By Mark Gray
8:36pm PDT, Aug 23, 2023
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Back in 2020, Kristen Bell raised eyebrows when she revealed that her two children — Delta, 7, and Lincoln, 9 — often drink non-alcoholic beer at home. The kids have even tried to order the beverage at restaurants, she said, adding that she doesn't think she and her husband, Dax Shepard, are doing anything wrong when it comes to their parenting methods.
During an appearance on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" last month, the actress spoke about her children's penchant for drinking O'Doul's. Now, on an episode of Dax's "Armchair Expert" podcast, she acknowledges that viewers "were very upset about that."
Said the father of two, "This is where we're different and you're at peace and I'm not. … Orange juice has a .5% ABV alcohol by volume. Heineken has a 0.0. … If you're serving your kids orange juice, you're serving them way more alcohol."
The duo then went on to further defend their stance. Keep reading to hear their position…
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Kristen Bell doesn't mind that people are upset about her near-beer revelation, but she also thinks people are missing the bigger picture. "What's so cute about you to me is that you are so logical and fact-driven and evidence-based, but if people want to be angry about something, they're going to be angry about it," Kristen told her husband after he detailed that fruit juice can actually contain more alcohol than non-alcoholic beer. She added, "When they have tried to order [non-alcoholic beer] at a restaurant or something, it's because of a very specific connection to you. Because first of all, they're educated on addiction and what substances are and how they affect your body and how scary they are and what they can do to you."
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Shortly after detailing her story, Kristen Bell was hit with a slew of accusations that essentially called her bad mother. In addition, Dax Shepard has long been open about his addiction struggles, which added another layer to the story. "I thought that was kind of a cute story but again, it turned into, 'I let my kids drink,'" she told her husband's podcast. "None of this seems to connect seeing as though you're so open about sobriety and addiction and we're a family that strives to educate everyone about substances."
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Amid the outrage at Kristen Bell's parenting decision, Dax Shepard's blood boiled. In fact, he wanted to have a debate. "I'm always going to feel protective," he said on Armchair Expert. "If anyone has a problem that I let my kids drink [non-alcoholic] beer sometimes, that's fine with me. I'm not going to change based on what anybody else says because this is our family and not your business."
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Daughters Delta, 7, and Lincoln, 9, like their non-alcoholic beer because it makes them feel closer to their father, Kristen Bell believes. When the kids were young, Dax would often drink an O'Doul's while walking the kids around the neighborhood. The kids see the faux beer as "something special, something daddy." In speaking to Kelly Clarkson, Kristen said, "You can judge me if you want. I'm not doing anything wrong. That's your problem."
