April 2009 Archives

Do your kids like energy drinks?  Maybe they do--but for the wrong reasons.  Not all energy drinks are alike.  Did you know that in the world of energy drinks, there are alcoholic and non-alcoholic products.  Do you know which ones your kids drink?

With names like Rockstar, Monster Energy and Full Throttle, these energy drinks are a recipe for disaster.  They are cheaper, tastier and easier to get because of the way they are labeled and marketed.  But the real danger is that they contain 0.5 percent alcohol.  They can contain anywhere from 4 to 8.5 percent alcohol by volume.  It is often hard to distinguish between energy drinks with and without alcohol.  The look so much like the non-alcoholic energy drinks popular with kids today that customers and even clerks in stores are easily confused about what they are buying...or selling.  One of the things that is especially frightening is that the alcohol by volume is often a lot higher than what you would find in beer.  The fact that these products contain alcohol at all is only included in the fine print on the labels.  Many of these drinks also contain high levels of sugar, flavoring to mask the alcohol, about as much caffeine as a venti-sized Latte at Starbucks, along with additives like ginseng that rev up the central nervous system.

These drinks are often sold in grocery stories and convenience stores right alongside non-alcoholic energy drinks designed for kids.  They're usually cheaper by nearly a dollar a drink and, because of the high sugar content and flavoring, they often taste better to kids.  There is a blurred distinction here, they are often disguised as innocent "citrus" drinks, and these products are aggressively marketed on the internet (see, for example, www.fullthrottleenergy.com )

As a parent, begin to learn what kinds of energy drinks your teens are drinking.  You can find the alcohol percent in drinks by looking for "alc/vol" and they will display the alcohol content on the front or the side of the can.  Young people are particularly vulnerable to increased problems from ingesting these products since they are already developmentally more like to take risks than adults are.  A teen's brain is not prepared to deal with alcohol (American Medical Association Fact Sheet, 2003).

Parents--become aware and know what energy drinks are safe for your kids.

Research and experience have identified the critical elements necessary in 4-H club programs in order for youth to experience positive growth and development.  In 1999, a group of 4-H professionals were tasked with identifying from the research the essential elements of a positive group experience that could be used as a foundation for assessing program quality.   Chaired by Dr. Steven Carlson of Minnesota, the group identified these elements of a high quality youth environment--

1.  A relationship with a caring adult

2.  A safe environment--physically, emotionally and pyschologically

3.  An inclusive environment to experience a sense of belonging

4.  Opportunities for mastery

5.  Engagement in learning.

6.  Opportunities for self-determination

7.  Opportunities to see oneself as an active participant in the future--sense of hope

8.  Opportunities to value and practice community service.

Since then, these elements have not only stood the test of time, but other efforts (notably Community Programs that Promote Youth Development by Eccles & Gootman, 2001) have identified nearly the same list of critical elements, with only minor variations.

These 8 elements have since been further distilled into 4 critical elements--Belonging, Independence, Generosity and Mastery--or what some call by the acronym "BIG M."  What all this suggests as the core is that every person needs to experience Purpose and Meaning in their lives to develop along a positive trajectory.

Native Americans have understood this for a much longer time.  In fact, they have articulated these same concepts in medicine wheels and other ways that are much older than these research efforts.  In Reclaiming Youth at Risk by Bendtro, Brokenleg and Van Bockern (1990), the same concepts of Belonging, Mastery, Independence and Generosity were identified in their Native model of holistic human development.

Recently, my own education by Navajo nation Extension professionals has helped me understand the close connection between the values of 4-H and the values inherent in Navajo culture.  Together we developed a diagram to incorporate these two value systems. I have shared this model with you below.  Click on this link to view it as a Word document.