Non-Alcoholic Beer Instead of Juice Boxes? | ABC News -

Non-Alcoholic Beer Instead of Juice Boxes?:

Non-Alcoholic Beer Instead of Juice Boxes?
Companies Market Adult Products to Children as Young as Five

In this fast paced world, kids can grab the wheel of a toy SUV before learning how to ride a bike, trade in their juice boxes for "beer" (minus the alcohol, of course), and sometimes even master a cell phone before they can read. . .

Some cell phone companies are targeting children as young as five.

It's reached the point where there seems to be a kids version of just about everything "adult." Even beer. For example, a non-alcoholic Japanese beer called "Kids' Beer" carries the slogan, "Even kids can't stand life unless they have a drink."

Plus, "tweens" -- kids in the general range between 8 and 13 -- have big buying power, spending $33 billion a year. So marketers are aggressively targeting the younger elementary school set with adult-like products . . .

"Our parents worried about comic books and The Three Stooges. We have to worry about so much more," said Beth Curren, a Rockville, Md. concerned mother with a son in the third grade . . .

But psychologists say treating children like adults can form bad habits for both parents and children.

"One of the most common mistakes made in parenting is to think that the child is a miniature adult," said Prof. Lou Aynard, a psychologist with the Family Outreach Network. "The child is not."