How much coffee is too much (for a toddler?)

[Anonymous]

This child isn't even 2 yet, any amount of coffee is too much!

[Anonymous]

Why not ask your pediatrician what he/she thinks, OP?

[Anonymous]

Well, with the frequency people on this board talk about how "the Europeans do it" and therefore it must be better, coffee shouldn't be a big deal. My French BIL started my niece on coffee quite young (and he let my nephew suck on the cork of a wine bottle as well!)

[Anonymous]

Please do get your ped's recommendation. I imagine that decaf would be much better for such a little person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, with the frequency people on this board talk about how "the Europeans do it" and therefore it must be better, coffee shouldn't be a big deal. My French BIL started my niece on coffee quite young (and he let my nephew suck on the cork of a wine bottle as well!)

Giving advice based on what you've "heard" versus advice given based on experience are two different things.

I'm not sure if you're mocking European practices (and your BIL, for that matter), but Europeans (myself included in this mix as a first generation) do practice moderation. A bit of coffee at a young age isn't going to kill anyone. Neither is sucking on a wine cork, for that matter. We grew up drinking a tiny bit of wine at our meals. again - no big deal

Everything is so black and white in the US. It's either good or bad. Where's the moderation? We overeat, drink too much, seek out therapy over small issues, and then - on the surface - pretend that everything is just fine . . . b/c God forbid others should see that we're flawed.

OP, give your kid some coffee! It's OK!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I used to drink coffee and diet cokes like they were going out of style and I never once had a withdrawal headache. Even when I quit cold turkey.

Lucky! When I quit my Dr Pepper habit in college, my Mountain Dew habit when I got pregnant with DD, and my coffee habit when I got pregnant with DS I had withdrawl headaches each time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, with the frequency people on this board talk about how "the Europeans do it" and therefore it must be better, coffee shouldn't be a big deal. My French BIL started my niece on coffee quite young (and he let my nephew suck on the cork of a wine bottle as well!)

Giving advice based on what you've "heard" versus advice given based on experience are two different things.

I'm not sure if you're mocking European practices (and your BIL, for that matter), but Europeans (myself included in this mix as a first generation) do practice moderation. A bit of coffee at a young age isn't going to kill anyone. Neither is sucking on a wine cork, for that matter. We grew up drinking a tiny bit of wine at our meals. again - no big deal

Everything is so black and white in the US. It's either good or bad. Where's the moderation? We overeat, drink too much, seek out therapy over small issues, and then - on the surface - pretend that everything is just fine . . . b/c God forbid others should see that we're flawed.

OP, give your kid some coffee! It's OK!

I wasn't mocking European practices (I was joking, because some people on this board frequently justify their arguments by saying, "In Europe, they...") I'm with you on moderation and although I'm American, I think American moms (at least on this board) are neurotic!

[Anonymous]

Anjelica wrote:I grew up eating "continental breakfasts," which normally consisted of warm milk (in a large cup or bowl), sweetened with regular sugar and flavored with a shot of espresso. I'd dunk a homemade biscotti into it -or, for fellow Italians out there, an "S" cookie!

Of course, by "Amerian" standards, I was an oddball b/c I wasn't eating Trix or Coco Krispies each morning, but I survived.

You are right Angelica. All of us Americans grew up eating Trix and Coco Krispies every morning. Sheesh. Get over yourself. Glad you "survived."

[Anonymous]

Is there a reason you're asking us and not your ped? Seriously...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anjelica wrote:I grew up eating "continental breakfasts," which normally consisted of warm milk (in a large cup or bowl), sweetened with regular sugar and flavored with a shot of espresso. I'd dunk a homemade biscotti into it -or, for fellow Italians out there, an "S" cookie!

Of course, by "Amerian" standards, I was an oddball b/c I wasn't eating Trix or Coco Krispies each morning, but I survived.

You are right Angelica. All of us Americans grew up eating Trix and Coco Krispies every morning. Sheesh. Get over yourself. Glad you "survived."

Let's keep it friendly, y'all

[Anonymous]

Try giving him decaf?

[Anonymous]

Start giving him wine with dinner, too. Or a sip of dad's beer. It's all good, y'all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find this very surprising...because of the withdrawal effects I experience when I don't have my coffee. I'd hate to see that in a toddler. Headache, crankiness, drowsiness...imagine the temper tantrum in toddler who needs his cup of joe!!!

Seriously? OP, your baby is not going to go through withdrawal symptoms from 1 oz of coffee and milk each day

I drink one six ounce cup of coffee each morning. If I don't have that cup, by 2 PM I have a screaming headache. I am a 190 lb male.

I used to drink coffee and diet cokes like they were going out of style and I never once had a withdrawal headache. Even when I quit cold turkey.

new poster here. you are very lucky, i get migrains terrible if i miss my coffee, i cannot quit it is too miserable.

[Anonymous]

My general motto for myself and as a parent is "almost everything in moderation," but I'd be careful with this one OP. Starting a caffeine habit this early is just a bad idea. I'd do decaf only for several more years.

My husband's Russian and we do give our small DC decaf black and green tea (decaff'd by making tea for ourselves and then using the same teabag or leaves to make theirs--caffeine comes out of tea within the first 30 seconds of brewing).

I think the antioxidants and other "things" in coffee and tea are healthy for us all, but for little ones the caffeine is a bad idea, IMHO. Ask your ped!