At what age would you be comfortable letting your kids have caffeinated tea?

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I bought Mango Ceylon tea for DD12 and myself the other day without realizing it had black tea in it. I can't have caffeine, and DD12 has never really had it (she doesn't like coffee flavored things and we're mostly water drinkers here). She tasted the tea this morning, though, and liked it. Would you be comfortable with 12-year-old drinking black tea a few times a week?

 

Thanks!

[cottonmama]

:lurk5:   (<--- although really that should be me sipping my tea)

[Camelfeet]

Mine had coffee when she was 6.  I don't know why caffeinated tea would be any different than caffeinated pop or food, so I'm not overly concerned.  We are also water drinkers here, mostly.  

 

At 12, I would be comfy with that level of consumption.  

[KungFuPanda]

I think they started stealing mine around 5-6. They moved on to their own occasional cups by 8-9. Now I have two teens. My 14-year-old DS has two cups each day. One in the morning and one around 4-5 p.m. My 17-year-old daughter had to teach all of her friends how to do tea on their London trip.

 

Ours may be a cautionary tale :-) 80% of the time we drink Irish Breakfast Tea with a splash of milk and a spoon of sugar. Dd drinks loads of green tea as well. I do but decaf when I make iced tea because we eat dinner too late to be drinking caffeine with it.

[sarawatsonim]

We are big tea drinkers in this house and my dd9 has tea every morning. I can't ever get her to eat breakfast but she is always open to tea. DD3 asks for "special tea" which is a small amount of tea, sugar, and a lot of frothed milk on top. 

[ThisIsTheDay]

It's surely better than drinking Coke.  ;)

[Lara in Colo]

I cannot stand herbal tea or decaffinated tea-- I drink strong, black, unsweetened tea.  My children have been drinking out of my glass since they were old enough to use a straw.   As for you child, having had little to no caffeine, I would allow it, but slowly to see if the caffeine bothers her

 

[Pawz4me]

I never worried much about my boys having caffeine.  It never seemed to have any effect on them.  They had the occasional sips of caffeinated soft drinks starting around two or so.  I can't remember when oldest started drinking iced tea at dinner.  Maybe around five?  No big deal at all.

[Slartibartfast]

I wouldn't be worried about giving it to a 12 year old. 

[zoobie]

Caffeine doesn't affect DH or me (one benefit of ADHD I guess). Iced tea in the South is a fairly ubiquitous beverage. I can't remember how early they had it. I worry more about the sugar than the caffeine. We serve either unsweetened or very lightly sweetened at home.

[regentrude]

Sure, why not?

[catz]

Tea actually doesn't have TONS of caffiene.  My son was drinking caff tea now and again by age 8.

[chocolatechip]

With a twelve-year-old, I wouldn't worry at all. 

 

Hey, the Russians at our church let their littles (6? 7?) drink coffee. 

[Desert Strawberry]

Coffee and tea at two. But no Coke till 10.

[Mimm]

My kids are coffee drinkers and drink caffeinated tea as well and have for years now.

[UmMusa]

I let my kids have tea around age 8.  Not daily, but if they ask, and it's not near bedtime, I'll let them.

Coffee.... they've tasted mine a few times, but no one wanted more :)

 

[SweetMissMagnolia]

yes

[Gentlemommy]

Coffee and tea at two. But no Coke till 10.

Yup. I'm fine with coffee or tea, cream, and a bit of sugar WAY earlier than I ever want them to have corn syrup/artificially flavored/colored soda. Or candy.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

OK, thanks everyone. We'll start slow and I won't make it too strong. I appreciate it!

[Mandylubug]

LOL you can see parents giving their babies tea with caffiene in their bottles in the south.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

See, I don't understand that, though! Why do babies and toddlers need tea or coffee? I mean, caffeine is still a chemical that affects your brain. It's a stimulant, it affects your blood sugar, etc. I don't know, I also don't think babies need juice in bottles either. Maybe I'm the weird one!

[Mandylubug]

I agree. We did very diluted juice and only when they needed it due to tummy troubles. Just stating it is common in the south. We don't brew tea regularly and people look at us as if we are insane. Most kids that come to my home assume they'll be served sweet tea. They are shocked when I say we have water only.

[SKL]

Any age.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I agree. We did very diluted juice and only when they needed it due to tummy troubles. Just stating it is common in the south. We don't brew tea regularly and people look at us as if we are insane. Most kids that come to my home assume they'll be served sweet tea. They are shocked when I say we have water only.

 

Oh, I know you weren't endorsing it :D It's just one of those things that mystifies me--kind of like around here, with the baby bottles full of purple grape "drink," not even juice.

[snowbeltmom]

My kids have been drinking tea since they were old enough to drink out of a cup, but they are 1/4 English. :-)

[Desert Strawberry]

See, I don't understand that, though! Why do babies and toddlers need tea or coffee? I mean, caffeine is still a chemical that affects your brain. It's a stimulant, it affects your blood sugar, etc. I don't know, I also don't think babies need juice in bottles either. Maybe I'm the weird one!

They don't need it, but neither do I. If I am enjoying a cup, and they would like one, I will make them one.

Just like a cookie or a piece of cake. No one needs desserts, but they are enjoyable from time to time. If I were having cake and my child wanted a piece, I would give it to them. I think of coffee and tea the same way. 

As it happens, one of my children doesn't like coffee or tea, or hot chocolate, chocolate milk, or cake. I don't force any of it on him. 

[Above The Rowan]

My 6 and 8 yr old drink caffeinated tea a few times a week. My youngest loves tea so I try to keep her to rooibos or herbals as much as I can but she loves some of the black teas I have here and we like to share a small pot of tea in the afternoons.

[Catwoman]

I'd be fine with it.

 

I'm not saying I would be fine with six cups a day, but a cup or two would be just fine! :)

[zoobie]

See, I don't understand that, though! Why do babies and toddlers need tea or coffee? I mean, caffeine is still a chemical that affects your brain. It's a stimulant, it affects your blood sugar, etc. I don't know, I also don't think babies need juice in bottles either. Maybe I'm the weird one!

I don't give babies bottles or juice. I don't see taking a sip of tea as any different than a bite of chocolate.

[jeninok]

My DS is 13, he makes our morning coffee now, 1 cup for him, and 3 for me. He also drinks unsweetened cold brew tea, either black, or in the winter Chai, I worry much more about the sugar and chemicals in juice and soda than I do about the caffeine.

[Hikin' Mama]

I have let mine drink it before age 12. It's much, much better for her to acquire a taste for tea than soda, imo.

[KungFuPanda]

See, I don't understand that, though! Why do babies and toddlers need tea or coffee? I mean, caffeine is still a chemical that affects your brain. It's a stimulant, it affects your blood sugar, etc. I don't know, I also don't think babies need juice in bottles either. Maybe I'm the weird one!

Different cultures just have different drinks and kids want to try the foods and drinks around them. I wouldn't give my kids wine at a very young age, but if they want a cup of hot leaf water that's fine by me.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

My kids have been able to have tea/coffee since they started drinking out of cups.

 

They rarely do by choice.

 

One likes hot tea. One likes iced tea. Neither like coffee. We rarely have soda.

[fraidycat]

My kids started drinking (sips) caffeinated drinks as toddlers. My parents drink coffee. I drink black tea. DH drinks Pepsi. We all shared with the kids.

[Joker]

Both of my dds were allowed to have coffee or tea from about 7/8 years old (when they first asked). Youngest,12,  doesn't like either. Oldest, 14, loves black coffee but only herbal teas. She will drink black or green if I am out of herbal but she doesn't prefer either.

[Desert Strawberry]

FWIW, one of my babies was prescribed concentrated caffeine as an infant to keep his heart from stopping. It's commonly used in neonates. He had it from 10 weeks to 18 months with no ill effects. The only possible side effect I was warned of was  gastric irritation. 
 

My 8yo has been recommended to have a caffeinated beverage every morning (I don't keep up with that, but I should) to help his ADD symptoms. Much safer than prescription drugs. A stimulant is a stimulant, and caffeine is milder than most. 

 

I have trouble seeing a single cup of coffee or tea with milk as a harmful beverage. Surely no worse than chocolate cake?

 

[MeAndTheBoys]

We're in the south where sweet tea is king--we make a much less sweetened pitcher at home (about 1/4 cup sugar in 2 quarts of tea) and it is caffeinated.  They might drink 6-12 oz of that per day.

 

They drink soda sometimes at restaurants, and they all love coffee and get 2-4 oz of it at least once a week---

 

So I don't really "get" the concern about caffeinated tea; it hasn't crossed my mind that much.  Mostly the boys drink water anyway--

 

B--

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I don't give babies bottles or juice. I don't see taking a sip of tea as any different than a bite of chocolate.

 

I know what you're saying. I guess I don't see a bottle full of tea or a full cup of tea, which is what I was responding to, as the same as a sip of what a parent is drinking or a bite of chocolate. I gave my babies/toddlers bites or tastes of whatever I was eating or drinking, even if I didn't think it was particularly good for them. But I didn't fill their cup with it or let them eat a whole bar or plate of it. 

 

It's just my own opinion. I don't understand lots of things other parents do, but I do plenty of things other people here don't see as sensible or necessary *shrug* 

[liber]

My toddlers will have a few mouthfuls of my tea. My 8 year old will have a cup every morning.

[wintermom]

When ever they like the taste, I guess. My dc don't care for tea, and I don't push it. I do restrict their sugar-laden drinks, whether they be hot or cold, because of dental issues. 

 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Oops, I missed a bunch of posts, but again, to clarify, I was responding to the posts that mentioned babies and toddlers having bottles filled with tea, not kids who need a stimulant for a medical purpose or older children who are old enough to tell you how they're feeling or monitor it themselves.

[Desert Strawberry]

I guess my point is that if a 7 pound neonate can easily tolerate a massive amount of caffeine, surely a much larger child-say 8 to 12- can have a cup of tea.  

[Desert Strawberry]

And FTR. we don't give bottles or drinks other than milk and water to babies younger than two.  

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I guess my point is that if a 7 pound neonate can easily tolerate a massive amount of caffeine, surely a much larger child-say 8 to 12- can have a cup of tea.  

 

:thumbup1:

[The Girls' Mom]

I live in the south.  Sweet tea is consumed like water around here.  My kids all had tea as soon as they could drink out of a cup.  I don't make it regularly, usually only when we are having guests, and we drink water MOST of the time.  But, I've never even thought about not letting them have tea.  I guess it is such a part of the culture here it just didn't cross my mind.  Coffee with milk is pretty common at a young age here too.  Well, at least it was when I was growing up. 

 

 

[Joanne]

Utero?

[SilverMoon]

As soon as they learned to swipe my cup for a swig? My oldest was drinking a cup 'o joe daily by 12. *shrug*

[MiMi 4under3]

My grandmother gave me very weak (caffeinated) tea from a bottle starting at 6 months old. Since I drink decaf tea and coffee now, my kids have unlimited access to it.

 

But, before I switched to decaf, DC were 5, 5, 6, and 8 years old, and I allowed them one cup in the morning. I had read that a bit of caffeine was like a mild stimulant for their ADHD brains.  :D

[Arctic Bunny]

Having never given it a second thought..... I'm not sure.....in utero, most definitely.... After that, 3? 4?. Probably before they had hot chocolate and pop, though.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Ha! I hadn't thought about the in utero part. My oldest couldn't have caffeine even via my breastmilk. Even my consumption of chocolate chips in a granola bar would affect her sleep horribly. Hmmm...that doesn't bode well for her drinking caffeinated tea, does it? I'll have to watch her very carefully.

 

Thank goodness my youngest didn't have any problem with it or I would not have survived her first few years of life. And she's the one I suspect does have ADHD (as I suspect I do). Maybe she's the one I should be convincing to have a cup of Mango Ceylon. I'll need to give that some thought!