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Original poster

Do 9 year olds drink tea?

118 replies

northstarisnorth · 23/04/2022 08:45

I'm asking for a friend who has a visiting 9 year old who's telling her that it's perfectly fine for her to drink tea and coffee.

I have a 9 year old, but I realise I have no idea what other people do.

Is it OK for a 9 year old to drink tea never, occasionally or all the time?

What do you do?

Thanks :)

OP posts:
vinoandbrie · 23/04/2022 09:11

No, I’ve never heard of this. Mine have hot chocolate for a treat, that’s it.

Beetlewings · 23/04/2022 09:13

Mine does. Both my 9 and 11 love a brew and a biscuit after the walk home from school

TopCatsTopHat · 23/04/2022 09:29

Can't see any reason in the answers here to think the 9yo is lying unless you know the parents would not allow it.
Mine drink tea, milky, no sugar. Good for a warm up on a cold day. Not coffee though I would not allow as much higher in caffeine, but they don't like it anyway.

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9 year olds
Hallyup89 · 23/04/2022 09:33

Tea fine, coffee no. My 3 and 4 year olds like milky tea occasionally.

Lollipop858 · 23/04/2022 09:35

13 & 14, 14yr old loves a tea now and then and the 13yr old loves a coffee a couple of times a week

MargaretThursday · 23/04/2022 09:37

All my dc had had tea from younger than that. Only one really liked it as they grew older. Just make it milky and no sugar.

dementedpixie · 23/04/2022 09:37

I have a 15 and 18 year old. The 18 year old (dd) will have the occasional coffee. 15 year old ds doesn't drink tea or coffee. I drink tea and dh drinks coffee

Discovereads · 23/04/2022 09:38

Mine have been allowed tea/coffee from whenever they expressed interest to taste it around age 2 and then years later around age 7+ when they decided they liked it.

I was raised not allowed to have it so made myself cup after cup of tea and coffee whenever I was home alone sick off school from around age 7. Being home alone at that age not a good thing, but I never understood the issue with not being allowed coffee or tea.

BooseysMom · 23/04/2022 09:40

DS is 8 and his Gran is always trying to push nice cups of tea on to him!! He always refuses as he's never shown any interest in hot drinks. He once had a babycinno and left it!

enjoyingscience · 23/04/2022 09:41

DS1 is a tea lover, has a cup every morning and a decaf before bed, has done for a few years (so probably from 9ish). Never ever with sugar. He likes a frothy coffee if we’re out, but only to feel fancy!

DS2 claims to like tea but every time we make him a cup he leaves it, so who knows!

therealladywhistledown · 23/04/2022 09:43

Isn’t it bad for their teeth?

Peachy7 · 23/04/2022 09:43

I've drunk tea for as long as I can remember! I remember making it when I was a Brownie for my hostess badge at 7 and I drank it then. Friends kids have also drunk it for as long as I can remember.

ln1981 · 23/04/2022 09:43

Youngest ds (now 14) has been drinking tea since he was about 10. He has it with no sugar or milk. Not keen on coffee but will try different flavoured teas every so often. My older two dc’s can’t stand hot drinks.

ReadyToMoveIt · 23/04/2022 09:43

Mine don’t, they have never once showed an interest in trying it. Then again I don’t drink tea or hot drinks really, just a double espresso every morning! I know some friends children who have the odd cup of tea.
Can’t see that I’ll ever encourage it, they’re welcome to try it if they want to.

sashh · 23/04/2022 09:46

At that age we had milky coffee in winter at school! But yes it was the 1970s.

We were given tea as small children. But again 1960/70s

I think I would go down the warm milk (frothy if you have a frother) and a small amount of tea.

THat is unless you can call the parent and ask.

FreezyFreezy · 23/04/2022 09:50

Yes, my dc often ask for a cup of tea and have been having it since they were toddlers. I often pour them some from the pot. They also like some of my different types of tea such as the choc & mint, the popcorn tea and the liquorice and peppermint I have at the moment.

They've tried coffee, the proper stuff, but don't like it.

JoeGoldberg · 23/04/2022 09:50

Mine have been drinking tea since they were toddlers, so yes!

Legoninjago1 · 23/04/2022 10:20

My 6 year old likes the occasional pot of tea! Always give him decaf tho.

gogohm · 23/04/2022 10:31

Mine drank tea from babies, obviously weak and milky at first but by school age they had tea for breakfast and after school. Dp tells me at his prep school they had tea and bread & ham after lessons before prep (age 7-13)

ABearyNiceDay · 23/04/2022 10:32

My children aged 2-6 all drink herbal tea.
We don't really have 'normal' tea but have had some on occasion

gogohm · 23/04/2022 10:33

@therealladywhistledown

Why is it bad for their teeth? Fruit juice or squash would be worse. Mine never were given sugar

swashbucklecheer · 23/04/2022 10:36

My 2 both drink milky tea (6 & 10). Just the usual stuff that I would drink. The do get decaff coffee though. They love that too!

Magenta82 · 23/04/2022 10:37

What reason do you have to think the child is lying? Are they usually untruthful? Have they lied about other things? This seams like such a low stakes thing to lie about, and even I'd they are then a milky tea with no (or very little) sugar won't do any harm, it's probably better than coke or fruit juice.

TheYearOfSmallThings · 23/04/2022 10:38

My friends mostly drank tea at that age, and one liked "milky coffee". I never liked either because I was hoping they would taste like hot chocolate, so I was disappointed.

TheYearOfSmallThings · 23/04/2022 10:41

What reason do you have to think the child is lying? Are they usually untruthful? Have they lied about other things?

Oh they just say random stuff to see what they can get. DS's little friend tried to persuade me he could get a quarter pounder from McDonald's because the neat is Halal. His mother had specifically warned me he can only have the fish burger!