Okay, for all of you who know what a Kahlua is, the title of this article may have triggered you or stir some sort of emotion from deep inside – especially if you are a parent or one of those people who take parenting very seriously. But, please, calm down. Relax. Let us all take this as information, shall we? So, if you haven’t heard of Kahlua before, let us tell you that it is a coffee-flavored liqueur from Mexico that contains rum, sugar, vanilla bean, and Arabica coffee. The volume of alcohol in a bottle of Kahlua is 20% which is considered safer than if the rum is drunk on its own. People love having Kahlua after meal, like a naughtier version of having a cup of coffee – perhaps.
There are a lot of cocktail recipes that use Kahlua as their alcohol base, like White Russian. This mixture puts Kahlua and milk together in a glass over ice. But does that make it suitable for kids? You have just read above that there’s 20% alcohol in a bottle of Kahlua. Mixing it with the same ratio of milk is not going to leach off the alcohol, obviously. So, the answer is straight NO, you can’t give a glass of Kahlua milk to kids even though it tastes like latte and is sweet.
Drink Responsibly
Surely people have different childhood experiences. Some may have strange ones that include drinking Kahlua milk. But that doesn’t mean it’s okay. International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD) has a very clear list of how alcohol should be taken in different countries around the world based on gender, age, and warnings from each country’s Ministry of Health. Restrictions differ from place to place, but mostly would strongly recommend pregnant women and children from having alcohol for recreational purposes.
In America, the records say that the youngest age of troubled alcoholic is 12 years old, which is a very devastating fact especially if they got the influence from their parents. Canada, however, allows teenager to consume alcohol as long as it is done under parental guidance and not over the limit.
The Effect of Alcohol to the Body and Mind
There are always good reasons as to why some things are not supposed to be consumed or let into our bodies. Alcohol, even though not regularly consumed, can still affect the body. Liver will take the biggest blow from alcohol since it is the organ that metabolizes toxins. Of course it also depends on several factors like gender, age, and condition of the liver itself. Children, with their bodies still in the process of growing, are definitely not supposed to be exposed to alcoholic drinks. Long term alcohol abuse may cause mental issues besides the physical degradation.
Other than liver, the parts of body that can be affected by irresponsible consumption of alcohol are digestive system – the lining of the stomach will be worn down by the increased production of acid, pancreas, central nervous system – brain damage, in a simpler term, cardiovascular or heart failure, reproductive health, and bones. While the psychological effects include depressive disorder, bipolar, sleep disorder, psychotic disorder, anxiety and more.
Kahlua with Milk or Cream
If you are not familiar with mixed drinks that use Kahlua in them, here are some variations you need to be careful with when making orders at some restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages. So you won’t accidentally ordering them for your kids while having lunch or dinner out together. They may sound and look harmless, but there’s still alcohol in them.
Kahlua Hot Chocolate – made from milk, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and kahlua. Usually served hot with marshmallow and caramel topping.
Kahlua Milkshake – uses chocolate ice cream, Kahlua, chocolate milk, whipped cream, chocolate fudge sauce and served with crushed ice and cherry on top.
Cookies and Cream Kahlua Shake – includes cookies (usually Oreos), milk, Kahlua, chocolate syrup, and ice. Served with whipped cream and wafer.
White Russian Milkshake – uses vanilla ice cream, vanilla vodka, Kahlua, and whipped cream. This one is definitely stronger since there are two alcoholic ingredients in it. Keep it away from your kids.
Kahlua Cookie Dough Milkshake – made from cookie dough flavored ice cream, cookies, milk, Kahlua, and crumbles for topping.
Kahlua with Milk – this is the classic recipe that consists only two ingredients; Kahlua and milk, obviously. This one can be served cold or warm depends on how you like it. So easy to make at home, too.
Mudslide – it may look like a glass of innocent chocolate and cream, but beware. Mudslide is a close relative to White Russian since it uses vodka, Kahlua, Irish cream baileys, ice, and chocolate syrup. Triple volume of alcohol in a glass of this cocktail.
Dirty Iced Tea Latte – oh yes, this one is definitely delicious especially for them who love caffeine. But, just because it is named tea, doesn’t mean it is safe for your kids because it has Kahlua in it besides tea, espresso, and milk.
There are many more variations of Kahlua-based drinks. Make sure you read the description to each drink that you order for your children while dining out. Kahlua is considered a “tame” type of alcoholic drink since it is more like a spiked coffee rather than booze. Some even say that it is not much different from coffee-flavored soda drink. Whatever people say about the safety of Kahlua, it would be better not to give it to children since it contains alcohol. If you wonder why there are so many variations of this liqueur that use milk, it is because Kahlua has coffee flavor that goes well with milk, cream, and other dairy products. However, Kahlua milk is never suitable for children. Please take a note of that.