Kristen Bell reveals why she lets her kids drink nonalcoholic beer

Cheers?

On a recent appearance of “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” actress Kristen Bell, 43, revealed that her two daughters with husband Dax Shepard — Lincoln, 10, and Delta, 8 — sometimes enjoy drinking nonalcoholic beer.

The children’s enjoyment of the rather adult beverage stems from their earliest days when she and Shepard, 48, would take the babes on a walk in the evening.

“He’s a recovering addict, but he likes nonalcoholic beer, so he’d pop one open, he’d have [our oldest daughter] on his chest, and we’d walk and look at the sunset,” Bell explained to Clarkson.

“As a baby, she was pawing at it, and sometimes she’d suck on the rim of it. So, I think it feels to her like something special, something daddy, something family.”

The actress clarified that the beers Shepard consumed had zero alcohol. But, she admitted that when Lincoln orders the drink when they’re out and about, it can be a little awkward.

“We’ve been at restaurants where she’s said, ‘Do you have any nonalcoholic beer?’ and I’m like … maybe we just keep that for home time,” Bell said. “But then I’m also sort of like, ‘You can judge me if you want, I’m not doing anything wrong. Like that’s your problem.’”

This isn’t the first time Bell has brought up supporting her kids ordering nonalcoholic drinks at restaurants.

Back in 2020 on the “Say Yes! With Carla Hall” podcast, the “Bad Moms” star recounted the same story of their eldest putting the rim of her dad’s nonalcoholic beer in her mouth as a baby. She also admitted at the time that the girls have “been at restaurants and ordered” nonalcoholic beer.

Bell knew what the reaction would be from outsiders: “I’m going to get a lot of flak for this. And let me start by saying I don’t care. I’m a great parent, I think. I’m learning every day.”

“It’s a sentimental thing for my girls, right? It makes them feel close to their dad.”

Boozeless brewskis can be divided into two categories: alcohol-free beer and nonalcoholic beer.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, alcohol-free beer contains no detectable levels of alcohol and must be labeled 0.0% ABV.

Nonalcoholic beer beverages can contain up to 0.5% ABV.

Experts in the Czech Republic have expressed concerns over children consuming nonalcoholic beer.

Even though the drinks have zero to low alcohol levels, providing children with the adult substitute sets them up for at-risk behavior surrounding the beverage in the future. They become familiar with the taste of hops and are more likely to consume alcohol under other circumstances, according to Czech Republic experts.

A nonalcoholic beer with 0.5% ABV affects a small child’s body “similar to that of an adult having a normal beer,” said Petr Popov, head of the Clinic of Addiction Studies of the General Hospital in Prague.

A representative for Bell did not offer comment.