At what age would you allow your child to have caffeine?

[Trillian]

Onyx, I think fear is a great demotivator
There are days I wish I suffered from Caffophobia

Me too, and then I wouldn't feel like the pot calling the kettle black when I'm having an ice coffee or a coke and telling my kids they can't have any because it's bad for them. Saying that 'it's different because I'm an adult' isn't going to fly for much longer

[Rouge]

No it doesn't fly for much longer.

I had a woman at T2 explain the damages for children and caffeine as oppose to the effects on adults and how whilst it still wasn't great it wasn't as bad. DD hasn't even asked since then. And will only drink "white" teas because she knows there is no caffeine. And I like to think that was education rather than fear mongering... right? RIGHT?!

[nothing2lose]

Did I say fear is a great demotivator?????? Errrrr, I meant Education..... Education is a great demotivator

[Rouge]

N2L I think it was probably fear through education is a great demotivator heh

[Aussiegirl777]

When DS turns one his first taste of chocolate will be his birthday cake. Other than that I don't think I will promote soft drink in our home. Maybe if it's a special occasion at someones birthday party I would like him have some. As for coffee and tea, if he's interested in those I would discourage coffee until highschool but I don't think there would be much harm in a weak, milky tea every now and then.

[Beach Mama]

Mine has a bottle of Mountain Dew and Red Bull and chugs it down before a pageant. Makes her SO energetic....

Oh sorry hang on that's not me, that is THIS lady in the US... GoGo crack juice - only in the US??!?!

None for ours for a long time, fizzy drink like lemonade very occasionally at a birthday party etc and even then they both like to have a sip or 2 and that's all. DS in particular doesn't like overly sweet stuff luckily!

As for Coke type drinks I think it would be a long time away. I have recently cut out DC from my own diet for health reasons plus I didn't want them seeing me chugging a glass or 2 a night every night like I was doing so am hopefully leading by example from now!! Mine are pretty happy with some juice occasionally instead.

[~ Mylitta ~]

My eldest step son is about to turn 15 and he still isn't allowed caffeinated drinks in our house. He lives primarily with us and I don't know the rules specifically at his mum's house, but knowing her she would be even more strict about it than us.

He likes a cup of tea every now and then, but he either has chai tea or my decaffeinated tea.

Sometimes when we go out to family parties where there is coke available he'll "sneak" a glass of coke, but it's such a rare thing that we tend to let it slide and just tell him to stick with water after that. Obviously we can't control what he is drinking at other people's houses, but at 15 I'm more worried about the possibility of him drinking alcohol at friend's houses than I am about a caffeinated drink.

[Cranky Kitten]

DD is almost 10 and I will allow her the odd coke drink, but certainly not on a regular basis. Same as she occasionally has a cup of tea, but thankfully doesn't like coffee yet. I started drinking "coffee" in year 11, yes it was instant which I no longer have in the house. So if she wants to drink coffee, she has to learn to make proper coffee. Energy drinks she can have when she has a job and can buy her own, no way known am I getting them for her considering the effects they have on me.

Since falling pregnant with DS I have pretty well cut all energy drinks, most coke and other such things out of my own diet. I tend to drink mainly water, milk or milo. Occasionally juice and in winter it's mostly herbal teas.