Tea/coffee for children?

[Earlybird]

What age did you start giving your children their own tea or coffee (not simply allowing them a sipp of yours)? Did you dilute? Did you serve at a cooler temperature?

No-one has mentioned redbush tea yet, which is naturally low in tannin and caffeine, and has a nice, malty taste (IMO ). Ds doesn't really drink tea often but sometimes has a slurp of our redbush if that's what were having. It's very rich in flavonoids and antioxidants, as eddm and Aloha point out. The brand we buy has retro packaging with a little girl being served her afternoon tea in the nursery with nanny, and is specifically stated to be suitable for the whole family.
I think the food/drink adult/children divide needs to be kept to a minimum. We try not to have much stuff aimed just at children in the house and try to eat family meals that both children can enjoy with us. Exception being wine or other alcohol with meals.

Twinkie - I thought you couldn't give cow's milk to a baby under a year old or am i wrong?!

Vict17 milk is not recommended as a main drink under 1 (ie should be formula or bf) but is fine with cereals, as yogurt etc after 6mo.
Nobody drinks tea or coffee in our house (except MIL when she visits) so it's not an issue. Have to agree with those who say, why would you? but also with those who say it's hardly as bad as diet coke. Get very depressed when I see great big toddlers of three and a half being pushed about in a pushchair and drinking pop from a bottle with a teat (DH says I shouldn't be so bothered but can't help it)

I think she had cows milk in tea from 10 months Vict17 - on advice of the Health Visitor.

Round here (fairly deprived part of inner London) it's not uncommon to see people decanting Coca-cola into bottles for babies of well under a year. The first time I saw it I just stood and gawped, but I've seen it so many times since then that the novelty's worn off.

I give my children fruit tea or mint tea for that 'grown-up' feeling -- fruit/herbal tea for kids is big in Germany and seems like a good alternative to the caffeinated variety. I don't steep the teabag for very long, though. In the summer I sometimes make a big batch and chill it in the fridge, as an alternative to juice.

Babies in South Africa are regularly given Rooibos tea (Redbush) from a very early age. They even have a Baby Iced tea made from it which is suitable from four months. DS absolutely loves it and will drink gallons of it - it is naturally sweet so no need for loads of sugar and really yummy with loads of milk hot or with slices of lemon and ice on a really hot day.

I buy an organic variety and can't see that this is any way a less healthier option than giving him cordial/ribena.

Update: good news for tea and coffee drinkers.

"Vitamin B3 in tea and coffee may protect against the development of
Alzheimer's disease and the cognitive decline associated with ageing in
older people, according to research in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery
and Psychiatry, published today. This held true after adjusting the results for age, gender, race, education and the ApoE gene - all important risk factors for the disease.
You can get vit B3 from other sources, if you really want to be healthy:
Rich sources of niacin include lean meat, fish, legumes, nuts, dairy products, enriched grains and cereals, and coffee and tea."

My ds 10 loves a cup of tea I wasn't too keen on giving it but my mum apparently gives it to hom every time he is there

Rooibos tea does not contain the tannin and stimulants that ordinary tea has.

If dd wants to drink tea she will have rooibos