how old to drink tea?

[peasandbeans]

my 8 month old would happily drink tea every morning just like the rest of us if I let him. Is this a reasonable age to be drinking tea? He's not drinking it by the gallon as he's sipping it from a "grown up" cup.

How old were your children when they started drinking tea?

Bleugh! Ds is 10 and he still isn't given tea. It messes about with their iron levels and caffine isn't a good idea for ds.

They're seven and nine (years old) and they don't drink tea. I don't really understand why parents encourage children to drink tea. Mine still have warm milk.

mine are 10 and 7 and don't drink tea - I wouldn't give it to a baby

mine's 4 and has yet to touch a drop - why would she?

tea isn't for kids

Not for children at all and absolutely not before age of 5. Tanin iirc.

Well my daughter doesn't have any but I remember my little sister aged about 18 months being desperate to drink tea and being given warm milk with a dash of tea in it - she was perfectly happy with that.

I think it's caused a lot of health problems in the Aboriginal culture in Australia.

Guidelines say tea and coffee is not recommended for under 5s.

My 7y has had the odd very weak, milky decaf tea but rarely. But not before she was school age. She tends to have hot chocolate or frothy milk and sprinkled chocolate instead.

My 11 year old has probably had it a handful of times and definately not as a very young child/ baby

They don't drink tea.
A couple of them try it now and then (8yo and 11yo) but mine aren't that keen.
Never gave it to them as babies. Didn't enter my head to tbh.

There are certain types of tea that have traces of Aluminimum (sp?) in them, the amounts vary depending on the type of tea IIRC, not good for anyone, especially growing brains.

oh balls, I had no idea about this one . 2.2yo DD has recently started asking for a cup of tea on occasion, and I have been offering it when she asks.

Would switching to redbush help?

My 3 year old has a 'cuppa' sometimes with me. He has his in an espresso cup and its mostly milk tbh but he loves it.
Wouldnt give it to an 8 month old though.
Have you tried cammomile tea or something like that?

he would happily drink camomile tea if I offered it. He would eat or drink practically anything I offered him I think. I once accidentally gave him curry sauce thinking it was just tomato sauce and he thought it was great. The thing is that he wants what we're having, and I drink tea for breakfast. I let him try some, and he likes it, but I wasn't convinced that it was a great idea for a little one.

maybe have a cup when he's napping? Make a 'secret' cup, one cup with his milk, one cup of tea? An 8 month old would eat/drink anything to be honest. They get picky as they get older.

I just don't get it! For right or for wrong, we have a tea-drinking culture but, as adults, we make an informed choice as we do with a glass of wine or similar...

If your toddler was asking for regular glasses of wine would you offer that too? Perhaps watered down?

I'm all for letting children taste anything that I am having, but I make it clear what is for kids and what isn't.

Am I being precious?

If they want what you have give them chamomile, rooibosh (I think, cant stand the muck but have heard its OK), fruit tea....

but not Tetley, tetley for toddlers is not a good idea.

DS1 aged 9 has ahd it a few times never regualrly, as a baby- ??? They need milk and water

About 5-6 I reckon if they want it - and thats only so that they know what it should look like when they start making it for me...

Agree with others, tea not good for little ones.

I remember been given milky tea in a plastic beaker as a young child (maybe about 4 or 5).

But then it wasn't uncommon to see a baby sat in a buggy drinking a bottle of milky, sugary tea in those days

This was oop north in the 1970s btw.

I give my daughter warm milk with a bit of decaf tea in it. She really likes it and I don't think the quantities of tea in it can possibly be enough to do any harm. I wouldn't give a child tea made like an adult has it. DD's is 95% milk which is good because she won't drink milk on its own so I'm pleased to be able to get some into her by trickery.

DD (16mths) has had tea exactly twice, about two centimetres on each occasion - she loves it and, although I know it's not something that she should drink gallons of, I didn't see any actual harm in a drop. We're a huge tea drinking family and all of us had it as kids so didn't think anything of it. I have mine fairly milky anyway so it's not stand a spoon up stuff.

I grew up with a bottle of tea in my mouth. This was in the in the 80's - in fact one of my earliest memories is my mum telling me, age 4, that I was no longer allowed a bottle and that I had to have my tea in a cup. I can clearly remember refusing to drink it from a cup and to this day I have never drunk tea since.

For some reason, DH wants to start giving dd (18 months) tea and juice. She only has water and milk atm and I am fighting a battle to keep it that way.

So I personally wouldn't OP.