Kristen Bell Finds Daughters Drinking Non-Alcoholic Beer During Class Zoom

Kristen Bell recently “walked in” on her kids sipping O’Doul’s — during a Zoom class

There’s a learning curve to pandemic-induced remote learning, and we’re all sort of figuring it out as we go. Of course, that means any manner of mishaps is possible and even probable… especially where Zoom is concerned. Just ask Kristen Bell, who experienced a moment of panic when she discovered daughters Lincoln, 7, and Delta, 5 1/2, casually drinking non-alcoholic beer in the middle of one of their virtual classes.

“They’re just, like, sipping their [O’Doul’s] and I’m like, ‘What must these other parents and teachers think of me?’” Bell admitted thinking during an appearance on the Say Yes! With Carla Hall podcast.

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But ultimately, Bell is unbothered by how her daughters drinking “Doulies” might be perceived. She’s also aware that people will have opinions. “I’m going to get a lot of flack for this. And let me start by saying I don’t care. You’re allowed to give me any advice you guys want, any of these listeners. You’re welcome to tell me I’m a terrible parent. I don’t care. I’m a great parent, I think. I’m learning every day.”

That’s right, Kristen — you do you, babe. Before this whole virtual homeschooling thing is over, we’ll probably all have more than a few stories about our own parenting “fails.” Besides, as Bell explained, there’s actually a pretty sweet reason her kids even like the stuff.

“My husband brought home a six-pack of O’Doul’s last night. And my daughters often ask for O’Doul’s,” she said, continuing, “The reason for this is because when we first had our child and my husband would put her in the BABYBJÖRN and we’d walk around the neighborhood, he’d pop a nonalcoholic beer in his hand and the baby would paw at it and put the rim in her mouth. It’s a sentimental thing for my girls, right? It makes them feel close to their dad.”

The couple doesn’t shy away from conversations about how Bell’s husband and the girls’ Daddy, Dax Shepard, drinks O’Doul’s because he is a recovering alcoholic and addict. So, when he broke out the non-alcoholic beers the night before, they didn’t see anything wrong with sharing the six-pack.

“We’re like, ‘I mean, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just essentially a bubbly juice.’ Right? There’s nothing in it,” Bell said. “We also talk to them very much about [Dax’s] sobriety and the importance of why Daddy can’t drink.”

In fact, Bell would argue that Lincoln and Delta occasionally drinking O’Doul’s is actually sort of a good thing. She posited, “If anything, it opens up the discussion for why Daddy has to drink non-alcoholic beer, because some people lose their privileges with drinking. Drinking’s not always safe.”

According to O’Doul’s website, their beverage has “less than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume” or ABV. That’s, like, not too much more than the ABV-level of a really ripe banana. In 2014, a Michigan teacher made headlines for letting students try non-alcoholic beer in history class. Why? They were studying the colonial era, when clean water was scarce and malt ale was a common (and widely accepted) alternative.

So, really, you could argue that Bell allowing her girls to drink “Doulies” was a lesson in more ways than one.