To not allow DS to drink tea and coffee age 12

[user1474221222]

DS started secondary school in September and recently asked if he could have a cup of coffee as a drink when arriving home.

I've said no but as a child of the 1970's I had my first cup of coffee age 4 after been taught how to make one for my parents

So am I just being unreasonable ?

Don't see anything wrong with tea, but maybe not coffee yet (mind you I can't stand coffee at all)

www.theguardian.com/news/2013/nov/27/caffeine-compared-coke-coffee-aspirin-chocolate-tea

My brother started drinking a milky tea with his breakfast when he was about 5 (2001, not the 70's!) and he is a well adjusted adult

I hate tea, I'm a total coffee addict but I can't see anything wrong with one cup of milky coffee for a 12 year old. I'd only be bothered if it was instant coffee

I started on milky coffees with instant coffee age around 11. Tea was totally bleurgh until age 23 but now I much prefer it.

I became moderately allergic to caffeine age 25 (I can drink one cup of coffee per day, OR a few cups of tea, OR a bottle of coke, but all three would send me to bed for 2 days with migraine and distended stomach). Maybe starting so early has something to do with it? Or maybe not!

I would allow decaf tea, but not caffeinated stuff.

Why on earth wouldn't you?

FWIW I drank tea from at least six and am still here to tell the tale. No-one fussed and fannied about it in the 70's

Q is to OP, not PP. Sorry if it reads that way

We used to get milky coffee and donuts for pudding in primary school - we must have been bouncing off the walls. It was the 70s though, so they probably dealt with it by having afternoon long PE for the entire school.

Oh - yes, Tabu

You havent said why you wouldnt? What is the actual problem?

I'd worry about the sugar if they want sugar in it but not the caffeine. He's 12, does he drink coke ever?? At 12 mine can buy a coffee from the machine at school if they want.

YABU for saying if you allow it, it has to be as nasty as possible. Decaff is grim and milky coffee is vile.

decaff is awful, wont have it in the house. Milky coffee is quite nice.

ds sometimes drinks tea. I prefer him to have tea as it is about 10 times lighter in caffeine than coffee.
He prefers hot chocolate!

People moaning about caffeine need to get a grip. A cup a day won't do him any harm - kids all over the continent are drinking Lattes at a much younger age than 12!

baby ah, but these are cosseted british kids, give them caffeine and they will spontaneously combust .

why would the drink have to be a vile as possible ? there is something very odd about this thinking, and this thread in general.

Clicked through from fb 'clickbait' and honestly thought it was going to be an alcoholic drink! Absolutely fine to give tea and coffee at 12 IMO, no more than twice a day.

Meh, it's coffee. A weak, milky cup of coffee with 2 sweetners isn't going to do much harm. (thats how my nan used to make it) us kids loved it. Was more like sweet warm milk cos there was that little coffee. I'd rather kids have a weak coffee than cans of energy drink I see a lot of them drinking these days

At the age of 7 i had gave up tea and just drank milky instant coffee, milk ,water ( very occasional pop). I cant see why this an issue, things in moderation. Unless hes necking double esspressos, kids and young people are habitually eating/drinking far worse.

We were sometimes served a small glass of coffee with pudding for school dinners when I was a kid in the 70s. For some reason it was ice cream, with a glass of milky coffee.

When I was 12 I was drinking 5 expressos and smoking 20 woodbines a day it didn't do me any harm! With all seriousness Op what is the issue with Coffee?

A cup of tea has about the same caffeine as 500ml bottle of Coke (about 45mg). A coffee would have about 50-100% more caffeine, depending if it's a teaspoon of a mild instant (70mg) or a 2 shot latte (90mg).
Anyway, if your kid has been drinking coffee and can't sleep, well it's probably the coffee. They might go to sleep at the right time, but then wake up and not be able to sleep.

I remember drinking (weak and sugary) tea out of my plastic baby cup and I graduated to (milky) instant coffee when I also graduated to a china nursey cup (definitely before starting school). Not judging, but I do think that today's parents are often over-cautious. FWIW I was also allowed port and brandy with mixers, wine and shandies as a small child (again from about 4 up). I can still remember my first coffee - it was given to me in the spirit of 'ha ha watch her spit it out', but I loved it and asked for another! I can also remember the brandy in the bottle of cows' milk before bed (I was raised on cows' milk) - even today I get cravings for Brandy Alexanders from time-to-time and have flash-backs to those bottles!