This week when I had some downtime, I flipped on Toddlers & Tiaras. Let me be clear that pageants in no way bother me, but the families they put on this show are pretty much as bad as Big Brother 15 this year… a hot mess.
And while pixie stick overloads and tantrums are the norm, seeing a mother feed her daughter what she called “Tinker Tea” on a daily basis all while justifying that she “doesn’t feed her juice so its the same thing” just blew my mind.
So in the interest of science and household journalism I decided to try out Tinker Tea to see what kind of monstrosity she was defending.
Tinker Tea
Ingredients
- Mountain Dew
- Sweet Tea
- Pixie Stix
Now she doesn’t give us the actual measurements but did refer to it being a “dark green” color. I tried it with more sweet tea and it turned brown, so my best guess is she is using a green pixie stick to make it darker and in our case, we bought pink/purple/orange ones.
Here is what we did
1) 3/4ths of the glass filled with Mountain Dew, the most potent soda known to man
2) 1 tablespoon of Milos Sweet Tea (sidenote: I cannot believe I wasted my tea on this crap)
3) One Giant Pixie Stick in any flavor you feel like hopping your kid up on
4) Stir
5) Pour into your child’s glass and serve to them…this works best if they are under the age of 3.
Charlotte and I did test a bit out with a spoon (she didn’t actually drink it because I do not allow her soda at all) and it was….sharp. That is the best way to describe it.
I am flabbergasted that this mom feeds this concoction to her 2 year old.
The best part of this all? This mom is now working to MARKET “Tinker Tea” as an “Energy Drink” for kids.
You know, just in case their daily tantrums and bouncing off the walls attitude isn’t enough for you.
Would you buy “Tinker Tea” for your child if offered?
~Trisha
I love how everyone’s so super offended by this, but yet kids all over the country drink caffeinated sodas and gobble down candies. You guys act as if she’s letting her kid smoke crack. It’s funny because your watching a show about shallow parents grooming their kids to be shallow adults by dressing them like whores for pedophiles to get off to, and your all pooping your pants over a sugary drink with caffeine. It’s so asinine.
My kids dont. I would venture to say that many kids are not allowed free range to sodas and candy. My daughter is 9 and has never had a soda at all.
No way anybody should give this to their kid. When I saw this episode when it aired I about died. Doesn’t shock me she’s tryin I make money off I it either. Crazy lady…
I was so mad when I saw the “Tinker Tea” my kids do not get any soda or any type of fake energy drink, if we need energy we eat an apple!!! Apples are better for you, and give you more sustained energy than coffee or “Tinker Tea” and it is good energy not sugar high energy!! so Hell to the NO would we every purchase anything like “Tinker Tea” for our kids!!
Seriously…
I mean seriously….
ANYONE with a lick of sanity wouldn’t give this poison to their child let alone a human. It’s like drinking the mat shot at the end of a bar night on a bet! YUCK
Take into consideration the IQ of this mother. Did I say IQ .. What IQ.?
Just think in years to come with consuming all that “stinker tea”, she should undoubtedly have a full set of black rotten teath to match that rotten formula!
I cannot believe there are people who do this. Or maybe I can. I can remember some moms giving their little ones soda in bottles back in podunk Florida…
i could not even imagine giving that to my three year old. she has enough energy as is. That is so horrible. Honey boo boos mother also did this but instead of sweet tea it was something else I cannot remember but even then I just dont understand I am not in anyway saying that the parent in the show does not love her daughter but what im saying is I love my daughter SO much that I could never give her something like that , being too scared for not only her health but her heart seeing as how there is so much horrible things in it
Sigh. People that do these things have no idea what kind of damage they are doing to their kid’s bodies. 🙁 Poor kids!
OMGoodness! That is just awful! No, I would not buy that as an energy drink for my child. But hilarious that you tried to recreate it. I love Charlotte’s face.
I agree that giving young children energy drinks or caffeinated drinks seriously impedes development. We are here to parent and teach our children what benefits you gain from healthy eating. My children have had soda here and there but water is their staple. We also don’t know all the chemicals that are in these products either. I know a chemical in flame retardant is in Mountain Dew so can you imagine what else is in there? Also, plumbers use Coca Cola to clean pipes because it burns off the grime. If you are on a reality TV show people that watch do believe what they see. It is a part of “sort of” fame.
I just about had a heart attack looking at those pictures. I was totally freaked out that you were serious before I started reading!!!!
Oh. Emmm. Geeeee. Unbelievable.
First off I loved your recap on our drink. Secondly you shouldn’t believe everything you see on a “reality” show. She doesn’t get this every day nor coffee it’s called ratings. We are in the process of developing her own energy drink after Tinker Tea- it will not be sweet tea, Mountain Dew and Pixie Stixs but an actual flavored emery drink. Think Strawberry/Lime flavor. Thank you again for the post and ill be sure to post it on her fan page on fb.
Perception is reality (no pun intended) and the reason reality shows are so popular is that people do believe what they are watching. People perceive that your on screen “reality” behaviors are you own – their perceptions of you define you. It’s the price you pay for ratings.
Adults AND children watch the show and take it at face value. Caffeine has been shown to negatively affect children’s neurological and cardiovascular development so giving it to a 2 year is about as safe as giving them a glass of beer. Then we move on to the sugar. Sugar can suppress the immune system, lead to hyperactivity and is a huge contributor to obesity and FEEDS cancer. Artificial colors can be toxic, cause cancer and ADHD to name just a few of the negative effects.
I admit I have never seen the show but the information provided here actually surprised me even more because of it. If I was grooming my child for a pageant career I would want them to be as healthy inside and out as possible. Soda and caffeine do the complete opposite.
I am also disturbed by the idea of an energy drink targeted at children because I assume by your “Tinker Tea” it would NOT be an herb based drink free of anything artificial. And even if it was, the question begs – have you ever met a child? They don’t really lack in the energy department. Well. Except when you confuse their body with caffeine and sugar highs that they crash from repeatedly throughout the day from things like your Tinker Tea.
Whether it’s daily as you portray in the show or occasionally, a developing child should NEVER be exposed to these things.
Tori, do realize the damage you are doing to your little one’s body. As Kim said, this stuff ruins their beautiful bodies.
I’d definitely rethink the energy drink for kids. I have yet to meet a child who truly needs it. My three are proof of that.
I watched a repeat of this show just to see what all the noise was about “Tinker Tea” because I had seen it mentioned on the Internet. I was appalled!!! I personally think Child Protective Services should have been called. On the show the child was so high she could not even stand still at the end of the show. I am sure she crashed later as anyone who gets high on any substance must come down from that high at some point. Her body will start craving this high / crash / high, etc… News flash… drugs and alcohol do the same thing. When her little body gets used to this and it no longer provides the effects you are looking for are you then going to turn her on to drugs and alcohol??? You have already turned her onto addiction of substances that alter reality at the ripe old age of 3. I would guess by her late teens or early 20’s she will be in a Rehab Center. I guess some people will do anything to win a pageant. I personally think she should be removed from your care and you should be sterilized. You are a danger to the health and welfare of children, your own and those who watched that show who might want to use it themselves. If you don’t make enough money from the pageants you could always teach a parenting class…”Bad, Bad Parenting 101″
Ummm… NO. Aren’t kids hyper as is LOL
No way. On the rare occasion my kids get pop, it’s sprite only.
And what a way to ruin good sweet tea. 😉
Aside from all the obvious, too much sugar, too much caffeine, etc. I can’t imagine it would even taste good. Jake is 16 and I still don’t let him get energy drinks. His go-to is water and always has been, so I’m lucky with that.
OH NASTY!!!
My husband is a huge Mountain Dew fan, but our kids don’t drink it and he doesn’t mix it with tea & pixie sticks.
Disgusting! I gagged just reading the title on Facebook. Last year at one of my daughters soccer games this mom was screaming at her daughter to hustle and wake up and get with it. Next thing we knew, she was yelling at her daughter to come over to her and shoved a bottle of Mt Dew at her and told her to drink it. Then commented “that will wake her up”. I think I sat in shock with my jaw hanging open for 5 minutes. My friend I was sitting with said she heard the mom telling someone she added something to the mt dew but she didn’t get what. I just can’t imagine giving anything like that to my kids. Heck, my 10 and 8 year olds have never even had soda.. EVER.
I saw this too and couldn’t believe she gave this to her 3 year old – AFTER she gave her her morning cup of coffee – which she had done since age 9 months! WTF?!
Dead. I am dead.
>.<
The name is hysterical, though!
I clicked over here thinking “She can’t be serious!” LOL
Just say no to tinker tea.
Energy drink for kids? My kids are nothing BUT energy. I’d have to put them in a cage if they got into an energy drink! (Kidding, I think..)
I’m a little too southern to say what I’m really thinking here. But I will go out on a limb here and say that we will pass on this if we see it in the store. Holy crap!
Not even close. I cannot even image the sugar and caffeine overload let alone the high fructose corn syrup & other nasty chemicals in there.
OMG this post is hilarious!!
No. FIrst off, it looks terribly unhealthy so no way, but even if somehow it was healthy it sounds GROSS! Sounds like the nasty concoctions we used to make as (older) kids when our parents weren’t looking.