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Babies Sipping Lattes?
What You Should Know Before You Offer That Sip
By Emily Mendell
Michelle Poll, a registered nurse in Levittown, Pa., and mother of two boys, makes coffee for herself or goes out for a cup every morning. When her youngest, Dalton, was 2 1/2 he started asking for his own coffee.
"He wanted to be like Mommy," Poll says. "I wouldn't buy him his own but I would give him just a few sips of mine. I don't see the harm in just a little as long as he doesn't become addicted. The studies about the benefits and drawbacks of caffeine are so conflicting."
"Young children learn their eating and drinking habits from imitating their parents," says Lisa Jones, a registered dietician and nutritionist who works with children in Southeastern Pennsylvania. "Moms and Dads have to keep this in mind and serve as good nutritional role models."
To that end, Jones says that parents should think twice before letting their toddlers take sips of their coffee drinks. "It is generally a bad idea to give kids caffeine for a number of reasons," Jones says. "It can interfere with sleep patterns, increase hyperactivity and contribute to dehydration. Remember children drink less than adults and caffeine is a natural diuretic."
So will offering one or two sips of a coffee drink send your child on a dangerous path to a hard-core caffeine addiction? Jones is realistic but at the same time recommends caution.
"The myth that caffeine stunts your growth is just that – a myth," Jones says. "A few sips here or there are not going to harm your child's health long term. But caffeine has addictive properties. If you are at Starbucks a few times a week and sharing your drink, you are setting bad habits for your child at a very young age."
