NASGB is calling for Prime Hydration to be banned in schools nationwide Photo Twitter @PrimeHydrate
South Africa – Prime Hydration, the new energy drink from YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI, has taken South Africa by storm. While kids across the nation are enjoying it, the National Association of School Governing Bodies (NASGB) has called for the energy drink to be banned in schools nationwide.
Matakanye Matakanye, Chairperson of NASGB, has received complaints that children “changed in their behaviour” after drinking Prime. A complaint that primary school teacher Aadilah has experienced for herself.
“It is like a crazy phenomenon. They are normal kids before break and afterwards they come back hyperactive and full of energy. Way too much energy for normal young children to have. It is not natural and when you have 30 young kids all hyperactive and running around, it does not produce an effective environment for learning.”
However, there are teachers like Brian Govender who believe that it doesn’t cause problems in children. It is just children being excited about something new and once the hype train dies down, things will return to normal.
“I think the buzz is because of how the children behave when it comes to these things. It isn’t any different to how crazy we adults become when a new soccer kit comes out or a new makeup collection. So I think the crazy behaviour is just kids being kids and it will eventually die down.”
Prime Hydration is fine, Prime Energy isn’t
While South African schools are not taking any chances, it is not Prime Hydration, which is available in the country that’s the problem but rather Prime Energy. Prime Hydration is sugar free and caffeine free while Prime Energy has 200mg of caffeine in it. That is equivalent to four shots of espresso. This is why, in an eNCA interview last week, the Shoprite Group clarified they choose to bring Prime Hydration and not Prime Energy to South Africa.
“We can’t say that it is bad for kids, but it’s definitely not an energy drink. The energy drink states ‘Not for sale to children or people under the age of 18’. We chose not to bring in the energy drink … because we do not want to market things that could be seen as detrimental to children.”
Govender believes after a few weeks, when the hype has died down, schools will see there was nothing to worry about.
“This is just like those fidget spinners and other stuff that kids become hyped about. When everything settles down and the drink becomes like a regular Powerade, kids won’t be going crazy anymore. It is the natural progression of these sorts of things.”
