My 2 1/2 yr old kid LOVES cofee!!!?

Question

I drink coffee or tea one cup in a day (with milk added). when i was drinking my kid was asking for it so i just gave little. now she just loves it and today she drank one full cup of tea with me. She dislikes milk so, is it ok to give evening tea to my kid? i recently stopped bottle feed in the day time. she still drinks in bottle in the night time when she is asleep. she is underweight so, i did not want to be strict on her bottle habit. I tried many chocolate drinks in cup but, she just hates it and asks for bottle. what do you suggest. thanks.

Answer 1

Kids really really really don't need the caffeine.  If she likes hot beverages, you could try either decaffeinated teas or herbal teas, but personally I wouldn't want to start my kid at that age on anything that wasn't actually healthy for them.  

Tea and coffee aren't going to help with being underweight, and may just be making her crave tastes that aren't going to help nourish her, and thereby make the weight problem worse.  At 2 1/2, she should be getting the vast majority of her calories from food.  If she's so underweight that the doctor is concerned, you can try things like adding olive oil to her food or giving other milk products like full-fat yogurt or cheese.  You can also ask whether she's so underweight that it would be prudent to give her Pediasure.  Otherwise, stick to water for her beverages and feed her lots of healthy food.  

I'd urge you to talk to your pediatrician and dentist about the nighttime bottle.  It's a concern for kids' teeth to be sucking on a bottle in the night, and I'd also be worried it was interfering with a good night's sleep to be waking up to drink from a bottle at that age.

Answer 2

What a dumb question. Aren't you smart enough to know you dont give a 2 1/2 year old coffee???? I dont think anything is wrong with giving a bottle, especially if she is under-weight. Who cares what people think. But come on.... Coffee...

Answer 3

If she really wants tea try and get hold of a South Africa tea called Rooibos Tea (Redbush tea) not sure if you are in the UK or US but you can get it at most health shops. it is caffeine free and high in anti-oxidants and is very healthy. A cup of rooibos before bedtime will also help you relax.

Answer 4

She is too old for a bottle, and you are actually making things worse by continuing to give them to her. She needs to stop filling up on milk at night, which no longer contains all the nutrients she needs, and to be hungry at mealtimes. Plus caffeine is an appetite suppressant!

Not to mention that bottle feeding while asleep can cause awful, awful tooth decay. A little girl at my son's playgroup had to have eight or ten teeth extracted at three because she'd always been given a bottle to self soothe with at night and they were so rotten.

Throw the bottle away today. Just say No. Forget chocolate drinks and give her some actual nutritious FOOD. If she won't drink milk, then give her yogurt or cheese or custard.

Answer 5

*1 Me personally think a 21/2 yr old is way toooo old for a bottle and # 2 think about what caffeine does to an adult let alone a child... no coffee is NOT good for a child...  Coffee is a stimulant so unless you want a wound up child  I wouldnt give it to them... ( also a two yr old has many teeth and you continuing to have the child on a bottle PROMOTES tooth decay!!!

added...Coffee puts the system under the strain of metabolizing a deadly acid-forming drug, depositing its insoluble cellulose, which cements the wall of the liver, causing this vital organ to swell to twice its proper size. In addition, coffee is heavily sprayed. (Ninety-two pesticides are applied to its leaves.) Diuretic properties of caffeine cause potassium and other minerals to be flushed from the body.

Answer 6

Do you know how bad it is for a child to have caffeine and why does she still have a bottle, i would talk to your doctor if your child is underweight its not good nourishment in giving a child chocolate milk and coffee he can provide a supplement for her to either drink or add to her food