We are seeing a small number of children bringing in cans of Prime Energy drink with their packed lunches. This contravenes our Healthy Schools rules and we ask that parents/carers stop sending children in with such drinks.
Prime Energy contains 200mg of caffeine per can, enough to cause anxiety, disturb sleep patterns and lead to caffeine dependence. There is no safe limit for caffeine for primary school-age children and the recommended upper limit even for teenagers is only 100mg. The Prime website states that the drink should not be consumed by under 18s. As such, we will remove any cans of Prime we find and offer the children water instead. Any cans so removed can be reclaimed by parents/carers from the school office..
We are aware of an incident in a school community in South Wales recently in which a child suffered heart problems and had to have their stomach pumped having consumed Prime Energy: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/parents-horror-child-cardiac-episode-29947344
If your child is tired enough to need such a daily caffeine shot, you should consult your GP about the possibility of an underlying health problem.
Although there are no health risks to children associated with drinking ‘Prime Hydration’, the drink does contain a high level of electrolytes. Electrolytes aren’t recommended for children unless they are unwell or at risk of dehydration. Some schools have banned Prime Hydration, but, for now at least, we leave that decision with parents/carers.
We have seen a few ‘entrepeneurial’ children trying to sell their Prime Hydration and/or co-erce other children into doing things in exchange for a taste of it and, while we can only admire their business acumen, where we see this, we will manage it in line with our behaviour policy.