To allow my 11 y/o DD to have a small cup of coffee every now and then?

[RafaellaNhaKyria]

Among my friends and family there is general shock and disapproval that I let her have coffee, ever. Regardless of amount or frequency, which is low on both counts.

Most of the. Wouldn't blink an eye if I handed her a coke, though. IMHO, isn't a bit of coffee with cream in it less potentially harmful than all the crap in a coke?

She has it maybe once a month. She adores coffee. Even when I was pregnant, all I could stomach eating for months was Haagen Daaz coffee ice cream! Maybe that's why, though.

Good God, some people are precious! My son is 6 and loves coffee and probably has one every other day. He'd have it more often but I refuse to spend a fortune on the coffee pods for the machine!

I really don't see the problem. He doesn't like fizzy drinks but loves a cup of coffee. His elder brother will have the odd cup of tea but loves lemonade and coke when he's allowed it. Everything in moderation and all that.

I drank black coffee at breakfast from around age 4. Still do. However my dc don't - they will occasionally drink tea though.

I think 10 is too young for a glass of wine or a beer (although I have less of a problem with a "sip").

I'm not sure about coffee. I don't think I can say because I drink neither tea nor coffee. Never have. I was expected to make them for my parents from about the age of 7 and it put me right off. My siblings are the same.

Don't they drink coffee regularly from a young age in Italy?
I don't see the problem with it and your friends are probably being a bit U for passing judgement on such a small thing

Ds12 loves a latte, mocha, cappacino. We only allow it once or twice at weekends in case it keeps him awake.

DD16 loathes coffee of all kinds.

I drank tea from 7 but acquired the taste for coffee much much later.
My almost mil said coffee and tea is good for kids because they won't drink fizzy drinks if they have tea or coffee therefore they won't have fillings or get fat(!) Hence why she let my DS (19mo) have a sip of her rocket fuel coffee. Thank God he hated it. I do let him have a babychino at our local cafe as a treat.

YANBU
DD1 has drank loads of tea and the occasional coffee since she was about 10.

DD2(12) doesn't like either, but has drank coke since she was about 2 . I turned my back on DH for two minutes in McDs and found him happily letting her slurp his. He doesn't like hot drinks much and hates tea.

I would let my 11 year old drink some coffee if he liked it.

Perhaps not a double espresso every evening just before bed time. What sort of coffee is she drinking?

YANBU.
My 8 year old has the occasional mug of very weak half milk coffee.

There is no way I would let her drink pop on a regular basis though.
And I am surprised at how young some kids have drinks like Red Bull.

Thank you! I just knew I wasn't the unreasonable one

Most of the people who have commented either have grown children, children the same age or no children. I only know one person with a toddler and he's the youngest of five!

Red Bull? Now that is shocking to me. That's terrible for adults to drink I love Red Bull.

YANBU. I think I started Nescafe at about 6ish or maybe 8ish...I used to drink sips from my mum's mug in the morning. It was nice and sweet (YUCK - but it was nice at the time). I weaned myself of the 2.5 spoons of sugar at about 10.

DS1 once had a lot of sips of a frapuccino and didn't sleep on a long haul flight...I blamed myslef!

DS2 tried to trip tea in an espresso mug (Mr Sophisticated at about 3), but isnt' very keen.

They both think coffee is disgusting...but a small mug now and again wouldn't be a problem.

Coke on the other hand...I let them have one occasionnaly, but I don't really approve!

Don't they drink coffee regularly from a young age in Italy?

In my family they do, it's a normal part of life - the same is true of wine IME (starting with small quantities and it being quite diluted).

We weren't actively given coffee (although I don't remember it ever being refused, none of us wanted it) when we were that age (I was quite late teens before I used to drink it - and now I am like Special Agent Gibbs, I mainline the stuff!!).

But we used to drink tea, and plenty of it, from about age 4.

DD drinks tea occasionally (it's offered if I am having it with lunch, for example, and occasionally she takes it, but she usually joins DH in having lots and lots of milk - I could buy a cow and still not have enough!!). I tend to drink rather aneamic tea anyway (I wave the bag at the water, and have frequently been accused of drinking milky water at work when I HAVE put the teabag in - but we have a builder's brew person in the group and most others like reasonable strength).

And we have offered her coca-cola (when we are drinking it) on numerous occasions since she was almost 6 (we didn't want her drinking it too early). But while she loves fizzy orange and 7up, she flat out refuses to taste coke!!

Mostly she drinks milk, water and squash, with fizzy drinks on special occasions (Fri nights, parties, events). Fizzy water counts as a special occasion drink in her eyes too.

But I wouldn't object to her having caffeine at this stage (7.5) - it would probably help calm her down I suspect!!

Once a month sounds fine, would much prefer a child drink a coffee (or tea) to any kind of fizzy drink!

I drank my Gran under the table with tea between 4-6 (and with my gran, that was some effort!)

I got a stomach bug about 6 and the only thing my mum would give me was toast and tea. I got back to toast after about 6 months but I still can't stomach tea!

I was drinking a daily cup of milky coffee by age 10, and it was black from 18 (was a student in digs, was too awkward to keep milk!). These days I have a cup every 2-3 days. But my girls have a daily breakfast cup of tea, and ds is debeloping a taste for coffee at 11.

i was drinking tea and coffee from my nan's saucer from toddler age in the black country
dd 9y has tried but doesn't like it. i hope she gets to, i think it's a nice sociable habit to get into.

I take my 12 year old god-daughter out quite regularly to a cafe where she loves to a order a skinny latte and we have a catch up and chat. I find it quite funny really as she tries to be sophisticated but I know she has been eyeing up the strawberry smoothie with a choccie topping but will not admit it!

Not that she will admit it doncha know.............

YANBU.
Everything in moderation. I dont think I would be shocked and certainly dont disaprove.

yanbu. I had coffee regularly from the age of about ten or so.

Dd (15) and ds1 (14) have been drinking tea and coffee since they were 10. Ds2 hates the smell of coffee but loves very milky tea.

I don't see the problem?

Meh.

Probably no big deal.

At 11y DD regularly drinks tea and has done for 2 or 3 years. Important to start them quite young - that way they learn how to make it and then can make everyone a cup!

She isn't so keen on coffee but has had a milky latte, usually decaf, on occasion at home. She prefers tea though.

I let her have coke when out and about too these days, and at home she will sometimes have one of my diet caffine free cokes. I am not keen on her having too much fizzy pop as a regular thing though, and would not allow her to have energy drinks like Red Bull with me at all, and would advise her tnot to when out without me.

I remember getting milky coffee at school occasionally - each child is 'entitled' to a portion of milk with a school meal. Mostly it's served as custard but back in the day sometimes you got an iced finger bun with either milkshake or coffee. And that was primary onwards.