Home > Weigh In on the Babycino Controversy

Weigh In on the Babycino Controversy

Source: BeanScene Magazine

Is one ever too young to enjoy the coffee shop environment? Do kids belong in the café? Is the babycino too cute? Whatever you might think of kids in the coffee shop, a controversy of sorts developed recently in Australia when a mom designed a babycino fundraiser.

According to the article in BeanScene Magazine, a babycino is a frothed milk drink decorated with chocolate sprinkles or chocolate syrup, generally served with some kind of marshmallow decoration. For a month, coffee shops had agreed to give away free babycino’s with orders of paying customers with kids. The parents were asked to give a donation in lieu of paying for the treat. The funds raised were donated to the Sydney Children’s Hospital. Many people misunderstood the fundraiser and a controversy developed over other issues involving children in cafes and the drink itself.

The drink is being served in many cafes and coffee shops, not only in Australia. So far, children in New Zealand, North America and Great Britain are enjoying the fairly healthy treat. In North America it’s called a “steamer” and in New Zealand it’s called a “fluffy”. Baristas express every reaction from cringing to gratitude it seems. Because it’s a little bit of an interruption, when there are a large number of coffee orders, it’s not a welcome part of a customer’s order. When the pace is slower, baristas are happy to provide extra service to the customer, who is more likely to become a regular.

The other side of the issue involves the appropriateness of giving a small child a coffee-like drink in the coffee shop environment, thus planting the seeds of future coffee lover and café patron. The mothers quoted in the article think it’s a great way to increase the family atmosphere of coffee shops, while some parents and some baristas do not want to cater that much to kids. It was implied that the extra noise might be a factor if lots of kids started coming in for the babycinos.

That’s the bottom line. On the one hand, kids are good for some business, but if the noise becomes a factor, the home workers and students might take their laptops elsewhere. But not all kids are noisy, of course. What will happen to our coffee shop community though, if it starts looking more like a Baskin and Robbins or a Red Robin (gasp)? Will the climbing toys come next? Regardless, no introduction to café culture will be complete unless kids bring in their baby laptops.

Baristas will have to draw the boundaries and decide how much to cater to the little people. Once invited, kids will be there to stay, because as one mom stated, “There should be an acceptance of children in café culture - after all we are breeding the next generation of café lovers.”

You can have fun at home by creating your own babycinos. Frothers come in handy for that.

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REVIEWS & COMMENTS

  • BABYCINO

    Gazy | Sun, 03/11/2012 - 19:05

    Too much fuzz about a petty issue. When will coffee haters stop critizicing coffee? Coffee is delicious and healthy. Coffee is NOT an energy drink.

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  • BABYCINOS . . .

    CathyP | Sun, 03/04/2012 - 21:28

    We call them sprinkecinos at our shop and they're not a full-fledged drink. We take extra foam and add sprinkles in a cute little cup with an espresso spoon. I'm not sure they get eaten, but they're fun to play with and it keeps the kids entertained. We aren't really a kid-friendly environment - lots of breakables - but the kids that do come in with parents are usually well-behaved.

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  • INTERESTING CONTROVERSY

    Son Ton | Sun, 03/04/2012 - 05:56

    That is an interesting controversy for sure. I for one thing do not see anything wrong with "planting the seed for future coffee lover".

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  • AND HERE IN THE US

    Chamie | Sat, 02/25/2012 - 11:09

    ...the babycino controversy was ignited by an article in a Brooklyn paper. I've seen really hateful comments posted to various places about everything from parents indoctrinating their kids into coffee drinking culture to the vapidity of "designer-clad toddlers and their arrogant parents". Sheesh, folks -- it's steamed milk. My grandmother used to pour straight coffee on my cornflakes!

    Also -- yep, I agree. Kids are a whole lot less annoying than some of the obnoxious teens I've shared coffee-drinking spaces with.

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  • I DON'T REALLY GET WHAT ALL

    hoonchul | Sat, 02/25/2012 - 01:00

    I don't really get what all the fuss is about. No one is forcing people to get babycino for their kids and if you want peace and quiet then the cafe is wrong place to be.

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  • I AM FINE WITH THE IDEA. I

    GmanJenks | Mon, 02/20/2012 - 10:05

    I am fine with the idea. I may even prefer it to some of the "frappacino" drinks that Starbucks offers that usually ends up what customers order for their kids. Those things have crazy amounts of fat, calories and sugar!!!

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  • MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

    jbviau | Mon, 02/20/2012 - 00:50

    Charge for the baby/kid drinks and watch the $$ roll in. Don't see what the big deal is. I can't honestly say children would be more annoying than undergrads in your average coffee shop. ;)

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  • NICE IDEA ACTUALLY

    samuellaw178 | Sun, 02/19/2012 - 23:58

    I actually really like the idea of this. I totally understand where the concern comes from but I think the pros outweigh the cons right now. Why not just carry it out for a while and then make the final judgment?

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  • WHY IS THIS BAD?

    Wakeknot | Sun, 02/19/2012 - 22:38

    I do this at home all the time and my kids love it. I think there are plenty of other things to worry about for kids than babycinos.

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  • KING OF RHETORICAL QUESTIONS

    intrepid510 | Sun, 02/19/2012 - 17:35

    I think it's a little ridiculous that people would be upset about this. Do we get upset when a child is served a Shirley Temple at a restaurant? It's setting the seeds for cocktail drinking. I mean really is coffee so bad that we cannot offer a drink a child would like? Also, if a barista is too 'busy' to make a another drink for a paying customer then they should probably get out of the customer service business. It's really nothing different than most other espresso based drinks, I mean really do they get mad at making a mocha?

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