Ever since she was 2, my middle child has loved coffee. Every morning we make her a small cup of coffee-milk. About 1/6 coffee and the rest milk. I don't know if this is a southern thing but most of our relatives have done this or currently do this.

She loves the smell and taste of it. When it's brewing, she runs into the kitchen. My 7 y/o son hates coffee. My 4 y/o would prefer a straight cup but we water it down with a ton of milk.

Anyone else do this?

My son has been dipping his bread in our coffee since he could pick up a piece of bread. And drinking our coffee when he can get to it. Like you, we don't let him go nuts.

If the kid as ADHD some have found coffee to be a big help

I can see this being accurate. I have ADD and can't have too much strong coffee or other caffeinated items (mints, gum, etc.) or I'll get super drowsy. Same effect as taking a benedryl.

I don't think there is anything wrong with giving kids a little bit of coffee every now and then or even everyday. It's common in Mexico to give kids a small cup with cinnamon and milk added. It's certainly no worse than giving kids sugar/corn-syrup laden "juices." My soon to be ex's son always had "coffee nilk" with his grandmother.

Even giving children a little taste of wine or beer isn't that big of a deal, IMO.

I was on a plane from Europe once and there was a dad letting his little 2 year old drink wine from the bottle.

Yeah, we don't let our kids sample alcohol, but plenty of our kids cousins get sips of their parent's beer.

In this area or Louisiana, most people in their 50's and older we're given small amounts of whiskey as infants when they wouldn't go to sleep. We don't do that though...lol

Yup, I'm in the over 50 crowd from the mid-west. When my babies were teething and wouldn't sleep, my mom always advised that I dip my finger in a little brandy and rub it on their gums. It worked most of the time.
Most people I knew growing up always had a bottle of brandy in their cupboard (for medicinal purposes) ;-)

This was how I was brought up. Soothers or face cloths dipped in brandy while I was teething and once older, a Hot Toddy fixed everything else. Still does! ;-)

(and I turned out ok, fwiw)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2012 03:08PM by spaghetti oh.

When my son is having an asthma attack the Doctor told me to give him a cup of coffee. It has always helped and growing up all my South American friends (that my parents would actually let me play with that weren't members) drank cups of coffee every day with *gasp* real sugar. One is a University professor now, one is an RN now and one is a Doctor. I guess it didn't hurt them much. :)

I probably wouldn't have let my son, but then I think about all the crap I did let him have.

Sigh ... I need a do-over! :)

The drugs we tried didn't help him that much, created mood problems in him, and when we realized he hadn't grown in two years, and was just plain bony, that was it - I switched him to about 4-6 oz twice a day, a small cup with sweetened milk with breakfast, and again with lunch. It's been 3 months since we switched him and he's grown almost an inch and gained 7 pounds. I can only see his ribs now when he puts his arms over his head.

Yea coffee!


Sorry, but I have to share this darling little comment again, from a youtube video comment section:

you know when they found the titanic they found a bunch of brown bags but you know what? they were not brown bags they were stomuchs! coffee rust! thats freaking sick! coffee coated there stomuchs. look at a coffee persons stomuch verses a healthy stomach that doesnt drink it. that stuff is nasty! Its the human race that drinks pop not just Mormons. we are taught not to harm our bodys, we are temples, we don't smoke, drink, and we sure dont know anything that is allegal bothtothelandoreyeofgod.

hanypants

It seems that stimulants can calm kids with ADD and coffee can have fewer side effects than other drugs prescribed by doctors.

I'm glad it worked for your son.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2012 09:58AM by Cheryl.

About that youtube comment, Sounds like someone failed biology in high school... The human race drinks pop so that makes it ok? What about all the humans that drink coffee? This person is so confused...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2012 09:41AM by southern.

We were given half coffee/half mik as small children--and we were told it was an Italian thing.

We were given heavily watered-down wine at dinner starting about age 9, in very small glasses, which were (I think) for sherry--also told that was an Italian thing.

I think, if it is not hurting her (just ask your Pediatrician for their advice on that one), then whatever anyone else has to say about it is just background noise.

I bet she loves spending the time with you more than those few drops of actual coffee she's managing to get. I know I loved my "wine" glass from back in the day...and sitting on my mom;s lap at the "big people" table, using it, too. I loved it so much, that when my Nonna died, it (plus the set of others) was one of the things she earmarked for me, in her will. I still use them, with a non-matching decanter, for cordials.

Happy memories. Enjoy making new ones, with your daughter!

Yeah, I have very pleasant memories of coffee also. My parents never let us have coffee, but my Grandmother always let me have a little coffee in my milk when I stayed overnight with her. Loved it! Nothing is better than home-made bread, toasted, buttered and dunked in coffee.

Also I remeber those times when I'd wake up early to the smell of coffee perking and hear the soft voices of my parents in the kitchen trying to NOT wake the children as they enjoyed those first quiet moments of the day. Always made me feel like all was well with my world. And I'd snuggle down and go back to sleep.

Coffee? Horrors! I don't think my folks drank it often, since it was a luxury item, not necessary. We weren't poor, but they had to be frugal, and coffee was a frill.

"The soft voices of my parents in the kitchen trying to NOT wake the children as they enjoyed those first quiet moments of the day. Always made me feel like all was well with my world. And I'd snuggle down and go back to sleep." wrote sgc. Me too. Now I'm all verklemmt.

I've got one hell of a buzz going, but I think it's time for an espresso machine.

She is 7 now but has enjoyed milk coffee from her sippy cup since she was 3.

outside of Mormonism, it's no big deal.

I've heard of this, it's not uncommon. I think "coffee milk" is actually pretty common for kids in some European countries.

Here in Rhode Island, coffee milk is a standard thing. You can order a coffee milk just like chocolate milk. Autocrat syrup is on every store shelf. :)

I find coffee to be a great way to keep my spring allergies at bay and open up my sinuses in the morning. I've seen plenty of parents who do the same for their kids. They usually either moderate the size of the coffee or cut it with cream and sugar (as many people do here anyway).

I was at a business meeting in Miami many years ago. The Cubans in Miami have this wonderful tradition of taking Cafe Cubano breaks (approximately every 15 minutes or so it felt). The sweet little Cuban secretary would make Cuban coffee (it's really strong, like espresso) and would make the rounds a few times a day in the conference room, passing out little coffee shooters.

I have never been so wired in my life. :>)

Toward the end of the day (Cubans have a very family-oriented culture, not unlike mormons, only their nice to their children), one of the women's 7-year-old daughter appeared in the office after school. We were just starting our 3rd (15th? I dunno, I lost track) round of coffee shooters when I noticed the mom handing off a Cafe Cubano to the little girl. She sucked it down like a pro and then licked every last drop of coffee out of her little cup. She wasn't allowed to have three more (she was asking though), but nobody batted an eye about the child having a little coffee. It's a cultural thing.

Which sort of begs the question about mormonism being very ethnocentric -- if mormonism was truly a gospel restored for the entire earth, there's a whole lot of cultures and practices that Old Joe was obviously completely ignorant of.

There is nothing wrong with coffee -- or anything else -- in moderation.

Just go to the Middle East and watch the children drink the cardamom coffee there!
To return to the mormon theme though, watching my cousin's face as her 3 year old son tries to snatch my latte from my hands in an icecream parlor is priceless. It took me a long time to pluck up the courage to drink coffee in front of her, and some day, when her back is turned I might just let my nephew have that mouthful that he clearly wants... or maybe I might be more mature that day and decide to respect her beliefs.

I live in Miami and you are so right about the Cuban culture around here...i always wondered how those kids could stay up till past midnight...i am talking about babies,toddlers,et al. Its the coffee!!

EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH RALPHY MAY AND HIS EXPERIENCE WITH CUBAN COFFEE!! IT IS TOO DAMN FUNNY:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDcQoUHVukw



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2012 10:34AM by bignevermo.

Man, I could have run home the 9 hours to North Florida after that day of Cubano shooters every couple hours. I don't think I slept for at least a day or two after that. LOL

I forgot, I wanted to add before:

Even my DOG loves coffee. Especially with a little Bailey's in it. She has counter-surfed and stolen three French presses out of the kitchen sink, and then promptly dropped them on the tile. The carafe smashes into bits, she licks up coffee & grounds until I come running with the mop. More than once, she's stuck her giant bully snout into my morning cup of java. I have no choice but to drink the dog's backwash because I'm not sacrificing a whole cup of delicious coffee to the dog. LOL We just share.

Coffee is not injurious to people, not even to children. Many kids around the world drink coffee. My Midwestern parents from southern Indiana drank coffee as kids. I drank coffee as a kid. In many poor South American cultures coffee is all they have to drink in the morning.

Far worse are sugary drinks.

This small of an amount is no big deal.

My mom let me sip her coffee when I was a child with no ill effects.

+1 "Far worse are sugary drinks."

Coffee is not crack cocaine and sugar is a bigger threat to human health. Coffee is not the dangerous element Mormons make it out to be. There are real problems that should be dealt with long before anyone worries about a four year old and few sips of coffee.

In our house. Ever since I was a kid. We introduce kids to wine, beer, and coffee at age 4. Nephew 5, likes a cup of mild coffee with his eggs when he's out with the guys.

the last drop of his coffee.

Wow! I'm not alone!

Interesting stories and comments!

Thanks y'all!

One I most favourite memories of my Dad is he and I out at some job site (he built homes) in the woods. It was a cool, crisp fall morning and he poured me a cup of coffee out of his thermos. It was so delicious and warm. I was about 6 I guess and have loved coffee ever since. The smell still can take me right back to that day.

Yay for coffee!