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[quote=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.

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