMT -5 Happy prose said:

Jul 6, 2015 17:03:31 GMT -5 @tbird said:

Lol, I thought this was going to be about vodka.....

So did I. It was a problem in my DDs high school. The kids filled the bottles with vodka and would drink in class.

Me, too.  There is a utube video floating around of a science lab fire.  They were doing an experiment on pumice floating on water using water bottles.  In one student's bottle of "water" the pumice didn't float.  The instructor dropped in a lit match.

[justme]

I just had flashbacks to a birthday party when I asked my mom what cup was mine and she unknowingly handed me one with sprite. I'd never had carbonation before and I'm one of the weird people that find it painful.

So I always had water as a kid.

[zibazinski]

My kids always said the bubbles hurt their noses. Really? To this day, they're not huge soda drinkers which is funny since DS works for Coke

[lexxy703]

I'm another who dislikes carbonation.  I only order unsweet iced tea when I eat out.

I also had the same thought as Thyme that the mom's probably know the kids are steal soda.  They just didn't want to pay the $2 for a soda.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

My kid is too short to get her own drink.  So I control whatever she gets.   It's handy sometimes having a tiny kid.

My MIL is well known for getting the water cup and then filling it up with pop b/c she doesn't want to pay for it.  DH said it used to embarass the crud out of him when she'd do that.

Her mother was well known for taking anything that wasn't nailed down.  DH said if he remembers right not a single piece of silverware or plateware was purchased in his grandmother's house.

[Sam_2.0]

If I catch my kids getting soda in their water glasses intentionally, you better believe we will be having a talk about it. I don't care if it's a "small" thing, it is still stealing. Sure, kids all try to push the boundaries. That's why they have parents, to stay on top of it and enforce the boundaries.

I tried this once as a kid. My dad took me up to the counter to pay for a soda. That was enough embarassment for me, and I never did it again.

[toomuchreality]

I hate water. I'd get soda too! -But I would pay for it.

As a kid, I would not have dared to get soda, if I was supposed to be getting water. Either the restaurant, or my mother would surely have found out / caught me. Not worth the risk!

[beergut]

Were these kids old enough to understand that soda costs, and the water might be free?

I can see a situation where the mother gets the cups, and the kids just go over and get what they want.