Author Archives: Alissa Sklar

In the News: Talking to CTV News About Kids, Screens, Gaming & Social Media

Alissa Sklar CTV News

CTV News Reporter Caroline Van Vlaardingen stopped by for a discussion with me about kids, digital technology, smartphones, gaming and social media, as part of the larger discussion about mental health issues for Bell Let’s Talk day on January 30th.

Here’s an edited look at what I had to say.

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When is a soda not a soda?

My 14-year-old daughter stopped at the dep on her way home from school last week, looking for a snack after a lengthy extra-curricular activity. The depanneur (convenience store) is right next to the school and very familiar with the teen students in their plaid kilt uniforms. 

Smirnoff Raspberry Soda

Deceptive packaging makes this look like a regular soda.

She bought a can of low-calorie raspberry soda and hopped on the bus home. But the soda tasted strange. Way too sweet. So she checked the ingredient list and was shocked to find it contained 4% alcohol. 

“Um, Mom? I bought alcohol by mistake.”

Turns out what she actually bought was a Smirnoff cooler with a raspberry & soda flavour. The Smirnoff label is very prominent but like the average 14-year-old, she didn’t know or recognize the brand name. Everything else about the packaging (see photo) suggests this was a soft drink. 

Initially, we laughed off her error and poured it down the sink. I told her how glad I was that she told me about it. She wasn’t at fault and certainly wasn’t in trouble.

Then I got upset. And the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. But not with her.

First of all, I was upset that the dep employee sold alcohol to a 14-year-old wearing the familiar high school uniform (she even had on a hoodie with the school name). She wasn’t challenged or asked for identification. Moreover, the product wasn’t in a beer and cooler fridge, surrounded by other products obviously containing alcohol; it was in a six-pack on a shelf next to some bananas and snack foods. 

Mostly, however, I was upset about the packaging for this product. It’s easy to see how a teenager unfamiliar with the Smirnoff brand might think it’s a soda. The most obvious marketing messages in this packaging design are about the low calorie nature of the beverage and the raspberry soda flavour. Even if a young person was deliberately seeking alcohol, it makes it seem so benign. And the sugary sweet taste promoted by the beverage suggests it’s designed for young drinkers.

The whole mixup seems particularly onerous in the wake of the death from alcohol poisoning last month of another 14-year-old girl from Laval. Athena Gervais had reportedly been drinking a high sugar alcoholic beverage called FCKD UP purchased from a nearby depanneur. Laval-based Groupe Geloso, which manufactured the drink, announced soon after that it was stopping production and pulling it from shelves. Similar to the American beverage, Four Loko, the drinks are very high in alcohol and caffeine – and both brands appeal to youth.

It seems the problem is bigger than just those one or two particular drinks. Can we address the way packaging and marketing specifically appeals to underage drinkers? How it is deliberately promoted to seem like candy or energy drinks or soda as if it were completely safe for all?

The day after this incident, I went over t0 the depanneur where my daughter bought this drink. Full of mama rage, I confronted the owner. To his credit, he was shocked and horrified and apologized immediately. He recognized that placing these drinks next to snack foods and away from the rest of the alcohol could be confusing to students and pledged to move them right away. And he promised to reinforce to all his employees that the legal age for alcohol consumption in Quebec is 18, and they must demand identification to prove their age. My 14-year-old could easily pass for older, but she was wearing a high school uniform and thus clearly no older than 17. She claims the worker showed zero interest in what she was purchasing. 

I was satisfied with the owner’s response and proud of my daughter for speaking up. But I remain concerned about this kind of misleading advertising. There are many reasons why alcohol consumption can be dangerous for teens, from alcohol poisoning to addiction, heightened risk of assault, drinking and driving, and decreased judgment. This kind of marketing is unethical and it’s our kids who pay the price.

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Public Workshop: The Teenage Brain – a Practical How-to Guide for Parents

“How was school?”

“OK”

“What did you do today?”

“Nothing.”

“Who did you see at the party?”

“No one.”

Sound familiar? You probably have a tween or teen in your house.

The Teenage Brain sign upParents are often mystified by the apparently sudden changes in their kids’ moods and behaviour when they hit puberty. That chatty 11-year-old may suddenly clam up when they turn 12. Instead of the detailed accounting of every banal classroom detail you’ve been accustomed to for years, you suddenly get monosyllabic answers. Your 14-year-old may storm out the room, slamming doors, without any provocation. Your 15-year-old may withhold details about his friends and what they do when they go out.

There may be tears, fears, shouting or stony silence.

Eating habits change, sleeping patterns shift, likes become dislikes and vice versa. It can be all that much harder to broach difficult topics about social media use, sex, drugs, mental health issues and drinking.

As challenging as the teen years can be, they are also wonderful. Your child is growing up before your eyes, figuring out who they are, pursuing new interests and developing new talents. Instead of worrying and complaining about this new normal, it helps for parents to have a better understanding of what’s going on. The information we do get tends to be about physiological changes from the neck (and waist) down, but our kids’ brains are going through important changes as well.

Teen BrainUnderstanding what’s going on can make it all much clearer for mom and dad, and hopefully strengthen your relationship with the emerging adult in the family. The current research on adolescent brain biology has a lot to teach us about the teenagers we think we know.

Join me at Trafalgar School for Girls on Tuesday, Nov. 7th from 7:30-9 p.m. (3495 Simpson Ave., corner Docteur Penfield Ave. Montreal). I’ll be speaking to parents of elementary and high school parents about a few key changes that occur during the teen years, with practical strategies on how to help families navigate – and thrive – in turbulent times.

You will learn:

  • How changes in the brain impact the development of good judgment, problem-solving, decision-making and impulse control
  • How normal changes in sleep patterns change the way your teenager gets through his/her day and night and affects their schooling and family time
  • How the overdevelopment of the brain structures responsible for handling emotions affects the way your teen sees the world
  • How social media, alcohol, illegal drugs can impact the growing brain
  • Why we can’t blame hormones for everything.

This lecture is open to the public. Tickets are $10. Sign up online by clicking here.

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