When Shalini Passi revealed genius parenting hack on how she stopped her son from drinking Coke: ‘I used to mix…’
For the longest time, Shalini Passi tricked her son into believing the Coke in their house was “bad.” Find out how she did it.
Indian television personality Shalini Passi, widely recognised for her glamorous lifestyle on Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives, appeared on a 2024 episode of The Chill Hour podcast, hosted by Deepak Pareek, where she spoke candidly about her experiences raising her son, Robin.

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In the episode, she recounted how she cleverly got her son to drink watered-down Coke, which he believed was regular Coke, as a way to prevent him from developing a habit of consuming sugary and unhealthy beverages.
Check out Shalini’s parenting hack
In conversation with Deepak, Shalini revealed that for the longest time, her son believed the Coke at home was “bad,” simply because she would dilute it with water before giving it to him.
She recalled, “For the longest time, my son thought that the Coke in our house was bad, because I used to mix water into the Coke and give it to him. So he thought that Coke tasted really bad.”
How her trickery was uncovered
Her son Robin, now 27, eventually realised what his mother had been doing when he drank Coke at someone else’s house and noticed that it tasted completely different.
When Deepak asked whether her son is aware of her Coke “trick,” Shalini explained, “Yeah, he said, ‘I went to a party and Mom, I was so thirsty and I saw this Coke there and I went and had it. It was so good. Mom, our house cook makes very bad Coke.’”
At the time, Robin was too young to realise that Coke tastes the same everywhere and comes from uniformly packaged bottles; he assumed it was made at home, which is why he believed it naturally tasted different in different places.
When this conversation took place, Shalini chose not to reveal that she was the one diluting the Coke, allowing her son to continue believing that the drink itself simply tasted “bad.”
“Like, at that moment he was a kid. He didn't know it comes from bottles everywhere. He thought they got very bad Coke in our house,” she recounted. To this, she told her son, “What can we do, son? In our house, the Coke is just like this.”
Why are sugary drinks bad for kids?
According to a report on Sun Pediatrics, sugary soft drinks like Coke offer little to no nutritional value and are high in “empty” calories, which can contribute to unhealthy weight gain and obesity in children if consumed regularly. These drinks have also been linked to increased risks of heart disease and dehydration, and the sugar and acidity can promote gut inflamamtion and dental problems. For these reasons, health experts advise limiting or avoiding sugary beverages in a child’s diet.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. It is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOREshana SahaEshana Saha is a fresh face in lifestyle and cultural journalism, bringing a refined, multidisciplinary perspective to the intersection of entertainment, fashion and holistic wellbeing. With less than a year of professional experience, she has quickly adapted to high-pressure editorial environments and currently works full-time with HT Media. Prior to this, she interned for nearly six months with Hindustan Times’ entertainment and lifestyle vertical, where she gained hands-on experience in digital reporting, trend analysis and editorial storytelling. Based in New Delhi, Eshana specialises in comprehensive coverage of major cultural moments — from international film press tours to the curated aesthetics of global fashion showcases, award shows and music-centred events. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from St Xavier’s University, Kolkata, and a Master’s degree in English from the University of Delhi, equipping her with a strong academic foundation and a keen ability to deconstruct complex cultural trends into clear, high-impact narratives. Beyond the red carpet, Eshana has developed a growing focus on health and wellbeing reporting. She bridges the gap between celebrity-driven trends and practical, evidence-informed lifestyle advice, ensuring her work remains both aspirational and grounded in editorial rigour. She has extensively covered the health implications of Delhi’s air pollution crisis, while also playing a key role in amplifying expert-led insights on women’s health and mental wellbeing, helping translate complex medical perspectives into informed, impactful public awareness. An artist at heart, she explores multiple creative forms — from visual arts and music to culinary experiments — and brings a creative’s eye for nuance, texture and detail to every story. Whether analysing runway dynamics or examining emerging wellness movements, she remains committed to accuracy and the highest standards of contemporary journalistic ethics.Read More
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