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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:
Thedogshouses · 23/04/2022 10:41

I should relinquish my mn password! Everyone drinks tea as much and however they want to here, we also have TVs everywhere and always on in the background. Nobody has died from lack of iron yet, we are mainly vegan as well. Shock horror 😄

therealladywhistledown · 23/04/2022 10:41

@gogohm I just didn’t think it was particularly good for adults teeth therefore the same with kids.

Maybe coffee is more of an issue than tea though for teeth. I’m not sure!

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 23/04/2022 10:42

Thedogshouses · 23/04/2022 10:41

I should relinquish my mn password! Everyone drinks tea as much and however they want to here, we also have TVs everywhere and always on in the background. Nobody has died from lack of iron yet, we are mainly vegan as well. Shock horror 😄

I'll have to join you as it's the same in our house 😂

Interested in this thread?

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9 year olds
Maflingo · 23/04/2022 10:42

I think the conclusion from this thread is that it is okay for A nine year old to occasionally have a cup of tea /decaf coffee.

But the only person that knows if THIS PARTICULAR nine year old can have tea/coffee is their parent/guardian - so your friend will either need to ask them, or if that is not possible, then assume the answer is no (to be on the safe side)?

ForgedInFire · 23/04/2022 10:43

My almost-2 year old is obsessed with tea and always wants some of mine. I don't often give him his own cup but did this morning (so I could enjoy mine in peace!). My 5yo wanted a cup as well, she probably has a cup once or twice a week. Neither would have coffee. I'm not sure why you would think a 9yo would be lying about this? It's a hot drink not something very exciting. I would probably stick to tea, though

cheeseislife8 · 23/04/2022 10:43

I drank tea daily at that age, but wasn't allowed coffee. Decaf wasn't a thing them either, though I probably would have benefited from it 😁

Thedogshouses · 23/04/2022 10:44

Also, what's with the coffee hating? Generally, coffee is lower in caffeine than tea, especially from beans in a cafetiere rather than those dreadful podcasts or whatever they're called

JeSuisFattyGay · 23/04/2022 10:47

Mine all did.

roundtable · 23/04/2022 10:49

I'd have thought the issue would be more to do with staining and turning teeth yellow?

One of mine has tried tea at about 8 but didn't like it. I wouldn't encourage it but wouldn't mind giving it to a child of a similar age if their parents allowed it.

BlueyandBingo · 23/04/2022 10:59

I drank tea from when I was about 5. My 6 year old loves a decaf coffee and will sometimes have a decaf tea (as that is what we drink).

JoeGoldberg · 23/04/2022 11:13

Thedogshouses · 23/04/2022 10:41

I should relinquish my mn password! Everyone drinks tea as much and however they want to here, we also have TVs everywhere and always on in the background. Nobody has died from lack of iron yet, we are mainly vegan as well. Shock horror 😄

Same here, with the exception being only my DS is Vegan the rest of us like a Big Mac 😂

Keladrythesaviour · 23/04/2022 11:16

I was certainly drinking normal, unsweetened tea by that age. We used to have a cup before bed! If they drink Coca cola (Inc diet) they're drinking caffeine already so not really an issue there. I've cut caffeine out now I'm older soany children I have will probably end up on caffeine-free but I wouldn't ban it on principle.

Abraxan · 23/04/2022 11:21

Dd has always liked a cup of tea from being around 8 or 9. We always had decaf tea at home back then as I couldn't have too much caffeine at the time.
She had a coffee (caffeine) most mornings from being about 13.
She's 20y now and still enjoys both.

We live in Yorkshire though and many children have tea from being quite young. Dd has never had it with sugar and just had it normal strength.

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 23/04/2022 11:23

Mine likes a cup of tea. I also did. DB has never been into tea and still doesn't drink it at almost 46.

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 23/04/2022 11:23

Never had coffee but I've heard there's more caffeine in tea so not sure why

honeybushbunch · 23/04/2022 11:33

My 9 y o doesn’t, or coffee, but she hasn’t ever shown much interest in it (DP and I drink quite strong coffee in the mornings, but rarely if ever drink tea).

I do remember drinking it as a child that age, but everyone drank tea all the time (I grew up in the north!) and usually with a few sugars in too. My Nan pretty much lived on sugary tea, and children were given it much earlier - and of course the sugar made it palatable for kids. I don’t think kids in general would be as interested in the non-sugared version.

Plus I do think everyone drinking water is widespread now, and it just wasn’t when I grew up. I can’t remember my older relatives ever drinking water - it was never on the table at meals and I never saw them drink a glass of it! I think they must have got all their fluid intake just from tea! Kids were always given squash, milk or Ribena (my Nan used to give us Ribena in milk) - plain water literally never made an appearance.

My dad’s still like that - never drinks a glass of plan water unless he’s really practically dying of thirst!

gogohm · 23/04/2022 11:44

@Thedogshouses

My DD's had tea in sippy cups and the tv is currently playing to nobody in the background (I'm on Mumsnet, dp is looking as cars he can't afford to buy and the cat is watching seagulls on our balcony)

frostedfruits · 23/04/2022 11:48

My boy has been drinking redbush since he could hold a tommytippee cup. He loves a cuppa

Rockbird · 23/04/2022 11:48

Yes 10 and 14 year old tea drinkers here, more so the 10yo. They've been drinking tea since they were toddlers. 14yo has recently started drinking iced coffee but neither like the taste of regular.

Doingmybest12 · 23/04/2022 11:58

Are you asking if it is ok to give someone else's child tea to drink as they have said they drink this at home? If you don't allow your own to drink tea then I would say you'd say no to visiting children. At 9 it seems to me a bit precious to be saying no cups of tea for my own child but these issues are very personal. In general a cup of tea within a balanced diet will do no harm but these things are minefields and you might want to avoid any issues with another parent by saying children don't drink tea here.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 23/04/2022 12:01

My 9yo has her own teapot, infuser, and loose leaf tea.
Shes rather eccentric in several ways.

Neither her or 10yo like normal tea and think coffee is for adults only.

Libertaire · 23/04/2022 12:07

I used to love a cup of tea when I was that age. My Irish grandparents lived on the stuff. It was literally all they ever drank, even at the height of summer, and the pot was refilled with Co-op 99 multiple times throughout the day. I would always have a cup whenever I visited. Happy memories. 😊

user1471538283 · 23/04/2022 12:10

My DS didnt. It was usually water or milk and still is now he is an adult.

idontknowdoi · 23/04/2022 12:14

DS now 17 has been a tea drinker since about 10/11.

I used to very rarely drink it myself, but as he started making his own and asking me if I wanted one, i felt I shouldn't say no!

So we would often text each other the tea emoji on the way home from school/work to tell the other to boil the kettle Smile

He's never been fussed on coffee though.

Reigateforever · 23/04/2022 12:19

I can’t remember when I didn’t drink tea and gran used to give a saucer full to the dog every time.

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