Caffeine is not good for your child.
Side effects include trouble sleeping, stomach aches, too much
energy, and loss focus. While caffeine does not stunt growth,
a prime reason I wasn't allowed to have caffeine as a child, it can
bring with it some very empty calories and an empty pocket as well.
Your child on caffeine is bad for you!
I see kids running around like a little Tasmanian devils, touching
everything in reach and knocking it down , firing a million questions
a minute in a voice that definitely doesn't belong inside all while
pushing strangers and pulling hair. THIS is the kid you want to
give coffee to?!
Saying “No” to any coffee shop
drink for a child would be best. There are so many healthier
still delicious things they could be doing with those calories and
sugars. The CDC reported in 2011 that what we drink can effect our
diets to an alarming degree.
Your kid might not need to watch their weight now but please think
beyond the present. You could be building bad food habits which will
bite them in the future. Limiting empty sugar calories now can teach
a child better habits for life.
Your kid can have a steamed milk with
thousands of different flavor combinations in it and a dollop of
whipped cream on top. Lots of stores have apple juice that can be
steamed to create a fun cinnamon or caramel themed apple drink.
Be wary, caffeine free drinks don't
mean good for them. A coke the same size has less sugar andcalories than steamed milk with syrup.
There is good news though! The milk in this drink still has all its
nutrients including an excellent dose of calcium.
Older
children present a whole different conundrum in the coffee shop.
Teens want to be cool and drinking coffee is in vogue. I get that
teens roam the stores without an adult often. You can discourage
them from ordering coffee.
When you're out with your teen, don't
offer to buy them a coffee. Or offer a coffee but limit how much
sugar can go in. No one needs a latte with extra syrup and extra
drizzle. Don't let a beginning coffee drinker make this a
standard order! Encourage them to drink coffee with fewer
additives. Suggest things that complement coffee's natural
flavors like chocolate, cinnamon, or one of the nut flavors. Avoid
making the coffee a candy bar with berry flavors, caramel,
peppermint, coconut, or more than one syrup flavor.
Finally, you might point out the
calories in the “treat”. Health Assist allows you to enter a weight and how many calories you want to
work off and will literally tell you how long it will be to “run
them off.” A lot of young ladies who think drinking a coffee will
help them lose weight may be rudely awakened.
A coffee might seem like a weird place
to take a stand, but it's not. Consider that your kid could be
buying this regularly for the rest of his or her life. How often do
you buy a coffee or drink while out? Once a month, once a week,
more? Do you know how much money that is over the course of a
natural human life span? Once a week at $2 each for 52 weeks is
$104 in just one year. Lattes and frozen beverages, kids
preferred coffee drinks run $4-$7 each, this more than doubles
projected costs!
Does your teen realize how much money
they are spending on coffee? A potentially eye opening exercise is
to have your teen keep each coffee order receipt for a month. At the
end of the month, add up all the money spent in the coffee shop. Ask
your teen what else they could have bought with the money. Was being
the cool kid who drinks coffee the best option?
If you must introduce kids to coffee,
why not do it at home where you can control what goes in the coffee
along with how much they have? Most kids aren't going to like
straight coffee with a little milk and sugar. It might squelch any
interest in getting a coffee from the shop when they know they don't
like the home brew.
Thats' My Two Cents, I Want To
Hear From You:
-Am I making too big a deal out of
children drinking a coffee?
-What other suggestions would you offer
to keep a kid from wanting coffee?
-Would you ever allow your child to
drink a latte of some kind? Why or Why not?
-Is there a way for a barista to offer
a coffee free alternative to a parent ordering a mocha for a kid
without seeming rude or obnoxious?
-If you were in the coffee line and
heard a parent buying a kid a coffee, would you speak up? Why or why
not?
-Do you interpret the same order
differently based on whether it's for a child, tween, teen, or adult?
-When are we old enough for caffeine?
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