When I first heard about the proposed ban on energy drinks for under-16s, I rolled my eyes. After all, do we really need another law telling parents how to raise their children? Yet the more I thought about it, the more I realized that energy drinks are not simply a sugary buzz: they mirror the culture we have created for children, and reveal how they are trying to cope within it.

Energy drinks lure kids with neon colors and wild branding, packaged as harmless fun. A mix of water, caffeine and sugar, they promise stamina and focus, but are conspicuously silent about the inevitable crash. A 250 ml can of Red Bull packs 27 grams of sugar. Monster usually comes in 500 ml cans containing 55 grams of sugar and 160 milligrams of caffeine, while Prime pushes caffeine even higher at 200 milligrams.

Health guidelines suggest that under-18s should have no more than 25 grams of sugar and 100 milligrams of caffeine per day, limits which these drinks exceed easily. Far from a harmless boost, they overwhelm the developing body and brain.

What is most troubling about these drugs is how closely they mimic addiction. A teenager downs a can, enjoys the buzz, then crashes; soon, they want another hit. Over time, the brain expects the caffeine to feel normal. Emotional regulation breaks down, concentration falters, behavior grows erratic, and the developing brain learns to run on artificial fuel instead of the natural rhythms of sleep, rest and genuine energy.

Anyone who has lived with a teenager knows how volatile their emotions can be. Add a concentrated stimulant, dressed up as edgy and glamorous, and it is no wonder the Government wants a ban.

The irony is that children are already overstimulated. Smartphones, social media, gaming and constant online connection keep them wired late into the night. Their attention spans shrink to TikTok durations of mere seconds, and their capacity to suffer stretches of boredom and entertain themselves without technology is disappearing. Energy drinks fit neatly into this landscape, promising a quick fix for tiredness or low mood. They deliver yet another false high to an immature brain trained to live on a cycle of highs and crashes.

Children are a product of their environment. They did not invent TikTok or Snapchat: they are simply consumers of what is pushed at them. Nor did they choose a culture where summer holidays are spent in dark rooms with headsets on, fending off boredom with energy drinks. This lifestyle has been cultivated by profit-driven campaigns dreamed up by shiny-suited executives who know exactly how profitable children can be.

If instead we built a childhood rooted in free play, imaginative time outdoors, and three proper meals a day without constant snacking or “hydrating”, children would fall in with that. It is the role of adults — and admittedly this can be hard if both parents work full time — to create the right environment for the young, not the other way around.

So, what should we do? A ban on energy drinks may be seen as heavy-handed, but it is hard to ignore the way these drinks are pushed at teenagers. Taxing them heavily might curb demand, yet profit-driven companies always find ways around such measures.

Children reach for energy drinks because they are exhausted by a culture that runs on stimulation and collapse. The state cannot parent children, nor should it, but adults can build a world where rest, playfulness and human connection matter more than a false buzz and slick branding. Funnily enough, that’s really what kids long for. Until we change the culture that keeps young people wired and depleted, they will keep chasing cans of false energy.

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Stella O’Malley is a psychotherapist and bestselling author. She is Founder-Director of Genspect, an international organisation that advocates for a healthy approach to sex and gender.

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