caffeine

[Anonymous]

Do you allow your teens to have caffeine? My 14 year old started drinking tea in the morning with caffeine. Can't say I blame him because I drink coffee and it's really early when he has to wake up and head to school. But is it ok? Is there any truth to it stunting growth? He is on the small side and definitely hasn't hit his growth spurt. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Its fine.

[Anonymous]

My 14 yo DD drinks green tea every morning. I remember at 15 I was drinking a skinny caramel macchiato to get through AP Chem. It's fine.

[Anonymous]

We have no problem with it.

[Anonymous]

My 14 yr old daughter has a cup of coffee every morning before school. My two oldest sons started drinking coffee every morning when they were around the age of 10. They still have to have their coffee before work every day. They drink theirs black, she likes hers with cream. A little caffeine doesn't hurt anyone.

[Anonymous]

There's a Spanish study showing that kindergartners who got milky coffee at lunch learned like twice as much in the afternoon as kids who didn't.

[Anonymous]

Tea is great for you and not that high in caffeine. Not an issue. If he expresses interest in coffee I'd probably let him have a cup a day but advise him to take it easy because it could interfere with sleep. Absolutely NO energy drinks though, that stuff will mess you up.

[Anonymous]

I've been giving my 13 yo a latte in the mornings for over a year now (we have an espresso maker). Who doesn't want a pick me up in the morning - especially since has to be out the door at 6:30.

[Anonymous]

My DD who is 15 has some in the morning. She is hyper active and while I didn't believe the tales of how it calms hyper kids, it actually makes her a bit calmer. I don't know how long it lasts, but she likes it and since she is 15, ok. I am actually not for kids drinking coffee, but often what kids get at Starbucks is not really coffee, it is mostly milk and sugar.

[Anonymous]

Doesn't bother me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD who is 15 has some in the morning. She is hyper active and while I didn't believe the tales of how it calms hyper kids, it actually makes her a bit calmer. I don't know how long it lasts, but she likes it and since she is 15, ok. I am actually not for kids drinking coffee, but often what kids get at Starbucks is not really coffee, it is mostly milk and sugar.

It can calm them. Our developmental pediatrician said that I have probably been self-medicating My own ADHD all these years with coffee when we were discussing family history.

[Anonymous]

My kids all started drinking coffee occasionally in mid to late elementary school. DD13 has a cup most mornings and one after school sometimes on long days. Doesn't bother me in moderation, or even on rare occasions if used in large quantities to deal with a hectic schedule or all nighter. But I would step in if she was starting to live on caffeine as a replacement for good sleep.

[Anonymous]

We give our 13 YO a weak late in the morning. It seems to help him focus.