I was chatting with a few mothers this weekend about caffeine and how some mothers freely offer it to their children and others don't all together. I was surprised as I seen 3 children all under the age of 10 in a store drinking an adult size cold coffee. As I was sharing this with these gals they began to express their surprise with the trend now a days for our young teens to want a certain coffee drink all the time. I have an 11 year old who will often ask to go to this coffee house to get a treat. Hmmm, I remember despising the smell of coffee as a young child. Matter of fact my when my parents brewed their daily pot coffee the smell of it made me sick. The left over grinds on the counter reminded me of the bitterness I felt for coffee lol. Kids were not supposed to like the smell right? So why is it now that this new generation of kids has a love for coffee. Has a trend and style to drink coffee turned into an addiction? We know ladies that coffee is addicting. I sadly love my cup or 2 I drink a day. The smell of it makes me smile. I wanted to share a few reasons kids maybe should not drink too much caffeine through coffee and or soft drinks as well as eat it through chocolate. I, in no means want to tell you how to raise your children and tell you what is right or wrong because I as a mom am so far from perfect. If were to be honest, I would tell you my son loved Soda and sneaks sips of my coffee here and there. However becoming more aware that its not good for his health is driving me to encourage drinking less of the sugary caffeinated items and encourage and pump in more water. I must say it is working with consistency.
Too much caffeine in kids can have these side affects.
- jitteriness and nervousness
- upset stomach
- headaches
- difficulty concentrating
- difficulty sleeping
- increased heart rate
- increased blood pressure
That's just a few ways that caffeine is affecting our children when they consume too much of it. If children are half our size and consume the same amount of caffeine that we do, what does that look like for their overall health? One fun fact I found in my research is that caffeine DOES NOT stunt growth. No research has proof to that statement. People who are short such as myself can place no blame on caffeine. We simply were created this short by our beautiful Creator.
Just in case you were wondering...
1 chocolate bar contains 70 mg
1 cup of coffee contains 95 mg
1 cup of soda 12 fl oz contains
29-34 mg
29-34 mg
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