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Original poster

Children and coffee

84 replies

givemushypeasachance · 02/09/2024 23:55

What age would you think it appropriate for a child to drink coffee? And would it be different for a cup of Nescafé at home, or a pumpkin spiced latte from a coffee shop? Or an iced coffee drink?

I'm thinking back to my childhood where we only ever had instant coffee in the house but I was certainly drinking it by secondary school age. Drinking teas and coffees throughout the day was just normal. But it was only instant stuff and not downing drinks with the equivalent of a couple of espressos in. Do you have a set age rule for your kids?

OP posts:

Josette77 · 03/09/2024 17:00

I'm in Canada and kids don't usually drink coffee or tea here.

Out of curiosity do people find it stains the children's teeth?

Most of the coffee and tea drinkers I know have yellowish teeth.

MinervaMcGonagallsCat · 03/09/2024 17:04

I've never not allowed it but neither of them like it.

DD 12 enjoys a cup of tea now and again.

RawBloomers · 03/09/2024 18:51

sashh · 03/09/2024 09:58

We were given milky coffee at primary school in the late 1970s.

100g of chocolate covered raisins have 120 ml of caffeine.
100g of brewed coffee has 40 ml.

Do you let your children eat chocolate covered raisins?

I get the point that you’re letting children consume caffeine if you let them have chocolate. But your figures don’t look right. Where did you get them?

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Offthechang · 03/09/2024 18:55

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Cwassonk · 03/09/2024 18:57

We only drink decaf in our family so my DD has had it since she was about 7. She now likes iced lattes. Decaf of course.

RawBloomers · 03/09/2024 19:00

MotherOfCatBoy · 03/09/2024 07:46

I had tea through secondary school, only developed a taste for coffee after I left home.

Coffee (in moderation) is good for you, but the two biggest things to be mindful of are Sleep and Sugar.

Caffeine has a half life of about 12 hours )I think) so if you have a coffee at lunch time, half that caffeine stimulant will still be in your blood stream at midnight. Therefore the best way to drink it is in the morning, so you have chance to expel it before you need to sleep. For this reason it’s also not great for kids to drink other caffeinated drinks like Red Bull or what have you, in the afternoons or evenings. It can ruin sleep and sleep is the foundation of everything else.

Also as pp have said, sugar - some commercial drinks have more sugar than a Snickers or something.

I drink mine black in the mornings, no more than two, and usually stop by 10am, definitely 12. DS has a black coffee in the morning with breakfast - he only started drinking it in sixth form. He has tea but is a bit take it or leave it, and he doesn’t touch the canned energy drinks.

Half life of caffeine has a massive range, but 12 hrs would be unusually high.

catlovingdoctor · 03/09/2024 19:00

Chrsytalchondalier · 02/09/2024 23:59

Given its so bad for you, I'd wait as long as possible, probably 14 or 15? Ita not a habit I'd want my DC to start

What's bad about it? Coffee has proven health benefits in moderate quantities. Caffeine is only dangerous/ toxic in very large amounts. If it was that bad for yoy, surely you wouldn't even let them have it at 15?..

NeverDropYourMooncup · 03/09/2024 19:04

Oooh, we haven't had a Mormon-leaning thread for a while.

Bog standard tea at 1-2, Mellow Birds coffee at 3, maintained until 5 because it made me sleep better, Nescafé from 5 with the occasional Moka, no sugar or sweetener from 7 as I went off it, black coffee from 12.

No limit on amounts or times.

Auburngal · 03/09/2024 19:09

I drank coffee since I was about 3. As some of my family had no other children visitors so didn’t have squash or anything else for children. Had sugar in coffee until I was about 5.

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