To give cup of tea to 4yo?

[maisybobbins]

DS asked to try my tea couple of weeks ago so I let him, not for one second thinking he'd like it. Wrong!! So now he sometimes asks for his own cup and I make him one, really weak, lots of milk, honey in. DH caught him this morning having mug of tea with his breakfast and went absolutely spare at me saying DS is far to young at 4, that it's such an unhealthy drink etc. So really? Is it?

[JaniceBattersby]

In caffeine terms it's like giving him 3 cans of coke!

Cobblers.

Here's more caffeine in coke than there is in a brew.

My kids sometimes have a brew. They just like it for dipping their chocolate digestives in so it only ever gets half drunk.

Caffeine is not heroin. A tiny bit will do zero long-term damage.

[maisybobbins]

NiceTeeth thanks for that I will stop the honey completely then.

With regards to the iron not being absorbed jaba does that include decaf do you know? DS used to be anaemic...

[CheeseQueen]

I'm a complete tea addict can't function without my morning cup of tea! I've never given it to the small people though.
Just why would you give it to a 4 year old? From my gathering it can interfere with iron absorption in kids, which I didn't want, and that's before you get onto the issue of caffeine.
Oh, and who on earth puts honey into tea? Is that an actual thing? As it sounds rank!

[Neolara]

I think it's completely fine. My 7yo loves a cup of tea.

[maisybobbins]

Honey in tea perfectly normal in my family, no one has sugar!

[waybalooo]

My dd loves tea! She is 6... we love sitting drinking our tea together and cuddling!

[Empireoftheclouds]

In caffeine terms it's like giving him 3 cans of coke! LOL - no it's not!

I have no problem with weak milky tea but the honey is just going to encourage your child to drink sweet tea, they don't need it

[Spam88]

Janice this is from NHS Choices, looks like a cup of tea is about double the caffeine of a can of coke.

[maisybobbins]

Thanks Neo and all the others who think it's ok. I was starting to feel like a proper idiot.

[SashaSashays]

Its the tannins that can reduce iron absorption but you would need to be drinking tea regularly and also its from what I understand, to do with drinking the tea with a meal.

I grew up having tepid tea in a bottle and my DC used to have it from being 2 or 3 but not much, children all round the world drink different teas from a young age, does no harm.

[jajabonks]

Ooh I'm not sure, just had a quick google and I'm still not sure 🤔
May be just a quick dunk of the tea bag and not all the time wouldn't be so bad?

[KeepServingTheDrinks]

"weak milky tea" Are you all on GLUE????

That's DISGUSTING. At least wean the poor kid onto a proper brew.

stomps off to kitchen to make a PROPER cup of tea

[5OBalesofHay]

It's probably like everything else, once in a while is fine all the time not so good. still wouldn't sweeten it though

[GabsAlot]

cours tea alright-we all had it when we were kids

i didnt know about honey till i saw it on some health program they told a woman who had swapped honey for sugar that she wasnt making herself any healthier it was just as bad

[SashaSashays]

[[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/health/30real.html]] explains what I posted with a bit more clarity.

[SashaSashays]

www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/health/30real.html

Sorry not sure what went wrong there.

[Empireoftheclouds]

An 8 year old article from an American newspaper excuse me andhopefullyothers if I just ignore that attempt

[Empireoftheclouds]

And yes honey is worse than sugar. Calorie wise it contains more

[Crumbs1]

In call he midwife times and beyond children were brought up and weaned on cold or lukewarm grey tea. They survived just fine - although better unsweetened.

[SuperBeagle]

Get rid of the honey, for a start.

And maybe buy decaf.

I have been drinking tea since I was a toddler. It was normal in my family. I doubt it was decaf, but I'd probably go the decaf route since it's so widely available now.

[Liiinoo]

I am in my 50s and come from an Irish family. Everyone was given very weak, milky tea in their bottles and everyone of my generation is still alive, well and healthy.

That being said I cannot even smell tea now without gagging and I am not endorsing other 60s habits such as rubbing whiskey on gums for teething, smoking Woodbines over the cot or loading 4 children in the back of a seatbelt less Morris Minor for the annual summer pilgrimage from London to my Granny's house. (3 on the backseat, one in the boot space, on a rota basis).

[VerySadInside]

Yes definitely stop the honey. No reason to get him into the habit of sugary drinks.

[Teabagtits]

I used to drink tea from a bottle as a child. I love it - I used to get it in a sippy cup at playgroup instead of hot orange too. Dd as a toddler would drink the cold dregs of my tea. She now loves a cup of her own but as I'm on decaf right now I'm not so worried but caffeine in weak milky tea will be minimal so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[SexandDrugsandaNiceCuppa]

Unsweetened tea is fucking revolting.

[HildaOg]

I love tea but it's the worst thing for discolouring teeth so drink it rarely. Even decaffeinated will stain them.