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The last time we really talked about Kristen Bell she was still promoting that tone deaf “purple people” kids book, in the middle of the Black Lives Matter movement, with no explanation other than “let’s all just get along and focus on our similarities.” She’s also been vocal about protecting her daughters’ identities, while telling deeply personal stories about them. File this story under that category although it’s not as bad as some of the other stuff she’s said. Kristen says her two daughters, Delta, 5, and Lincoln, 7, regularly drink their dad’s non-alcoholic beer, O’Douls, and that she was recently embarrassed when they did it during a Zoom break for their class.
[Kristen Bell] appears on Tuesday’s premiere episode of the Say Yes! with Carla Hall podcast, where she reveals Delta, 5½, and Lincoln, 7, have developed a taste for an unconventional beverage in support of Dax Shepard’s path toward maintaining his sobriety for the past 16 years.
“I’m going to get a lot of flack for this. And let me start by saying I don’t care,” Bell, 40, prefaces her story. “You’re allowed to give me any advice you guys want, any of these listeners. You’re welcome to tell me I’m a terrible parent. I don’t care. I’m a great parent, I think. I’m learning every day.”
“My husband brought home a six-pack of O’Doul’s last night. And my daughters often ask for O’Doul’s,” the mother of two continues, stressing that the drink is “nonalcoholic” (according to the O’Doul’s website, “less than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume”) and revealing that her girls have “been at restaurants and ordered” the beers.
“The reason for this is because when we first had our child and my husband would put her in the BABYBJÖRN and we’d walk around the neighborhood, he’d pop a nonalcoholic beer in his hand and the baby would paw at it and put the rim in her mouth,” she adds. “It’s a sentimental thing for my girls, right? It makes them feel close to their dad.”
The previous night, the girls had O’Doul’s with Shepard, 45, while the family was eating dinner together. “We’re like, ‘I mean, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just essentially a bubbly juice.’ Right? There’s nothing in it,” Bell says. “We also talk to them very much about [Dax’s] sobriety and the importance of it and why Daddy can’t drink.”
The girls have even taken to drinking the beers during their daily activities — like during their Zoom school sessions, which the Frozen voice actress says she assumes raises a few questions.
“They have 15-minute breaks where they’re allowed to jump around and grab a snack and wiggle it out. And I walk in to check on them at 9:30 and both of them are drinking an O’Doul’s on their Zooms,” she recalls. “They’re both just sipping their Doulies. And I’m like, ‘What must these other parents and teachers think of me?’ ”
“And then I remind myself, ‘You don’t care, Kristen. They can pretend like you’re doing something wrong.’ I would argue that I’m not, because it’s nonalcoholic,” Bell adds. “If anything, it opens up the discussion for why Daddy has to drink nonalcoholic beer, because some people lose their privileges with drinking. Drinking’s not always safe.”
Kids drink mocktails and Shirley Temples and I don’t really have a problem with them drinking O’Douls. It tastes terrible so I’d question why they’d want to. Again, my issue is with Kristen telling this on a podcast. These kids may have their identities technically hidden online, but when they grow up they’re going to see stories about that time they had worms, how they wore diapers past age 5 and how they drank their dad’s near beer.
As an aside, Dax goes to AA and I’ve been shamed in AA for drinking non-alcoholic beer, mostly by the old timers. They were trying to tell me it was a gateway drink. (Also O’Doul’s is terrible, Becks NA beer is the only decent American fake beer. German NA beer is quite good.) I know all meetings are different though. I don’t think it’s a threat to my sobriety.
I am so glad that the “Good place” is over and I can go back to disliking her full time again.
I have tried to watch that, but no. Hell no.
Oh, I absolutely loved it. Brilliantly written and well acted – Bell was rather good in it.
I absolutely loved the Good Place, it was brilliant. I took me a few episodes to appreciate, and by the end, OMG. I still can’t think about the finale without wanting to bawl.
It’s so good
Just get through the first season
It’s pretty entertaining, but I just love Ted Danson & D’Arcy Carden together- actually , anything with Ted Danson- he so good at his craft ( and my goodness, Manny Jacintois soooo hot). I think the characters are very well cast. Bell is fine in it.
I’ surprised the young ones actually like the taste of O’Doul’s. I remember my reaction to my first taste of beer… not good.
“Get through the first season” WHAT? The first season is the best by far.
Ditto!
I’ve always hated her, which is why I resisted the Good Place for so long. When I finally watched the show I was really blown away. But yes, now I hate her again lol
Agree – I liked The Good Place despite my not liking Kristin Bell. Now back to hating her lol
Haha, I know. And she’s actually a really good comedian. Until her next staring role: UGH, Kristen Bell!
When I read the headline, I assumed the daughters were teenagers. Seems like a strange choice to drink NA beer as a child.
Why ?
The French,Italians and Spaniards feed their kids watered down wine .
I can see giving kids a sip or two. But a whole glass or bottle, at age 5 and 7? That is pretty bonkers.
They what? Having lived in France and being from Portugal and going to Spain very often I have never in my life seen that.
In the days of yore maybe but not now.
Alcohol is cancerous and attacks the liver. Why …?
Agree with @Esmom. This story seems crazy to me.
They do not. I don’t know if people outside of Europe watch too many artsy 70s movies but this idea that in Europe everyone’s smoking, drinking, having casual sex all day long, going topless on beaches everywhere and giving kids alcohol is ridiculous.
Also, non-alcoholic beer still has a tiny bit of alcohol in it. I wouldn’t give that to my child.
The issue is their father is trying to stay sober and she is not only allowing then to drink a nonalcoholic beer but she is also advertising the fact. That is why it is in poor taste – pun intended.
Non, we do not.
Yeah may I add that we, french women, still wear corsets and go to the ball to find our future husband. Wtf is this comment haha
WTF?!?! Stop spreading such bs
Do Europeans serve kids watered down wine midday when they’re meant to be at school? I understand letting your kids enjoy and adult ritual at the end of the day, but allowing them to grab an ODouls to enjoy while in zoom class seems to miss the point about teaching context and moderation.
We Europeans do not serve alcoholic drinks to our kids.
@emmy, I agree with you and I share your statement…
Prejudice and preconceived ideas float around…
The Spanish, French and Italian may give their kids watered down wine for like Sunday family dinner or other special occasions, but defo not to run around and drink all day (including while in school on Zoom).
a 5 year old likes the taste of beer?
Probably not at first but the more they give it to them the more they develop a taste for it. JFC. See my rant below, lol.
Yeah, it sounds like they’ve allowed their young children to develop a taste for beer which is weird to say the least.
It’s one thing to feed your kids sushi or spicy foods at that age. But to keep giving them swigs of non-alcoholic beer? Why was that choice made?
I hate that she tries to play the “great parent” but kooky and needs help along the way. This is manufacturing controversy. Then she gets preachy with children’s books.
We had to watch my youngest granddaughter when she was around 18 months. If you left bottles of beer with just a little in the bottom where she could reach them she would go over and drink it. Learned quickly to put them up. That being said, she no longer likes the taste of beer.
My parents still laugh about how when I was a toddler any time I heard the pop of my dad’s beer top I would come running for a sip. He started opening them outside or in the garage so I wouldn’t hear it. So maybe some babies are attracted to the taste early on? I ended up not liking it. And then liking it again in college.
My boys used to love beer bottles and would always try to drink them, I think because the cold glass probably felt good when they were teething? But now at 5 and 8 there is zero interest.
Kids are fucking weird, and I say that with incredible fondness. I think a lot of parents deal with situations where their toddlers are into foods that taste weird/bad, but stop liking those same food a few years on, when they’re children. It’s maddening, but in this case, it’s a good thing.
One of my nieces was the same way. She would grab for the bottle and try to lick the rim if you were holding her on your lap when she was a baby. When she was a little older she opened up the pantry and was trying to drink from the bottles in the recycle bin. It was cute and funny, but the bottles were moved so she couldn’t get to them anymore. Now she’s 5 and is over it. Seems like it was just a weird little phase she went through, but it’ll make for good stories when she’s older!
Why is she telling this?
And no, I don’t think children drinking NA beer is a good idea. Tool.
i realized oversharing is her “brand”. for that reason i’ve come to dislike her and her family. this is my first time clicking or commenting on a story of hers. i usually avoid them like the plague.
I feel like she and Dax just sit around between their well publicized fights thinking of stupid things to post for attention. They are really trying everything they can think of to stay relevant.
+1000
Good lord. She needs to develop a filter.
Yikes. I get why adults in recovery drink non-alcoholic beers, it is a great option. But I don’t get why anyone would want to set their young kids up at such an early age to emulate drinking alcohol, as if it’s something to aspire to. I get that Kristen’s kids seem to understand their dad’s struggle with sobriety…but letting them drink NA beer instead of something like, say, juice or lemonade, lets them develop a taste for beer, which at least deters many kids from starting drinking too early.
I think it’s partly why our culture is so fixated on drinking, we normalize it and in the case of beer ads on TV and “mommy wine culture” everywhere, romanticize it in front of our kids to a degree that it doesn’t warrant, imo.
Clearly I’m salty about this. I guess I feel like we as parents could do a better job of showing kids that you can have a full life without drinking alcohol in mass quantities. I mean look at all the college kids spreading Covid. It’s not from attending classes or working out, it’s the drinking parties that they can’t seem to resist that are the super-spreader events. Where did they learn that binge drinking is the ideal form of entertainment?
Sigh.
I disagree that this makes drinking something to aspire to. My parents were not big drinkers themselves, but would always offer to me and my brother when they did drink (a handful of times a year, they really weren’t drinkers). We’d first have a sip of theirs, declare it disgusting, and then didn’t want our own. But I think I didn’t aspire to drinking at least in part since it was never something that I wasn’t allowed. When my friends were discovering alcohol, I wasn’t interested because it wasn’t a big deal to me to be able to drink. I never went through a big drinking phase and I’m still not a big drinker. I would guess that it would be similar with kids that drink non-alcoholic beer.
I feel like offering you a sip a few times a year isn’t the same as them letting their girls order their own bottle every time you go out to eat.
My kids get non-alcoholic versions of things at some meals, too. Maybe some sparkling cider at Thanksgiving, or a Shirley Temple at a special dinner out. I think that’s healthy behavior to model for kids. I do question if it’s a good idea for kids to grow up thinking that it’s ok to pop open a beer at 9:30 in the morning while doing schoolwork, though. This is normalizing problematic behavior for them, and to me, that’s the bigger issue.
So…. na beer is a gateway drug to covid?
Seems like it, lol
Since I moved to the UK I’ve been quite surprised with the drinking culture here. My kids have never seen me drunk but my kid’s friends see their parents drunk regularly. Heck my daughter has seen her boyfriend’s parents drunk.
Why is it considered normal to be high in front of your kids? Why is this normalised?
Alcohol is like smoking, there is nothing good about it – and don’t come at me with the one glass a day bla bla. It’s like saying that arsenic can help your migraines.
And let’s bear in mind that their kids are 5 and 7, waaaay you young to be ‘CONSTANTLY talking about sobriety’.
And don’t get me started on the ‘mummy juice’ which I find positively enraging.
I agree, Esmom. This is a bridge too far for me. The last thing I want to do for my young kids is normalize the taste of alcohol. Why open that door?
Part of me wonders if she somehow thinks this is “cool?” Or is this just another case of her (and Dax) provoking people for whatever attention they can get? I’ve largely had to stop listening to his podcast because I can’t take too much of him and I’ve never paid her much attention, either.
(Full disclosure: their kids are adorable- saw them in a coffee shop before quarantine and the family was super low key and very sweet. Yes, realize the dissonance between the comments.)
O’Douls is gross. During my first pregnancy, I drank Becks red and it was pretty close in taste to real beer. During my second pregnancy, I skipped the NA beers because they made me feel gross.
I think this is weird that her kids are drinking NA beer but I cant figure out why I think its so weird. Like a sip or something, fine, but it seems an odd thing to encourage.
Just came to say that Laguinitas makes an amazing Hoppy seltzer – it’s a non alcoholic “beer” but truly it’s like a cream soda that isn’t too sweet- it’s just hoppy. It’s delicious and the only NA option that is actually tasty. I mean Odouls tastes like bud and bud tastes like gmo rice bubbly water so….
Ooh, I’m gonna look for that! I love Lagunitas’ other beers but they’re a bit too powerful for me, lol.
I think this is a not a good parenting decision – especially for kids at that age. Obviously they like the taste and it’s setting them on the path of liking the alcoholic beverage too. And why would you do that to them knowing there are issues within their family history with alcohol. I grew up in a family from Europe where there was no locked alcohol – we all turned out fine. BUT we weren’t given the stuff at that age.
Side note, she can yap her mouth without a filter about her and her husband, but keep the kids out of it. I can see this being an issue as the kids get older. And I can see her writing a book titled: When your kids blame you for everything.
That’s what makes me pause. If I or my partner had a pretty serious problem with alcohol, I would probably go overboard in trying to keep my kids from liking the taste of beer.
Personally I find beer really gross, I’ve never understood the love for it!
Beer is gross. Alcohol in general is incredibly disgusting, tastewise. There’s very few things I have a taste for. Peach bellinis. Sangria. And really good whiskey. That’s about it. And yet, I drink beer. I don’t know why, but I do. I’m slowly starting to see what the appeal is. There is something to be said about having a cold one on a warm day, or with dinner, etc. But I can’t imagine liking the taste as a child. I was a kid who loathed coffee, and only got into it in high school.
Even non-alcoholic beer has a tiny bit of alcohol in it, so this is, umm, interesting.
I grew up drinking a small cup of Pilsner with alcohol, with lunch when I ate with my European grandparents. Its fine. “Getting a taste for it” is kind of a silly argument against it, because there are a lot of alcoholic beverages (hello coolers) have higher alcohol contents which taste like pop or juice. My relationship with alcohol has been pretty boring all my life. I got wasted a few times in my 20s, but never hurt myself. Hate kbell all you want but this seems like a real reach.
at 5??
Yeah, what age were you? My dad taught how to appreciate wine at 16 (and on special occasions) but not before and I am “European’ as you say.
These were old traditions in Europe and everywhere else (putting whiskey in the milk bottle etc). We all heard these stories about at least two generations down, and they were told as horror stories of ‘stupid sh*t people did in the past’.
You know, I agree, not a big deal. I think it will take away the allure of the “forbidden,” drinking alcohol. It’s odd for young kids to drink it but when they are older, they will not go as crazy w drinking. Jmo
I think that’s a good idea in theory but I have a number of friends who tried that, letting their kids drink wine with dinner or the occasional beer at home when they were teens and they still ended up to be big partiers. My kids are in college and the amount of drinking people do is mind boggling. My one son seems have found a group of friends that understands moderation and my other son has so many hair raising stories about kids passed out on campus, throwing up, acting incoherent on weekends and after sporting events.
At 5 encouraging non alcoholic beer sounds like a very poor parenting choice. I do not think she meant they are allowed to have a SIP. Regardless, as society evolves behavior changes too. She and her husband should know better considering what he is fighting. I consider their behavior reckless. “Sipping their doullies” is not what a mother of a five year old would say about her 5 year old whose father is battling to stay sober, it sounds like a sorority girl talking about their underage pledges.
If anything getting a taste for beer is better than getting a taste for sweeter things. I would say most people can only stomach but so many beers. In college we would mix six shots of vodka with a pitchers worth of lemonade powder to cover the taste and top with Sprite. I’m sure my liver would have appreciated it if I had been more into beer.
I agree, but obviously, there are different levels to this too. I think any parent would balk at their five year old sipping alcoholic beverages, but also, a sip here and here is not a big deal, which seems more in line with whatever people think of as “European.” I don’t think any parent, European or otherwise, would be ok with their kid drinking NA beer on Zoom, on a break during the school day.
It’s hard to discern what exactly the case is here, because it’s pretty wrapped up in Kristen Bell’s own defensiveness tbh. I think the situation in actuality is a lot less of a big deal than her insecurities are making it out to be. But because we only get the version from her, filtered through her own mind, we see it as a larger problem than it actually is. I think a lot of parents do a lot of stupid shit when raising their kids, a lot stupider than this, with a lot less awareness of their own stupidity too.
I remember a story about the parents of a 6 month old baby who were regularly feeding that kid brewed tea in a bottle, and defending it by saying, “Oh [the kid] loves it! Can’t get enough of the stuff!” That same thread had a story about a 21 year old who was having sex, but didn’t understand how she got pregnant. Social media means that your bad parenting stories don’t stay within your friends circle, where people can laugh it off and see your parenting as a whole rather than just that one incident. If you want to share your life in that way on a public platform, it’s important to consider how people will receive it, especially people who lack context.
This story also rubs me the wrong way a little bit like the purple people. It’s so counter-intuitive, the addiction + non-alcoholic beer + the kids drinking beer flavoured drinks?!
Please. I think this woman’s brain tricks her into manipulative logic.
Exactly.
I agree. It seems like a lot of her stories are of things that could reasonably bother her but she somehow logic’d herself into being ok with it and talks about it publicly to normalize it to herself. Are her kids being harmed by having a teensy bit of alcohol? I honestly don’t know. But I wonder if she said the kids shouldn’t have it would that then be like admitting that her sober husband regularly drinks teensy bits of alcohol when they would rather believe “there’s nothing in it” and that it’s just bubbly juice.
If she allows them to drink it that’s for her to decide. But there are appropriate times not to do so and, to me, zoom class meetings are not the time to do so.
Ugh. I’m clearly annoyed at this story. The zoom bit, I think, was the final drop for me. How she turned this into a ‘relaxed mum’ story is so irritating. (This is getting to me more than it should probably). If her kids are drinking a beverage that looks like beer to other kids, yes she should be upset and explain to her kids – like she ‘constantly’ explains sobriety – that their mates could get a wrong idea and that they could be promoting what caused dad so much heartache.
But no, it turned into ‘I don’t care, I’m a cool mum’.
I totally agree with you. It’s the time and occasion that make this so inappropriate to me. She claims that they’re constantly discussing issues related to drinking with their kids, yet her kids think consuming those beverages at 9:30 in the morning while doing schoolwork is completely ok. Either they’re not doing a great job conveying the concept of moderation and appropriate times and places for drinking in these discussions, or maybe… oh, I don’t know, five year olds aren’t really capable of making smart decisions around drinking? So maybe establishing some bad habits now isn’t the greatest idea?
Since they are 5 & 7, I’m guessing they drink a few sips and leave it, much like any other beverage.
And my boyfriend has been sober for over 30 years, he drinks Old Milwaukee, Sharps and Buckler.
Personally, and based on my professional experience working for a substance use prevention and treatment center, this is not a good idea knowing their daughters may have inherited Dax’s genetic predisposition to addiction. Helping them acquire the taste for beer (NA or not) is a slippery slope. Before anyone mentions other countries and their norms surrounding youth alcohol consumption, my dad is from central Mexico and I’ve spent a great deal of time there. It’s absolutely the norm there. Dad and some of my aunts and uncles have serious health issues that directly tie back to alcohol consumption, but they don’t stop drinking.
It’s well known that there is a genetic predisposition and that’s why I think this is not a healthy thing for her kids. My dad was an alcoholic and 3 out of his 4 children have challenging relationships with drinking.
Children shouldn’t be that emotionally invested in their parent’s sobriety.
There is a massive difference between healthy knowledge (Daddy doesn’t drink because drinking hurts him. I will be careful with alcohol) and knowing so much at such a young age (Happy Sobriety Day, Daddy. It’s my job to praise you for doing the bare minimum – stating sober).
Our children are not here to amuse us or bolster our fragile egos. We’re there to raise them up to be the best they can be.
I don’t like Dax. He seems mean. Always wanting the last Snarky word. Where is he in all of this?
Kristen is better but damn she’s a twit sometimes.
children will not have developed a sentimental attachment to faux beer from your husband feeding it to them as infancy’s while walking around w one. They literally will not remember because their brains don’t make memories the same way. And why are the celebrating dads sobriety? Are they celebrating moms recovery from labor? Their friend surviving diabetes? It great he’s clean, but it doesn’t sit right with me that they are so involved with his sobriety.
As much as she says she doesn’t care she’s almost parenting by committee. Every so-so choice she makes she brings up in public for support.
And cancel the purple book damnit. It’s so bad
Fairly certain that the sentimentality is just not from the kids, but rather from Kristen herself. “Oh, I remember when they were babies and my husband used to take them for walks, and they’d grab his NA beer. -sniff-” etc.
I’d love to have that floor in the pic. It’s all I’ve got.
I scrolled back to see and you’re right. It’s freaking gorgeous
Kristen you ok? Giving those kids O’Doul’s?
Like just let them have a craft beer DAMN
As a parenting choice, I do not agree.
Its the carbination that they love. Everyone loves the bubbles. I mean, at least their not drinking mountain dew.
I drank Shirley Temples growing up, but those don’t taste like booze, just straight sugar juice lol. I think letting your kid drink actual beer is a little different…I don’t know. I’m not a parent but I think I would feel pretty weird about my kids doing this.
I’m not a parent either, and I didn’t grow up with a family that drinks, let alone a culture that drinks. My parents were very strait-laced about this sort of thing. Alcohol is just a no. End of. I wound up drinking and I drink regularly now, and I definitely have a tendency to overindulge a lot of the time. And I think it is because it’s a novel experience for me, to drink. The fact that I was largely raised with the idea that it was entirely forbidden, that I was never to do it, ever, only added to my desire to indulge. I wanted to drink alcohol, and for me, it does represent a certain sense of freedom and rebellion that I recognize and have to watch for.
Compare that to my friend, who grew up with alcohol not being this huge deal, and who is much more aware and careful and watchful of her own limits in this regard, because she grew up with parents who were the same way. It’s not a big deal for her, she doesn’t feel any sort of emotional pull towards indulging in it at all, the same way I do.
The part that bothered me the most was her framing Dax’s sobriety to their kids as if he doesn’t “get” to drink, that he “has to” drink non-alcoholic beer & that he lost his “privilege” with drinking. As someone who is sober, I choose not to drink, I don’t have to do anything, and there is no privilege in me drinking. Drinking stripped me of my basic human privileges & I now have them all back. I would prefer that sobriety not be framed as a punishment for not following the rules & instead an empowering choice that someone made for themselves.
That’s a good point. Saying you “can’t drink” frames it like some forbidden fruit. Saying you “won’t drink” or you choose not to drink frames it more like an affirmative choice. From a parenting perspective I like the latter better so that once the kids become older and can make that choice for themselves it’s maybe a little less alluring.
She’s a spokesperson for Spindrift and she specifically says in the interview they might as well drink O’Douls rather than a sparkly fruit juice. If I were the PR people at Spindrift, I would want my money back.
Let’s remember that these wonderful parents have said they are looking forward to a time when their children experiment with drugs. For two people who seem to spend so much time talking about sobriety, they don’t seem to grasp that DNA also contributes to addiction. It’s a slippery slope.
I just wonder if this message of allowing your children to drink beer at 5 years old and encouraging them to take drugs would be accepted by the public if they were not white, rich, and blond. Privilege.
This is honestly a really sad point to bring up, but it’s true. If it were someone with a lower income level, or someone who wasn’t white, and they were talking about their kid drinking NA beer…people would be hollering for a wellness check, like, yesterday.
It’s funny how much we think that money is an insulator against so much of what affects children, tbh.
And why is she doing these interviews? She has no Hollywood job now, nothing to promote. She can’t help herself. She craves attention and saying such things puts her back in the spotlight.
And she has said in other interviews how much she needs approval from other people, even people she does not know. So which is it? Does she care what people think about her parenting or doesn’t she?
Of course she cares. That’s why she told us all about it and made her case as to why it’s ok. If she really didn’t care what we thought she never would have mentioned it at all. Would you have known this happened if she didn’t tell us about it?
So, her kids can spell “sobriety” correctly, but not “daddy?” Ten bucks says someone wrote this note with their left hand just for the photo opp.
I made that exact same statement on her Instagrsm. She’s so transparent.
She just wanted another headline in the gossip mags. Girl is thirsty, nothing more here.
I don’t care for this lady, I find her annoying. but congratulations on your sobriety and keeping at it. Ignorance had me believing it was a choice for a while so kudos and hugs to you and everyone in else on the sobriety path.
Genuine question: is he really still considered “sober” if he’s intentionally drinking something with small amounts of alcohol on the regular? Sobriety isn’t just not being drunk, it’s intentionally abstaining from all alcohol always. This isn’t like taking NyQuil when you’re sick, it’s drinking something so often your kids are picking up the habit.
As a sober person…I can tell you that I personally was told “No”– you are not sober if you’re intentionally drinking alcohol. The amount doesn’t count. It’s the intention. It really can be a slippery slope. Some people can do it–but I don’t understand the point of tempting fate and taking that risk.
Why is there something about her that is SO ANNOYING. No matter what she says or does, even with her mouth closed, she is ANNOYING and I can’t stand her. I don’t even understand how this generic blond got so far in Hollywood. Ugh, go away with your we are private but we tell you everything posturing.
Sober here 33 years, and from the beginning I was told “non-alcoholic” beers actually have trace amounts of alcohol. So does kombucha. So technically, you’re really not sober if you’re intentionally ingesting beverages with alcohol in them. That said, I know some people think it’s okay– but personally the mental part of alcoholism/ addiction that tells me well if I can handle a little…I can have some more…is super dangerous. That said–to each their own. Personally I don’t see the point. Alcohol almost destroyed me, and romanticizing booze is like writing letters to my ex in jail who tried to murder me. He may seem harmless now that he’s locked up but…mentally just not a good idea to get back in touch. Alcoholism is genetic, and has a biological/ physical component–but the mental aspect of addiction is what gets you drunk once you’re sober.
The genetic component to alcoholism isn’t as clear cut as people seem to understand it either. There is no singular ‘alcoholism’ gene that gets passed down to people. What does get affected in terms of genetics are things like how your body processes alcohol, what sort of tolerance you have to alcohol (which in itself is a question of whether the parts of your brain that are designed to detect alcohol and substances in your system are perhaps not as sensitive as others, which makes people think they have a better ‘tolerance’ for it), whether your taste buds are less sensitive to alcohol which makes you more likely to over indulge, etc.
It’s a collection of small, little things that tip the balance, which is what I find particularly strange, and rather insidious about addiction. I think a lot of people see the fact that some of this is genetic, not fully realizing the minutest components sometimes make a huge difference. For me, it helps to learn this because it bares addiction for the sum of its parts. I can cope with things a little better when I realize my body and my genes haven’t really betrayed me, but rather that it’s the small stuff that I don’t otherwise pay much attention to that have actually mattered.
I feel like Kirsten tells these stories to get press. . .Basically negative attention seeking…this will be the last post i click on of her doing this. She isnt very interesting and I don’t want to give her clicks.
I’ll see you all in other posts!
Maybe one day in the middle of a screaming match with Dax Shepard, she will suddenly stop and say, ‘Oh. This is the Bad Place.’
@ COCO-ahhhhhh, good one 🤣👏👏
The more I read about stuff like this, the more I think that this is largely for Kristen Bell herself. In spite of what she says, it’s pretty clear to me that she’s rather insecure about a lot of things in her life, especially with her parenting. All the stories that she mentions about her children just seem to me like things she’s in reality quite embarrassed about, but is presenting and putting out there in this manner, almost as if it’s an attempt to preempt any criticism of her, even though I’m fairly certain that the worst criticism she’s getting is from herself.
Like, if you have nothing to apologize for, why talk about it with so many qualifiers? Why go through such an effort to justify why her daughters drink NA beer? Like, you don’t have to go through all that stuff about how it makes them feel close to their father, or that they used to grab his NA beer when he’d take them on walks or anything. If it’s harmless, and you feel it’s harmless, just let it be then. Don’t apologize for who you are, or what you think, and be confident in yourself. I’m sure it’s a little weird for people to see kids drinking NA beer, and I’m sure there are people who would judge.
But if she really doesn’t think it’s a big deal, she wouldn’t bring it up like this. This just sounds like she’s really messed up about being called out on it. Which is a her problem, not a society problem. I feel like, at this point in her life, she needs better methods for dealing with any sort of shame she’s feeling about herself and her choices. There is something to be said for being open and honest about things you’re ashamed of, but oversharing of the sort we’re seeing here is just not the same as being open and honest. People confuse the two and think they’re accomplishing something, but they’re really not.
This is such an insightful post; the “overshare” is a plea not for validation, but for absolution. “Shaming” can be a force for good when it occurs on the community level, but when shame comes from within, it is so destructive. It just doesn’t serve us. It keeps us from processing our experiences and moving on. I feel for her, because she does clearly struggle with gnarly anxiety and with being in the public eye.
As a sidenote, looking at the embedded Instagram post, I love that she is still so close with her Veronica Mars family. Hopefully they are able to give her some of the support she needs.
If she really is so cool with it, and doesn’t care (and I guess, it is her decision even if I think it is unwise and I wouldn’t put my kids around fake beers), then why is she broadcasting it and daring people to be offended or shocked? It seems like she wants attention for it and to provoke a conversation or argument.
Kristen is really aiming for basic.
Amazes me that these two think their oversharing is endearing, it’s not. It’s annoying af. Stop.
I have to say, when I saw this story, I thought the same thing: Why is this woman going out of her way to hide their physical identities, while at the same time engaging in TMI about them? Like, surely she knows that these kids will probably be literate enough to read about themselves later on. She’s revealing things about them (and her parenting) that are really no one else’s business and since they’re not old enough to give informed consent about how they’re being discussed *in public* that’s not right. I mean, c’mon, diapers after five? nobody needed to know that and this poor girl is only gonna get teased by her peers at some point, if she hasn’t already.
Like, Kristen Bell is literally feeding the future trolls in these kids’ lives. And that’s not okay.
Also, for what it’s worth? O’Douls for two young kids with a recovering alcoholic dad? Hell no.
That drink has 0.4% alcohol…..and her kids
Bodies are small I’m assuming soooo…much more impact I’d imagine. Not the dumbest thing but also not the smartest.
My son when he was a toddler watched his dad drink beer on the w/ends. My son was and still enthralled with his dad. When he was 3 he would drag a can of real beer to dad to open so he could have some too. We never let him drink the beer. so the next wend we bought o;douls for him. near beer. He would open the fridge and I would give him an o’douls and he would take a few sips and think he was hanging out with dad and the dudes, sharing a beer. that lasted about 3 months. He never asked for a beer again. fast forward to today, my son is 22 and has NO problem with alcohol of any sorts. Young boys and young girls, i assume want to emulate their parent. no harm done.
It really sounds like she’s still trying to figure out for *herself* whether this is ok. Hmm. I feel like candy cigarettes for kids are more offensive, but, weirdly, I also feel like 7-year olds maybe shouldn’t drink O’Doul’s until after 5pm?? …I don’t have kids, if it isn’t already obvious.
Um, no. This is not okay. Im not sure if it is the same for beer, but with wine, it is never truly non-alcoholic. There’s some in there, just not much. I never had an issue per se, but there was a rough year or two where I drink more than I would normally. I went cold turkey and slowly re-introduced alcohol into my diet.I used to drink Fre, non-alcoholic wine (which is very good btw), but it still has alcohol in it….just a really low amount. I got tipsy off of it! Then I gave that up and started drinking Prosecco which is the lowest volume wine you can actually get, and now Im back to regular wine, but I hardly drink. Maybe 1 glass a month. I think her kids are too young for this.