Is drinking decaf coffee harmful to children? You’ve may have heard the saying that drinking coffee will stunt your growth, but that is just a clever saying that a parent came up with to convince his child not to drink it. Is there really any truth to it?
Coffee contains some substances which could be harmful to children, but it will not hurt them if ingested in moderation. And “moderation” is the key word here. The bigger problem is that there is really no nutritional value to coffee, other than the minimal antioxidants it contains.
We normally want our children to always consume food and drinks that have a high nutritional quality, specially because this is during their formative years and anything they eat could play a part in their growth and development.
No long-term studies that I know of have been performed on the effects of coffee with kids. But common sense would tell you that a small cup of decaffeinated coffee every once in a while is not going to really harm your child.
I would definitely not recommend allowing your children to drink caffeinated coffee or any other caffeinated beverage for that matter. We all know how hyper and full of energy kids can be, and they don’t need the jolt of caffeine added on top of that.
Additionally, childrens’ systems are generally more sensitive than adults to toxins such as caffeine. It’s not a good idea to get them in the habit early to something that could develop into a problem later on.
But if your child is curious, or has already tried coffee and happens to love the taste, it won’t do a bit of harm to allow them the occasional cup as long as they understand that it is a treat and not something that is to be given too frequently.
From a health standpoint, it should be okay.
Vee
Concentrated corn syrup vs decaff coffee vs whatever, thanks for clearing up that it’s simply no nutritional value! 🙂
HealthClover
Glad to help. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Mmmhhm
Well, I think children should be allowed to drink coffee at the age of 10.
HealthClover
All right. There is no hard and fast rule as to what age it is okay for kids to drink a little bit of decaffeinated coffee.
Kristen Raymond
My son is 5 years old, & my daughter is 18 1/2 months. I have a Ninja Coffee Bar & I also just love coffee. My son loves the taste of all the drinks my husband and I make, so I thought there is no harm in buying decaf coffee so that he can have drinks of his own once in a while. Obviously not every day, but I don’t see the harm? Studies actually show that people that drink coffee are way less likely to develop dementia, Alzheimer’s, and certain types of diabetes. I don’t know if this applies to decaf, since there’s only like 7mg of actual caffeine in it. That’s not much considering that there’s about 30 mg of caffeine in a chocolate bar & we let our children indulge in that from time to time.
Anyway, I myself have been drinking coffee since I was very young & I wasn’t drinking decaf, that’s for sure. It’s just that I grew up in a house where there was always a pot of coffee on, day or night, so from a very young age I remember always loving it. I really don’t see what the big deal is, as long as it’s in moderation. Like with a lot of things, just use common sense judgement.
HealthClover
Thank you for your comments. I agree with you that decaf coffee is fine for children, in moderation. I love coffee too, but as a kid I just didn’t like the taste, which is pretty normal I think.
Slavo
Great. Thanks for your valuable comment. I am sure there are thousands people thinking that kids should be allowed to drink coffee from their 11th birthday, another thousands people from 12, others 13, etc. I am waiting for their comments as well.