Coffee for kids?

[Big Don]

If you make it at home, coffee is pretty cheap, that, more than any other factor, aside from flavor is probably a big part of what has made it so popular for so long.

 

[girlbug2]

I don't allow my kids to drink coffee because I don't think it's a good idea to get addicted to caffeine at a young age, and I don't think I could deal with them being any more energetic than they already are.

I'm also a sugar nazi. I very strictly limit their sugar intake, because I want them to look at sugary stuff as an occasional treat, not an everyday staple. It's all part of teaching them to make healthy choices. My parents didn't, and I've been struggling with dental problems (lots of sugar and no enforcement of tooth brushing) and my weight. It's easier to learn how to eat properly as a kid than to unlearn bad habits as an adult.

Yes!

I remember one Easter morning when my oldest was 3 years old, we decided to let him eat chocolate for breakfast. Chocolate, and sweets in general, were not much in his diet prior to that. Good lord, within 10 minutes he was boucning off the walls and chattering a mile a minute! For the first time he was truly hyperactive. This kept up for about an hour. We learned our lesson well from that experience about the effects of sugar and caffeine on kids.

Possibly not all kids have such an extreme effect, but still...why decrease their already short attention spans and make it harder for them to focus and behave?

 

[Bill Mattocks]

As they say the coffee must flow!

It is by will alone I set my mind in motion,
It is by the Bean of Coffee that thoughts acquire speed,
The teeth acquire stains,
The stains become a warning,
It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

 

[JDenver]

It's interesting to me that so far everything has centred on how the little shot of caffeine shouldn't be a big deal to children.

What about the diahhretic and digestive issues with coffee? Someone else just posted that coffee may even leech calcium from your body, which I also think has some truth to it.

Also, just my opinion, sugar gets a really bad rap. Too much sugar isn't healthy in a number of ways, but your body knows what to do with sugar. Especially the hot, speedy metabolism of a teenager. Coffee though? That's something else.

 

[Bruno@MT]

there's literally thousands of places to get good coffee in London!

My favorite one was a coffee shop that was filled with comfy chairs and bookshelves. We had to kill an hour before entering the Japanese restaurant, so we just sat down with a large cup of very good coffee, and the latest Terry Prattchet novel (making money, I think).
good times...

 

[Bruno@MT]

It's interesting to me that so far everything has centred on how the little shot of caffeine shouldn't be a big deal to children.

What about the diahhretic and digestive issues with coffee? Someone else just posted that coffee may even leech calcium from your body, which I also think has some truth to it.

This effect depends on the person. When I didn;t drink coffee for a long time, I could feel the effects when I started again. But it is really mild with me.
My kids didn't seem to be affected by it either.

Also, the caffeine contect is something you can control. If you brew your own, you can make it anywhere from very diluted to near espresso like.
I prefer 100$ arabica beans from colombia or egypt. Very tasty, and not too much caffeine.

I think the key is moderation. 1 cup of coffee is no worse than 1 glass off caffeine, and it is definitely not worse than the US sized soda containers.
Offtopic: what we in Europe call 'maxi' at McDs (that largest size) is basically the kids size in the US)

Also, just my opinion, sugar gets a really bad rap. Too much sugar isn't healthy in a number of ways, but your body knows what to do with sugar. Especially the hot, speedy metabolism of a teenager. Coffee though? That's something else.

It all depends on the metabolism, and whether you are used to it.
Give kids a lot of sugar and they go in overdrive, followed by the sugar crash.
Couple of months ago I went snowboarding, and we took the overnight bus.
To keep awake on the piste I drank 2 big glasses of coke. Bad idea. Because a couple hours later I had a sugar crash, and I felt really, really sick.

As with coffee, in moderation it's not bad. And in large quantities it is at least as bad as caffeine.

 

[Tez3]

This effect depends on the person. When I didn;t drink coffee for a long time, I could feel the effects when I started again. But it is really mild with me.
My kids didn't seem to be affected by it either.

Also, the caffeine contect is something you can control. If you brew your own, you can make it anywhere from very diluted to near espresso like.
I prefer 100$ arabica beans from colombia or egypt. Very tasty, and not too much caffeine.

I think the key is moderation. 1 cup of coffee is no worse than 1 glass off caffeine, and it is definitely not worse than the US sized soda containers.
Offtopic: what we in Europe call 'maxi' at McDs (that largest size) is basically the kids size in the US)



It all depends on the metabolism, and whether you are used to it.
Give kids a lot of sugar and they go in overdrive, followed by the sugar crash.
Couple of months ago I went snowboarding, and we took the overnight bus.
To keep awake on the piste I drank 2 big glasses of coke. Bad idea. Because a couple hours later I had a sugar crash, and I felt really, really sick.

As with coffee, in moderation it's not bad. And in large quantities it is at least as bad as caffeine.

Exactly!
I don't know how much coffee you think we are talking about but as Bruno says we don't drink so much of it as to cause problems. A cup of milky coffee with breakfast isn't going to cause a child a problem and children in Europe have been drinking this for a couple of hundred years now without problems. Moderation in all things.

 

[Carol]

Yeah, well you Europeans are all restrained and stuff.

In all seriousness, one thing that surprised me when I went to Continental Europe (sorry Tez, never had the good fortune of going to the UK) was how the portion sizes for everything were dramatically different than what we're used to here in North America. A can of Coke was 6 or 8 ounces, cups of yogurt were 4 ounces. Many of the coffees that I had (esp. at breakfast) were the darker roasts blended with a lot of milk (which helps to balance out the alkaline pH of coffee).

So yeah, it is coffee, but its not brewed, served, or drunk the same way it is here. I think gradually introducing a child to certain enjoyments, with the supervision and restraint of the parents is overall a good thing.

 

[Tez3]

It's not so much we are restrained lol, just there's lots of lovely stuff to chose from! Hot chocolate, wonderful! Ovaltine, soothing, herbal teas, amazing. Iced tea and iced coffee, citron presse!
A huge amount of water is drunk in Europe too, you'll often find people especially young people walking around with a bottle of water in hand.

 

[Archangel M]

It's not like the only beverages Americans drink are coffee and Coke.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

It's not like the only beverages Americans drink are coffee and Coke.

No, we have Mountain Dew as well.

 

[Stac3y]

In reference to my earlier post about teaching kids good habits so they don't have to break bad ones later: this morning, my 8 year old finished his eggs and orange juice and was still hungry. My husband offered him a Pop Tart as "dessert" since he'd already had a reasonable breakfast (yes, we're sugar nazis, but we do let them have sugary stuff on occasion.) HE TURNED IT DOWN and asked for granola instead.

I'm so proud. My kids ROCK! :headbangin:

 

[Marginal]

Why wouldn't kids be allowed to drink coffee? (in normal quantities of course).

I never drank coffee as a kid. Still don't. Tastes like yarch.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

It is by will alone I set my mind in motion,
It is by the Bean of Coffee that thoughts acquire speed,
The teeth acquire stains,
The stains become a warning,
It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Now we are really talking about coffee!

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Now we are really talking about coffee!

Now personally, I prefer Soul Coughing's cover of this excellent song, but this one is great too.

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Coffee is so excellent, doctors put it in IV drips for surgery patients who are addicted (as everyone should be) to caffeine. Improves recovery time, and no nasty patients nursing huge caffeine-withdrawal headaches.

Coffee is so wonderful, whomever first thought of it should be given the highest award possible in the entire history of mankind. Whatever that is. Twice!

The only thing as good as coffee in the morning for me was a nice cigarette to go with it, but I gave up the smoking. I will never give up the coffee. It's like religion - once you find the truth, you can't turn your back on it.

 

[Carol]

I bought a Keurig

Did I mention I love coffee?

 

[Tez3]

thought I'd just mention it, well it's late at night where I am lol, You know you can have coffee enemas don't you?
http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/dietarytherapy/a/EnemasColonics.htm

There was a U Tube link too but I drew the line at that!

I was being facetious but after reading the blurb seems they may do you some good!

 

[Archangel M]

Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze.
It maketh me to wake in green pastures:
It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses.
It restoreth my buzz:
It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction,
I will fear no Equal&#8482;:
For thou art with me; thy cream and thy sugar they comfort me.
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of The Starbucks:
Thou anointest my day with pep; my mug runneth over.
Surely richness and taste shall follow me all the days of my life:
And I will dwell in the House of Mochas forever.

~Author Unknown

 

[Flea]

I don't do caffeine any more. I get anxiety attacks, followed inexorably by a depression that lasts for several hours. Considering the Epic Battle I waged for the right to drink coffee, it's pretty ironic.

But there you go. :uhohh:

 

[yorkshirelad]

I've never been a coffee drinker, but I've been a tea drinker since the age of four. American kids get milk and cookies for a treat, Brits get tea an biscuits. I used to drink tea by the gallon until I moved to the US. Now I pretty much only drink water. The tea bags here are much weaker than the ones you get in Blighty. Also I have to eat cookies or cake when I drink tea, so by eliminating tea, I've eliminated my sweet tooth. That is, of course until my Mum sends me tea bags. Then it's off for Crispy cremes...yum.