Does your tween drink coffee? Any ADHD kids drink coffee?

[Anonymous]

DD (10) has trouble inthe Morning getting up. I was thinking of having her drink a cup of coffee. She has ADHD (ADD). But isn't on a stimulant . She's onIntuniv- small dose. Caffeine , in small dose, is it bad for kids?

[Anonymous]

There have been other threads on this - if he needs meds, then meds are better and more effective.

That said, my teenager is a bit inattentive ADHD and he drinks coffee each morning - partially because he has to get up so damn early. I think it helps with both.

But, I waited until he got to high school because I'm not sure it's good for little kids - I probably wouldn't let a 10 year old have any......

[Anonymous]

Lots of kids drink coffee, ADHD and otherwise.

Drink it in moderation.

[Anonymous]

At 10? Please talk to her doctor before you give her coffee. Regular coffee drinkers can begin to feel the physical need for the caffeine, and going "off" it -- say, not having it on weekends, or stopping while on vacation -- can end up causing headaches and crankiness because they haven't had the usual dose of caffeine at the usual time of day. Not everyone is affected that way but I know plenty of adults and some teens who will admit to it. I would not let a child, whose body is still developing, have it regularly. Ask the doctor.

And look at other ways to help her wake up -- for instance, if she bathes at night, maybe switch to a morning shower, which wakes some people up. If she must bathe at night due to sports etc., a quick morning rinse can help. This worked for my sleepy kid though she's not ADHD. Another thing to try: Have her get up a bit earlier. I know that sounds counterintuitive if she's sleepy but it gives her a little more time to wake up before school. Maybe shift gradually to going to bed only 15 minutes earlier, getting up 10 minutes earlier, and see how it goes. But it will take time to make any difference.

Also, bear in mind that coffee for many folks needs a lot of sugar to be palatable, and you will not just be adding caffeine but also possibly adding quite a bit of sugar to her diet first thing in the day -- and sugar brings a sugar crash later, which isn't something anyone, especially a kid with ADHD, needs. Same goes for the sweet coffee drinks like lattes etc. Any drink you get at a coffee shop beyond a plain cup or latte is going to have sugar syrup in it, and coffee at home will probably need sugar for a kid to want to drink it. I'm not anti-coffee or anti-sugar but I would not add them into a kid's diet like that.

Good luck and do check with the doctor before you try caffeine. I love the stuff, myself, but wouldn't let my kid have it, or the sweetened coffee drinks that are now so prevalent. Not at age 10.

[Anonymous]

My 9 year old DD and I drink fresh brewed decaf. There is really no need for caffeine.

[Anonymous]

My oldest son started drinking coffee in elementary school, he is an adult now and it has not caused him any problems. If your 10 year old likes it, there is probably little harm in a cup in the morning.

[Anonymous]

My 9 year old tried this for a few months when we were still wondering whether to evaluate and treat his obvious ADHD symptoms, and it did help him a little in the morning, but not afterward during the day.

That was before we switched to stimulant medication, which obviously works SO MUCH BETTER. It's night and day, OP, seriously.

[Anonymous]

This is the wrong drug for the problem. I was diagnosed with ADHD at 24 and had been "self-medicating" (without ever guessing I had ADHD) with a TON of caffeine. Although caffeine and Ritalin/Adderall are all stimulants, they work differently. Thus, the amount of caffeine you'd need to have any significant positive effect on ADHD would make you so insanely jittery it would not be worth it. If you do meds, do meds. Caffeine is still a drug.

[Anonymous]

I’ve offered it to my adhd 10 year old, but he doesn’t like it.

I’d be more concerned with the sleep. Can you back up bed time a bit? They really need sufficient sleep to be able to function their best each day...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the wrong drug for the problem. I was diagnosed with ADHD at 24 and had been "self-medicating" (without ever guessing I had ADHD) with a TON of caffeine. Although caffeine and Ritalin/Adderall are all stimulants, they work differently. Thus, the amount of caffeine you'd need to have any significant positive effect on ADHD would make you so insanely jittery it would not be worth it. If you do meds, do meds. Caffeine is still a drug.

+1. I'm an adult with ADHD on stimulant meds. Coffee wakes you up, but it doesn't help you to focus like a med. My sister got coffee instead of meds when she was a child (I got neither until I went to the doctor as a college student) and it did nothing except make her hyper. Good thought, OP, but not the right solution for this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the wrong drug for the problem. I was diagnosed with ADHD at 24 and had been "self-medicating" (without ever guessing I had ADHD) with a TON of caffeine. Although caffeine and Ritalin/Adderall are all stimulants, they work differently. Thus, the amount of caffeine you'd need to have any significant positive effect on ADHD would make you so insanely jittery it would not be worth it. If you do meds, do meds. Caffeine is still a drug.

+1000

Caffeine and ADHD meds are both stimulants, but caffeine is not a subsitute for ADHD meds.

[Anonymous]

We started our then 10 yo on a cup of coffee/tea in the morning. He needed something to kick start him because his ADHD medications require food before taking and it was easier to get him to drink first thing in the morning than eat. He's now 14 and is fine doing without it on the days he doesn't have school. My 12 year DD (no ADHD) also likes having a cup first thing in the morning. She has to be out the door by 6:30 to catch the bus to school. No impact on her sleep or issues on days she doesn't have school.

[Anonymous]

Of course the child can have coffee but it won't fix your problem.