She LOVES coffee! Is this wrong?

[SIZE=12pt]Mikayla has never been a big milk drinker, so one day our nanny gave her a few tablespoons of coffee in milk with a sweet vanilla creamer. Now she demands to have her COFFEE. She says, "Coffee NOW!" We, of course tell her to say please, but we have been giving it to her. Granted it is small doses, but is it wrong to give her coffee (just a few tablespoons in her milk) at this age?

Bridget[/SIZE]

 

I don' think a few spoons of coffee is any more caffeine than chocolate milk. You could get some coffee flavored syrup (do they sell that here?). DH gave Ainsley chocolate milk the other day (gasp! horrors!) and she LOVED it! And she doesn't really drink milk.

 

I don't have a problem with the coffee - mine love to take a sip of my frappuccino. I am not a fan of any "edible oil product" though and would shy away from creamers that are not made with cream.

All in all - won't hurt her a bit. There are many worse things - pop & such.

Maybe you could change out her "coffee" for Ovaltine or something like that. Maybe even put it in a different container.


Another coffee drinker is born :drinks:

 

Maybe you could buy some instant decaf to mix in....it could be her SPECIAL coffee! That way the caffeine worry would be gone!! We had struggles getting L & M to drink milk too..so I know how it feels when they finally start, you dont want to do anything to ruin it!!!!

 

Lauren can smell it coming in the door. She'll run up to DH and ask for a sip. I say no, but he always gives her a taste.

Probably not a wise habit to get into...

 

I find it amusing when i hear parents say that their kids "demand" things. And if they don't give in , the kids throw a fit. Who's the parent??
Yes, there are worse things to give children. But we as parents should not "give in". People wonder why their kids are so hyper and bouncing off the walls. They are too quick to say "there must be something wrong". Kids shouldn't be eating all the sugar,caffeine and other garbage that makes them hyper.

This is just my opinion.

 

I think a few spoonfuls won't do any harm. And if it gets her to drink milk, why not.

My girls have been having tea for a couple of years now they love it.

 

QUOTE(walker006 @ Jan 18 2008, 08:42 AM) [snapback]577862[/snapback]
I find it amusing when i hear parents say that their kids "demand" things. And if they don't give in , the kids throw a fit. Who's the parent??
Yes, there are worse things to give children. But we as parents should not "give in". People wonder why their kids are so hyper and bouncing off the walls. They are too quick to say "there must be something wrong". Kids shouldn't be eating all the sugar,caffeine and other garbage that makes them hyper.

This is just my opinion.

Did anyone say anything about their child bouncing off the walls? I think Bridget was using "demand" just to give us a visual image, she did say she expects her to ask politely. And if she truly did not want her to have milk with a couple spoonfuls of coffee, she wouldn't have given it to her in the first place.
I see nothing wrong with giving something with a little sugar or caffeine every once in a while. I give Ainsley a taste of chocolate sometimes. I gave Bea a piece, and she spit it out and now she says "Bea no like chocolate". She also doesn't like cookies.

 

I have no idea whether it's right or wrong. It reminds me of DH's cousin (grown man now....) who is SOOOO addicted to coffee that he has to have a pretty steady stream of it all day long. He started as a child too.

I'm wickedly addicted to ice tea, so I can't talk!

 

I drank coffee as a kid/toddler and my mom is convinced it stunt my growth. Otherwise, I drink very fru-fru coffee drinks now, can't stand black cooffee!

 

no it's not wrong
it's not like you are letting her drink the entire pot of strong black coffee or using huge spoonfuls of sugar. I say if she is drinking her milk with a couple teaspoons of coffee in it - then it is really mostly milk anyway. My grandmother used to do it for us and I am not a big coffee drinker now - but I sure do have great memories of our cafe ole as she used to call it -

in this day and time - nothing we buy is totally pure - and as others have said there are much worse things - remember those candy cigarettes?

 

If my 3 yr old wanted coffee (in the context being spoken of here - lol) I would totally let him have it. We go to Starbucks just about every day and he orders his own "coffee", which is actually sugar free vanilla milk . My son is not a whole milk lover, and if he will drink it with sugar free flavor, he can have it all day long. My son does have a horrid reaction to sugar and I do limit it as much as possible. I have found "Disney Magic" and ""Moo Magic" sugar free milk flavor in chocolate and vanilla.

Donna

 

My friend's little brother used to have a spoonful of coffee in his milk regularly. He's now a tall, talented, and funny young man who still enjoys coffee. My girls are fascinated with our coffee but we have so far refrained from giving them a taste. That will probably change soon enough. They LOVE tea.

I see nothing wrong with a bit of coffee in milk, but I plan to use decaf when my kids start drinking it.

 

I would never give a toddler caffeine, they have their own natural energy and don't need stimulants.

 

My 3 yr old sneaks drinks of my coffee, and has since he was able to hold the cup (around 18 months). He is incredibly tall for his age (most people think he is almost 5, not almost 4). And, he has just as much energy on the days he doesn't sneak drinks as the days he does sneak drinks. I wouldn't poor him a big old cup, but I have used coffee as a "reward" for things. And that means mostly milk with some coffee in it.

 

I'm trying to introduce my girls to as many foods and flavors as possible, and even with that, they get on kicks where all they want is one thing or another. I say go for it, as long as it's in moderation, which is definitely what is sounds like you are doing.

 

I don't think a few teaspoons are going to hurt her, especially if that is the only way she will drink milk.

 

My girls don't like it, proablaby because DH and I make it STRONG. But all their cousins drink coffee, not the coffee DH and I drink, but Mexican mild, cinnamony, sweet cafe-con-leche. I agree that I doubt the way your daughter is drinking it has anymore caffine than a hot chocolate. You could also follow the suggestion of getting some decaf. (Oh and I also think the artificial creamer is probably worse than the coffee!)

 

QUOTE(summerfun @ Jan 18 2008, 12:55 PM) [snapback]578315[/snapback]
I don't think a few teaspoons are going to hurt her, especially if that is the only way she will drink milk.



Ditto! :good:

 

I would try and wean her off it till she's just drinking milk. My boys are OBSESSED with my morning cup of crack but i never let them taste it I don't need even a slight increase in their energy levels.

 

Have you tried Ovaltine?

 

My kids get 1 teaspoon of my coffee everyday. I don't think that trivial amount is going to affect their activity level or have any negative impact on their health. They also like chocolate and I'm sure there is way more caffeine in that than there is in the tiny amount of coffee I give them.

 

I agree with trying the caffeine free version, then there is really no worries.

 

QUOTE(Meximeli @ Jan 18 2008, 02:15 PM) [snapback]578351[/snapback]
(Oh and I also think the artificial creamer is probably worse than the coffee!)
It isn't artificial creamer it is the International French vanilla that comes in a bottle that you store in the refrigerator. I think she likes the vanilla sugary taste better than the coffee actually.

Bridget

 

QUOTE(marieber @ Jan 18 2008, 04:37 PM) [snapback]578669[/snapback]
Have you tried Ovaltine?


Yes I have and she likes that too, but she still wants her coffee.

Bridget

 

QUOTE(Snittens @ Jan 18 2008, 11:45 AM) [snapback]578067[/snapback]
Did anyone say anything about their child bouncing off the walls? I think Bridget was using "demand" just to give us a visual image, she did say she expects her to ask politely. And if she truly did not want her to have milk with a couple spoonfuls of coffee, she wouldn't have given it to her in the first place.
I see nothing wrong with giving something with a little sugar or caffeine every once in a while. I give Ainsley a taste of chocolate sometimes. I gave Bea a piece, and she spit it out and now she says "Bea no like chocolate". She also doesn't like cookies.


Thanks Kelly! We do not take Mikayla's attitude and we always make her say please. My husband is VERY good at discipline and wants children with manners. Even tho I'm always working on behavior management, I still would not let her get away with that. She never "bounces off the walls" she is my good, controlled child. Michael on the other hand probably would "bounce off the walls" but we never give him caffeine except every once in a while in a chocolate chip cookie.

Bridget

 

I admit it kind of gives me pause, but logically I can't find anything wrong with it. I would probably use decaf though, just because kids are so much smaller than we are -- a few tablespoons to her might be the equivalent of half a cup to us!

But really, it's just another flavor. In Rhode Island they actually sell coffee milk in the stores, just like chocolate milk. (There's your geographic oddity for the day -- the things you learn when you go to college in R.I.!)

 

Here is my opinion if you want it....

I think that people in general need to change their definitions of "wrong" and "bad"

Wrong and bad are the people who are abusing their children, neglecting them, throwing them off bridges, etc.

Yes, we should all strive to make good decisions as often as possible - but we also need to look at the big picture.

My oldest wouldn't drink milk for the longest time until he discovered chocolate milk. Slowly, we were able to go from chocolate syrup to ovaltine...but he was happy and healthy. He also went through a stage when he wouldn't eat anything unless it was in a sandwich. We made oatmeal sandwiches, pb sandwiches, taco sandwiches, etc etc.

The twins went through their stage where everything had to be a chicken nugget...

If we were talking about alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs...then I would have concerns.