Children and Caffeine
- By Lisa Soesbe
- •
- 30 Mar, 2018
- •
Why we should be mindful of how much caffeine is in our child's cup
When I was pregnant, I remember my doctor telling me to steer clear of caffeine during the pregnancy. This was tough for me because I was a person who used to drink diet caffeinated soda and coffee on a daily basis. However, I quit cold turkey as soon as I found out I was pregnant. The main reason doctors tell you to stay away from caffeine while you are pregnant is that you can increase your chances of having a miscarriage. Moms who breastfeed should also limit caffeine intake because too much caffeine can result in the baby developing sleeping problems, colic symptoms, acid reflux, being overactive, etc. Both my children slept through the night by the time they were two and a half months old. I truly believe that it was because my caffeine intake was very low during both pregnancies and while breastfeeding. I have never allowed my children to consume drinks like iced tea, soda, or coffee because of all of the negative effects on a growing child's body. Keep reading and you will understand why.
Caffeine is a stimulant that acts on the central nervous system. Because children are more sensitive to caffeine's effects than adults, they should consume a LOT less caffeine than adults, if any. As parents, we should be mindful of how much they are taking in on a daily basis. Too much caffeine can cause children to become nervous, anxious, and hyperactive. Over-consumption of caffeine in children can also affect their sleep and worsen stomach issues. It is possible that a child can be misdiagnosed with an anxiety disorder because they are consuming too much caffeine and if a child already has an anxiety disorder, caffeine can surely make the problem worse. Since coffee is a diuretic and makes you urinate more, this also leads to calcium loss. For every 100 grams of caffeine a person consumes, they lose 6 grams of calcium, an important mineral required for healthy bone development in children.
To put this in perspective, I will give you a few examples of drinks and the amount of caffeine they contain:
For a more extensive list of popular drinks and their caffeine amounts, check out this chart.
As you can see the amount of caffeine a child consumes in a day can really add up quickly if you are not paying attention and unfortunately can result in a variety of health issues. Not to mention that many of these drinks also usually contain a lot of added sugar. This is also true for adults. I recently realized that too much coffee makes me extremely anxious and jittery so I try to stick to a small cup or a mix of decaf and regular coffee for my morning cup of coffee.
Caffeine is a stimulant that acts on the central nervous system. Because children are more sensitive to caffeine's effects than adults, they should consume a LOT less caffeine than adults, if any. As parents, we should be mindful of how much they are taking in on a daily basis. Too much caffeine can cause children to become nervous, anxious, and hyperactive. Over-consumption of caffeine in children can also affect their sleep and worsen stomach issues. It is possible that a child can be misdiagnosed with an anxiety disorder because they are consuming too much caffeine and if a child already has an anxiety disorder, caffeine can surely make the problem worse. Since coffee is a diuretic and makes you urinate more, this also leads to calcium loss. For every 100 grams of caffeine a person consumes, they lose 6 grams of calcium, an important mineral required for healthy bone development in children.
As per the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) children should have no more than the following amounts of caffeine per day:
- 5 mg (4-6 years old)
- 62.5 mg (7-9 years old)
- 85 mg (10-12 years old)
- 100 mg (12-18 years old)
To put this in perspective, I will give you a few examples of drinks and the amount of caffeine they contain:
- A medium Dunkin Donuts coffee contains approximately 210 mg of caffeine
- An 8oz. serving of iced tea contains approximately 47 mg of caffeine
- A 20 oz. Pepsi contains approximately 67 mg of caffeine
- A 1 oz. package of Jelly Belly Extreme Sports Beans contains approximately 50 mg of caffeine
For a more extensive list of popular drinks and their caffeine amounts, check out this chart.
As you can see the amount of caffeine a child consumes in a day can really add up quickly if you are not paying attention and unfortunately can result in a variety of health issues. Not to mention that many of these drinks also usually contain a lot of added sugar. This is also true for adults. I recently realized that too much coffee makes me extremely anxious and jittery so I try to stick to a small cup or a mix of decaf and regular coffee for my morning cup of coffee.
Have you ever bribed your children with sweet treats to get them to do something? Let’s face it, we have all done this before. I’ll be the first one to say I have done this until I realized why I should stop the cycle.
In schools, sporting clubs, and other activities where children are involved, people reward children with candy and other unhealthy snacks. There are even popular lesson plans used in schools that include using M&M’s or Skittles; after the children use the treats for their lesson, they get to eat them as their reward. In American society, this has now become the norm. Go to the barbershop and Johnny gets a treat because he sat so nicely for his haircut. Go to dance class and little Mary gets a piece of candy at the end of class. Go to the bank and Joey gets a lollipop for being a good boy in the bank. It goes on and on. The people that assume that this is okay think, “What’s the big deal?”. This may even be you! I will tell you why this is such a big deal. This is affecting our children both physically and emotionally.
In schools, sporting clubs, and other activities where children are involved, people reward children with candy and other unhealthy snacks. There are even popular lesson plans used in schools that include using M&M’s or Skittles; after the children use the treats for their lesson, they get to eat them as their reward. In American society, this has now become the norm. Go to the barbershop and Johnny gets a treat because he sat so nicely for his haircut. Go to dance class and little Mary gets a piece of candy at the end of class. Go to the bank and Joey gets a lollipop for being a good boy in the bank. It goes on and on. The people that assume that this is okay think, “What’s the big deal?”. This may even be you! I will tell you why this is such a big deal. This is affecting our children both physically and emotionally.
If there is one thing I am good at, it is stretching a dollar. This is one reason I love getting gift cards for gifts. I know that I am great at getting as much out of that gift card that I can by shopping myself. It is like a game for me to see how much stuff I can get with a gift card paired with sales and coupons. Call me weird but it saves me money! I do the same thing when it comes to purchasing groceries. I have standards when it comes to the food I am eating and feeding my family. Food is one of the most important things that you buy and what kind of food you are buying matters in terms of your health. So while I would much rather to be able to purchase good food than sport a luxury purse or designer clothing, I still like to stretch my food dollars as much as possible. If I told you that you can actually get cash back for eating healthy, would you believe me?
I want to share a little hack I discovered a long time ago that I use a lot and pretty much for any online shopping. Have you ever heard of Ebates ? If you are not a member, you are going to want to click on the word Ebates anywhere in this post and sign up today because it will save you lots of money on anything you buy and if you use the referral link, once you sign up and spend $25 or more, you will get $10. If you are not a member you have nothing to lose because it costs you nothing. Do you shop online at all? Chances are your favorite retailer is on Ebates and you will get paid for your normal shopping routine just by signing into Ebates first and then going to your favorite site. Some examples of stores I am talking about are Target, Walmart, Kohl's and even Amazon! You simply must check this out.
Now, let me tell you about how I get cash back for eating healthy. My hack is to log in to Ebates and then shop the sales on Vitacost.com. Vitacost is an online health and wellness store with over 45,000 products. They also tend to have the best prices on most things. This gives me great savings because I can buy stuff like organic coconut milk, raw nuts, soy free chocolate chips, nut butters, and gluten-free flours as well as personal care items like deodorant, shampoo and conditioner from Vitacost when it is on sale and if I am buying through Ebates I will normally get at least 3% cash back from Vitacost. They also offer free 2-day shipping on orders over $49 so I usually order stuff that I will need for the month in one order so that I can save on shipping as well.
I want to share a little hack I discovered a long time ago that I use a lot and pretty much for any online shopping. Have you ever heard of Ebates ? If you are not a member, you are going to want to click on the word Ebates anywhere in this post and sign up today because it will save you lots of money on anything you buy and if you use the referral link, once you sign up and spend $25 or more, you will get $10. If you are not a member you have nothing to lose because it costs you nothing. Do you shop online at all? Chances are your favorite retailer is on Ebates and you will get paid for your normal shopping routine just by signing into Ebates first and then going to your favorite site. Some examples of stores I am talking about are Target, Walmart, Kohl's and even Amazon! You simply must check this out.
Now, let me tell you about how I get cash back for eating healthy. My hack is to log in to Ebates and then shop the sales on Vitacost.com. Vitacost is an online health and wellness store with over 45,000 products. They also tend to have the best prices on most things. This gives me great savings because I can buy stuff like organic coconut milk, raw nuts, soy free chocolate chips, nut butters, and gluten-free flours as well as personal care items like deodorant, shampoo and conditioner from Vitacost when it is on sale and if I am buying through Ebates I will normally get at least 3% cash back from Vitacost. They also offer free 2-day shipping on orders over $49 so I usually order stuff that I will need for the month in one order so that I can save on shipping as well.
How we prevented a potentially bad situation by paying close attention
In the words of Ellen Degeneres, "Be Kind to One Another"
