Would you make your 11 y.o. DD coffee in the morning?

[Anonymous]

I make my DD coffee in the morning once or twice a week when she seems really tired. She gets 9.5-10 hours of sleep most of the nights.
I make my own coffee and then I reuse the keurig cup for the second time to make one for my DD.
DH thinks she shouldn't drink coffee at that age.
I drank coffee since I was about 8. And by 12 I drank coffee on a regular basis.
My DH never drinks coffee, he hates it.

Am I the only one who allows their child drink coffee sometimes?
How long does your 11 y.o. sleep at night?

[Anonymous]

8 hours, and no. She is allowed "baby coffee" when we go to Trader Joes, which is one fifth coffee with milk the rest of the cup.

[Anonymous]

My almost 11yo sleeps about 9.5 hours a night, sometimes more, rarely less. She wakes up on her own (alarm is set so she can get 10-10.5 hours depending on bedtime) so I feel she is getting enough sleep. That said, I would not give her coffee if she seemed tired. If I really felt that she needed something, and I had tried things like an earlier bedtime, room darkening shades at night, natural (or simulated, since it's now dark in the mornings) light in the morning, I would consider something with a small amount of caffeine, like white tea.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't have a problem with the occasional cup if I didn't see and she didn't report any negative effects. I don't think it's that big a deal; we aren't talking daily espressos. That said, tea is a good alternative. My husband is from another country and one of his fondest memories is having tea with his grandmother as a child, very sweet and milky.

[Anonymous]

I give my son 2oz of coffee in his chocolate milk. He gets at least 10 hours of sleep ever night and naps after school, he is going through growth spurts and sleeps, sleeps, sleeps.

I think it is fine, a grande at Starbucks ... NO.

But a 2nd flow through on a Keurig is not going to affect growth or health.

Even if it is a placebo affect, I don't care, it makes my son happy.

[Anonymous]

You should google the effects of caffeine in children.

http://www.today.com/health/kids-caffeine-may-be-dangerous-combination-new-study-suggests-1D79801666

“This study shows that what we would consider to be a low dose of caffeine — what some might not think twice about giving to an 8-year-old — is having an effect on the cardiovascular system,” Temple said. “And right now we don’t have enough data in kids to know what the long term effects of repeated exposure to caffeine would be.”

[Anonymous]

I have a few guesses on your cultural background OP, as this is normal in several parts of the world - but not here in the US. We're also a multi-cultural family and cultural and religious practices are prioritized when not harmful to the kids. This is potentially harmful and certainly not helpful - so I'd cede this one to your husband and revisit in a few years.

[Anonymous]

No, I think it's an unusual move to give an 11yo coffee to "perk" her up in the morning. While I don't think it's abusive, it is a strange choice for sure.

I do have an 11yo ds and when he is sleepy in the morning, I make him eat something, even offering a cookie if he refuses everything else (I prefer he eats protein foods, though). I wonder if the cookie vs. coffee choices might be a boy vs. girl thing. I can understand a mother not wanted to fill her daughter with sweets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, I think it's an unusual move to give an 11yo coffee to "perk" her up in the morning. While I don't think it's abusive, it is a strange choice for sure.

I do have an 11yo ds and when he is sleepy in the morning, I make him eat something, even offering a cookie if he refuses everything else (I prefer he eats protein foods, though). I wonder if the cookie vs. coffee choices might be a boy vs. girl thing. I can understand a mother not wanted to fill her daughter with sweets.

? I'm a mom, and I don't want to fill my DS with sweets, either, or caffeine.

I think some people, including kids, are just not morning people. And some people need more sleep than others. Also, even if you think your DC is getting enough hours of sleep, it may not be restful sleep, and that's why she wakes up tired. Does your DD get enough exercise and fresh air during the day? I find that if my kids haven't been running around outside, they don't sleep as well.

Also, check her diet. Sometimes eating too late, especially fatty foods, can keep you up.

[Anonymous]

I do sometimes but I make it with 75% milk and 25% coffee.

[Anonymous]

I'm a total caffeine addict, and I would not do this. Caffeine also stunts growth, so not ideal when she's at her top growth years. Orange juice is a much better way to wake up in the morning. If she sleeps well, she is probably groggy because her blood sugar is low--the OJ will boost it and wake her up. Don't start her down the road to caffeine addiction yet.
Signed,
4 cup a day Mom

[Anonymous]

Only if they had ADD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, I think it's an unusual move to give an 11yo coffee to "perk" her up in the morning. While I don't think it's abusive, it is a strange choice for sure.

I do have an 11yo ds and when he is sleepy in the morning, I make him eat something, even offering a cookie if he refuses everything else (I prefer he eats protein foods, though). I wonder if the cookie vs. coffee choices might be a boy vs. girl thing. I can understand a mother not wanted to fill her daughter with sweets.

? I'm a mom, and I don't want to fill my DS with sweets, either, or caffeine.

I think some people, including kids, are just not morning people. And some people need more sleep than others. Also, even if you think your DC is getting enough hours of sleep, it may not be restful sleep, and that's why she wakes up tired. Does your DD get enough exercise and fresh air during the day? I find that if my kids haven't been running around outside, they don't sleep as well.

Also, check her diet. Sometimes eating too late, especially fatty foods, can keep you up.

OP here.
Thank you everyone for your input.
As far as exercise, she has karate three times a week and girls on the run twice a week. She spends a lot of time outside during the weekends.
She is eating healthy. I don't mind her having sweets, but we don't keep a lot of junk in the house. Honestly, she prefers vegetables above anything else. Her typical breakfast would be eggs with shallots/green onions or a bagel with chives cream cheese. Also a smoothie a few times a week in addition to whatever she is having.Lunch - mostly leftovers from the night before (she hates sandwiches), so let's say rice/pasta/potatoes with some vegetables and whatever else for protein, some fruit, a few crackers or chips - she loves edemame or sweet potato chips, wasabi chick peas, seaweed.. fruit swoosh or apple sauce and a little sweet treat - a cookie, fruit gummies or whatever. Dinner - some kind of protein, starch and 2 or 3 kinds of vegetables (which she always eats first.)

When I make her coffee, I put some of the flavored creamer and a teaspoon of sugar. She is really thin and really doesn't eat sweets, so I don't worry about it too much.

I think her being tired is caused by too many after school activities. I suggested she takes a break or give up one, but she doesn't want to. She wanted to add cheerleading, but I put my foot down. She has after school activities every school day, except for Friday. And with homework, it's a lot. We manage, but I would prefer she had some more free and unstructured time.
As one of the previous posters noticed, I have a different cultural background. I'm from Europe. I remember having plenty of time after school. No cell phone, video games, etc. My time after homework was spent outside with my friends.
It's just so different these days..

[Anonymous]

I don't think I would be giving it to perk her up, I would examine why she is tired.

But I do give my dd10 tea with caffeine or without from time to time especially when it is cold outside or she is sick and sometimes just because. But she wants to drink coffee because she has some middle school friends that drink it regularly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I make my DD coffee in the morning once or twice a week when she seems really tired. She gets 9.5-10 hours of sleep most of the nights.
I make my own coffee and then I reuse the keurig cup for the second time to make one for my DD.
DH thinks she shouldn't drink coffee at that age.
I drank coffee since I was about 8. And by 12 I drank coffee on a regular basis.
My DH never drinks coffee, he hates it.

Am I the only one who allows their child drink coffee sometimes?
How long does your 11 y.o. sleep at night?

In general, the issue with kids is their brains are still forming--still wiring. So, for example, this is why pot is so bad for a teenager vs. a 30 y.o.
So in general, I'd stay away from anything that may influence the formation of the brain; you don't want to create that dependency.

Also, another thing to think about is, do you *need* your coffee? If so, you are dependent and probably don't want to set that up in your kid.

One thing about coffee is that in the morning, many people say they need their coffee to wake them up. In reality, they are coming off the caffeine--the withdrawl--and THAT is what is making them feel tired in the morning, not the fact of getting up. If you have ever gone off coffee, after the withdrawal is about 1.5 weeks, then in the morning you actually feel great.

Coffee works not by perking you up, but by not allowing the message that you are tired hit your brain. So the withdrawal makes one feel really tired.

Is this the end of the world bad in the scheme of things? No, but I would opt to not do it for the above reason. As with many things, adapting one's lifestyle to fit one's needs is a better fix than popping a pill to maintain one's lifestyle, and this is sort of a pop the pill approach.