Kristen Bell divides fans admitting she gives kids non-alcoholic beer

The Frozen star defends her decision claiming she isn't doing anything wrong. But some fans aren't convinced. 

Kristen Bell divides fans claiming she gives her kids non-alcoholic beer. Image: Instagram

Kristen Bell has divided fans after sharing a little family secret she and hubby Dax Shepard have when it comes to parenting. 

While most of us will OK the occasional soft drink or juice while dining out, the Frozen star admitted she lets her daughters - Lincoln, 10, and Delta, 8 - order non-alcoholic beer. 

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Kristen Bell divides fans claiming she gives her kids non-alcoholic beer. Image: Instagram

Why Kristen lets her kids drink non-alcoholic beer

The star admitted to letting her kids order from the mocktail list during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. 

"My kids have ordered non-alcoholic beers at restaurants before, which sounds insane if you don't know," she laughed, before giving more details about why she allows it. 

The star went on to explain how her hubby and father of her daughters, Dax, actually started the trend while on their nightly strolls when the girls were younger. 

"He's a recovering addict, but he likes non-alcoholic beer, so he'd pop one open, he'd have [Lincoln] on his chest, and we'd walk and look at the sunset," she shared. 

"As a baby she was pawing at it, and sometimes she'd suck on the rim of it. So I think it feels to her like something special, something daddy, something family."

Before anyone could judge, host Kelly insisted: "There's no alcohol in it!" 

But that didn't stop people from throwing in their two cents. 

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The mum said her daughters Lincoln and Delta both enjoy the drink. Image: Instagram

Is it wrong to give your children non-alcoholic beer or cocktails? 

According to one passionate YouTuber who caught the interview, Kristen is breaking the law by offering up the beverage to minors. 

"It's actually illegal because there is a small amount of alcohol in NA beer. You must be 21 to consume NA beer," they insisted. 

"Many non-alcoholic beers still contain alcohol. Eek," another agreed. 

And another person who works in hospitality said they were surprised restaurants were actually going ahead with it. 

"As a former server and bartender for a major restaurant in the U.S., we were told we were not allowed to serve minors non-alcoholic beer," they claimed. 

A mum-of-two told Kidspot that while it might work for Kristen's family, it's something she would never even consider for her own little ones. 

"I feel like there are PLENTY of options for kids these days in the way of fun drinks, I wouldn't be introducing mine to anything labelled 'non-alcoholic' (which is intended for adults) before I absolutely have to," she insists. 

Meanwhile, dad Joel says he doesn't have a problem with the "non-alc" offering as such, but more a problem with the type of drink it was as raised by other comments. 

"I reckon a mocktail is fine, but most non-alcoholic beers still have trace amounts of alcohol in them. Would never give that to a kid," he insists. 

And another mum said she didn't see a huge issue with it: "My son has been mixing my drinks since he was 12, so I wouldn't have a problem with this." 

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"I'm not doing anything wrong!"

Despite the reactions, Kristen claims she won't be changing anything at home - though she does try and limit when and where her kids ask for it to save the backlash. 

"We've been at restaurants where she's said, 'Do you have any non-alcoholic beer?' and I'm like . . . maybe we just keep that for home time," she laughed. 

"It's so amazing when in your own family, you're like 'this is normal,' but then you go outside and you're like, 'So that maybe doesn't track as healthy!'" Kelly replied. 

Kristen further defended: "But then I'm also sort of like, you can judge me if you want, I'm not doing anything wrong. Like that's your problem."

Originally published as Kristen Bell divides fans admitting she gives kids non-alcoholic beer