Father Had No Idea $7 Lemonade Was Alcoholic

Tigers Detroit A Univ. of Michigan professor is furious that Child Protective Services took custody of his 7-year-old son for two days after he gave the boy an alcohol-spiked lemonade at a Detroit Tigers game.

by Associated Press

Published: Tue, April 29, 2008 - 1:37 pm CST Last Updated: Tue, April 29, 2008 - 1:54 pm CST

DETROIT (AP) - A University of Michigan professor says he had no
idea he'd given his 7-year-old son alcoholic lemonade at a ball
game, and is furious at child-protection officials for removing his
son from the home.
Christopher Ratte of Ann Arbor and his wife have filed
a complaint against Child Protective Services.
Their son Leo spent two days in state custody. The father spent
nearly a week outside his home before he was allowed to return.
He tells the Detroit Free Press that he'd taken his son to a
Detroit Tigers game a few weeks ago. He didn't notice the $7
lemonade he bought contained alcohol.
A security guard noticed the boy drinking the spiked lemonade
and called authorities. Leo was checked at a hospital. No trace of
alcohol was found in his blood.
No charges were filed against the father, who says it was a case
of "massive overreaction."

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DONNA Says:

Mon, May 05, 2008 at 3:04 am

I DON’T THINK THE FATHER CARE ABOUT THE MONEY IT’S ABOUT THE ALCOHOL THIS WAS A HONEST MISTAKE IT LOOK LIKE OLD TIME LEMONADA HIS SON WAS THIRSTY

southfan1981 Says:

Sun, May 04, 2008 at 11:24 pm

Seven dollar soft drink is not so far fetched. I think the beverages at the Birmingham NCAA Regionals were pretty high. FOUR DOLLAR bottle of water. So, ignorance is believable. The BAC was zero. I don’t undertand why they had a right to hold the kid. But I believe that suspected abuse neglect needs to be investigated as a crime by law enforcement. So, what do I know?

thatsright Says:

Sun, May 04, 2008 at 5:41 pm

Two years ago, as an adult advisor of a teen task force against underage drinking, I accompanied teens as they surveyed stores for products that had alcohol in them, yet were so vaguely labeled that it was difficulty to identify the alcohol content. I recall how we stood in the store with this particular brand of lemonade and read the label. It is not clear that this product contains alcohol—even when you are looking for it!!! And this is not the only product that is packaged to look like a soft drink beverage. I don’t know the intent. Is it so teens can drink alcohol without adults recognizing the alcohol content or is it an attempt to get teens addicted to alcohol at an early age? Our teens were outraged to find not only beverages that were not clearly marked but also candy with alcohol content. Adults and parents—start looking, you’ll see what I mean.

KxVx Says:

Thu, May 01, 2008 at 9:01 am

“I want to commend him for being a good parent and my husband takes my child the games and the flea market he doesn’t even count dollars as long as my son is getting what he wants. “

Sweetnsour, please let us know what a horrible spoiled brat your child becomes because of this horrible style of parenting.

Teach your kid to understand the value of a dollar, before you end up with an adult who wants everything handed to him, and we have to pay for his welfare check!

brick Says:

Thu, May 01, 2008 at 8:27 am

I thought that the police were smarter than that, and how stupid is CPS. What are they going to do next, have a stake out at the local Catholic church, to take all the kids away from their parents when they drink the wine at communion. If he knew that it was “hard” lemonade or not (which it’s clear that he didn’t) it doesn’t matter. CPS is to intervene in cases of abuse, and giving a kid a hard lemonade is not abuse. What the police did and what the Michigan CPS did was abuse. Traumatizing a child by taking him away from his parents is abuse. What CPS did will stay with this child for a very long time. But the hard lemonade, if it wasn’t for CPS, would have quickly been forgotten.

sweetnsour Says:

Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 12:35 am

well his child was thirsty hoorraaahh for him taking him to the ball game and giving a d…. about his thirst. When you are catering to your child and making sure he has a good time you dont count the cost. I want to commend him for being a good parent and my husband takes my child the games and the flea market he doesn’t even count dollars as long as my son is getting what he wants. The social system needs to track down dead beats instead of I give a sh…t dads…hellloooo

amber-marie Says:

Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 12:03 am

I paid $6 for a coke at a ball game once. I could deffinately see that happening.

NTHand Says:

Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 7:49 pm

Did he really think that people normally pay $7.00 for a glass of lemonade even at a ball game? I guess even ballgame food is getting excessive, too though.