How bad is real coffee for kids?

[Seriouslywhatnow]

Bought my 10 year old a frappe today, espresso and caramel flavour he loves them and I let him have them every now and then. But he's complaining he can't sleep and it's dawned on me that I forgot to ask for decaf today. Other than affecting his sleep it's not actually dangerous is it? I feel awful.

It’s fine, he’ll be ok. There’s caffeine in a lot of foods not just coffee.

He'll be fine. There was no such thing as decaf when I was a kid and I'm still here.

My 8yo drinks an iced coffee fairly often, he loves them and never any issue. It’s supposed to be good for autistic brains and it does seem to make him more focused.

My eight year old loves coffee. I put my foot down with espresso at the moment but she does have the occasional milky ready made iced coffee.

If he had it late in the day it might have made ut a bit difficult to sleep but so too would the hear at the moment. I also remind myself about all the tea and coffee I drank from a very young age whenever I wonder if I should feel guilty at a bit of caffeine!

i think, personally, that if he only has coffee infrequently then the caffeinated version is probably healthier than the decaf version which is more processed. There is zero evidence that caffiene impacts growth in kids

I’d avoid it after 2pm then but decaf is not healthier in fact they use chemicals to decaffeinate it. I’m super sensitive to caffeine but even I can tolerate a frappe at lunchtime occasionally

No harm done.

It's more likely that he can't sleep because the weather's a bit hot and sticky at the moment.

He'll be fine, anyway. In plenty of cultures it's pretty normal for children to drink coffee.

I`ve been drinking coffee since i was 9 no decaf nearly 40 still here still alive still drinking it.
Coffee dont keep me awake either i have cup full before i go to bed.

Decaf is worse for you than normal coffee as they use chemicals to make it decaf.

Cher in Clueless told us it stunts your growth, that’s all I have to go on

Thanks all. That's interesting about decaf being worse. Yes I can confirm he's fine today doesn't even seem tired (although didn't sleep till nearly midnight!)

The thing is the amount of caffeine in a coffee from Starbucks (75 -180mg) etc is likely the equivalent of a Monster drink(160mg). I was shocked when my DD was trying to get me to buy her a Redbull and I looked up the caffeine and it wasn't that bad - 80mg per 250ml in comparison to a coffee from Starbucks etc

It’s fine. Not like there isn’t caffeine in chocolate, dark chocolate especially contains quite a lot, or in coke which a lot of 10YOs drink. He probably couldn’t sleep because of the hot weather.
Oh and sorry Cher but no evidence it stunts growth!

Personally I view it as a mild drug similar to alcohol - fine for adults and older teens in moderation, bad for children. So I wouldn’t allow a child to have a strongly caffinated drink if I wouldn’t allow them alcohol and I think the ages should be similar.

That depends on the type of decaf you use.

He’ll be fine OP! DD was somewhat of a coffee connoisseur from a young age and would regularly ask to go out for a cappuccino at the age of 4🤣 By 11 she was ordering espressos on holiday in Italy.. For the MN police - no, she didn’t have them often but it was a nice treat for her with no ill effects.

We always ask for frappes without the coffee but have occasionally forgotten. All fine.

They use very minimal amounts of chemicals and they are mostly evaporated or rinsed away.

Even though the coffee has more caffeine it is still far better for you than a can of monster or red bull

Decaf isn’t worse, it all depends on the person and their needs. I can’t tolerate caffeine it makes me ill so I have decaf, for me that is far better and healthier.
A quick google will tell you the pros and cons of both.

This is REALLY interesting. My DS has a lot of autistic traits (we have a strong family link too) but school have said they're not concerned as he doesn't seem to meet the threshold. Both me and DH noticed that his behaviour was calmer and less erratic than usual yesterday evening. I wonder if it's related. May have to get him one again in a couple of weeks - earlier in the day though! - and see if the same thing happens. I would guess that since it kept him awake late that would point towards the school being correct in their assessment of him NOT being ND but interesting that his behaviour was changed anyway

I read somewhere it inhibits the intake of iron in children.