Aah… nothing beats a good old natter with your girlfriends and a cappuccino and hey… if you’re a two year old, why not have a babyccino?
I’ll tell you why not!
And for those of you who do not as yet know what a babyccino is, it’s supposedly the baby version of the most social of coffees… the cappuccino.
But you cry, it’s nothing more than frothy milk (no caffeine), so where’s the harm? Is it the lashings of chocolate powder that adorn the top that worry you so, because if that’s the case it’s easily rectified with a quick scoop from mum and the chocolate top is gone?
Or perhaps the side order of marshmallows has you worried? Sure, marshmallows are not good for any pint sized kid since it’s nothing more than a gigantic sugar fix.
So besides the obvious three dangers of caffeine, chocolate powder and marshmallows – all of which are easily controlled by mum – where’s the hidden danger?
Could it be the ritual, letting the kid believe that hanging out in cafes sipping coffee is the norm… hardly? Perhaps you’re inadvertently making them future caffeine addicts… nope, the dangers of babyccinos are far greater than any and all of the above combined!
Forget the babyccino for a moment and take a look at yourself. Why are YOU having a cappuccino in the first place? You’re wanting to take a break from the rigors of motherhood and escape for a while with your cappuccino and friends. Your baby has no part in this equation!
Unfortunately you and your baby are ‘joined at the hip’ for the foreseeable future and wherever you go, they go. So how do we ‘separate mother and baby’ albeit only briefly… with a babyccino, that’s how? Shove a babyccino in front of baby and their world changes. Their focus narrows and field of influence shrinks… mum is FREE at last! And therein lies the danger!
Teaching ones child to objectify when they should be reasoning – that’s the real danger!
Replacing a few choice words with a babyccino to achieve a few moments peace, may seem the easier option today but what about their future. Replacing diplomacy with war to achieve world peace (eg. George Bush snr. – Iraq, George Bush jnr. – Afghanistan) springs to mind. Perhaps grandma Bush gave her kids a few too many babyccinos..?