Anonymous wrote:So all the people that give their kids coffee, try this:
Go without coffee for one day. Can you do it & function normally? If yes, then go ahead and give your kids coffee. If no, then maybe you should re-think the addiction you're introducing to your child.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't give it to him for the caffeine, but if he wanted a kiddie coffee that's mostly milk I wouldn't have a problem with it.

Anonymous wrote:I don't see why there is inherently anything wrong with letting your 11 year old drink coffee. I started occasionally drinking coffee around 13 and regularly drinking coffee in high school. I have never been a morning person, and it helped me focus in school. However, if it affects their sleep, or if it makes them anxious or jittery, then that seems like it would not be a good idea (just as some adults don't like how caffeine makes them feel). A lot of 11 year olds I know think coffee is too bitter as well and just don't like the taste.

As far as the stunting growth deal, that is a myth. Look it up. There are also plenty of healthy phytochemicals in coffee.

In many parts of the world, children drink coffee and tea with no ill effect. Really I think this has more to do with a cultural feeling in the US that coffee is a grown up drink and that we don't like to see our kids do "adult" things, even relatively harmless things.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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..

So be an adult and make her cut back on activities. Do not drug her with caffeine.

Anonymous wrote:This thread has been enlightening for me. My 14 DD has coffee every morning and has for about 6 months. One cup, usually doesn't finish but still, I am cutting that off. She has not had her period yet but is probably full grown at 5'5''. I just thought it was fine because she rarely eats sweets and we never have soda in the house. I didn't think 3/4 cup of coffee a day was a problem but I appreciate the facts that have changed my mind.

Anonymous wrote:

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 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your kid gets enough sleep and you think the solution to tired mornings is coffee?? No, the solution is your kid needs to be evaluated by a medical doctor.

Lord have mercy.

It's possible to occasionally wake up tired without underlying medical issues.

Once or twice a week at most is not indicative of a problem in my mind; seems to me people just sometimes have rocky mornings.

Why does this board always act like minor problems and bad days are the exclusive prerogative of adults?

-not OP

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not! There is no reason to purposefully allow a child to become addicted to something you know isn't good for them!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was young my Great Grandmother made coffee milk for me. We would sit and play cards, she drank her coffee, I drank my coffee milk.

My mother and grandmother also made me coffee milk while we played cards! Was your GG eastern european?
I have been drinking a cup of coffee a morning since I was in high school - one cup a day, often I don't even finish the cup, because it is the taste, smell, warmth and ritual of it that I "need" more than the caffeine. I really don't think it is a big deal.

If you are from Europe, then most likely you also were not sedentary and walked everywhere, so perhaps a bit of coffee as a child didn't impact you much. But, American kids are more sedentary (indoor recess?), so caffeine + sedentary = not good outcome.

Also, sorry, but Europeans smoke too much so it's not like they have such a healthy lifestyle, either.