When can children start drinking coffee? The question tends to divide people. Coffee is not only flavour and aroma: above all it is caffeine, a psychoactive substance that affects the whole body. For adults, the morning cup is close to a ritual. For children and teenagers the picture is far more complicated. Specialists point out that a growing body is particularly sensitive to caffeine, which is why it is worth knowing what amounts are safe for younger drinkers. Below we look at the official recommendations for children and teenagers, and at the health consequences that can follow from drinking too much. Is a small sip of coffee a harmless treat, or does it carry some risk? We look for the answers in the current research and in what specialists say.
What age can you drink coffee?
There is no single official age at which coffee becomes acceptable, but health organisations do give specific recommendations, and they are worth knowing before coffee turns up in a younger person’s diet.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) firmly advises against caffeine for children under 12. In other words, wait a while before the youngest members of the household start experimenting with a cup.
Canadian guidelines go into more detail and set safe caffeine doses for children and teenagers:
- 4-6 years: up to 45 mg of caffeine a day (roughly half a cup of weak coffee),
- 7-9 years: up to 62.5 mg a day,
- 10-12 years: up to 85 mg a day,
- Teenagers aged 13 and over: up to 2.5 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight, but no more than 100 mg a day.
In practice this means that even a small espresso, with roughly 60-80 mg of caffeine, can already push a younger child over the recommended limit. Before giving a child coffee, talk to your paediatrician and take the individual child into account.
Can children drink coffee, and from what age?
Children should not drink coffee regularly, though the occasional small amount of caffeine is not automatically treated as dangerous. What matters is that parents keep track of the total caffeine in their child’s diet. What is a daily ritual for an adult can be too strong a stimulant for a child.
Caffeine reaches children from more than coffee:
- Chocolate: around 20 mg of caffeine in a bar of milk chocolate,
- Tea: 30 to 50 mg per cup,
- Energy drinks: often 100 to 150 mg of caffeine per can,
- Cola: around 40 mg in 330 ml.
If a child already has these, one extra cup of coffee can easily take them past the recommended dose. That can lead to unwanted effects: restlessness, trouble sleeping and a disrupted daily rhythm.
Reasons for teenagers to be careful with coffee
Older teenagers can reach for a cup now and then, but a young body is especially sensitive to caffeine. Drinking too much brings a set of side effects worth knowing about:
- Sleep problems: caffeine disturbs the natural daily rhythm, which can make falling asleep harder and leave sleep broken and unrefreshing.
- Restlessness and poor concentration: high doses of caffeine can cause irritability, excess activity and difficulty focusing, which shows up in schoolwork and everything around it.
- Heart problems: caffeine raises the heart rate and blood pressure, which can be risky for young people already prone to cardiac problems or high blood pressure.
- Calcium absorption: regularly drinking a lot of coffee can make it harder to absorb calcium, a mineral that matters for bone development during a growth spurt.
- Dependence: taking caffeine systematically can lead to dependence, and stopping suddenly often brings headaches, tiredness and irritability.
Which coffee is best for children and teenagers?
Caffeine content varies a lot between drinks, so choosing the right kind of coffee for a younger drinker is a question of safety as much as taste.
Filter coffee, for example, has an average of about 72 mg of caffeine per 100 ml, which works out at roughly 144 mg in a typical serving. A single espresso, concentrated as it is, delivers about 44 mg, so it is a much gentler option for a young body. Caffeine is not only in coffee, though: it is in tea, chocolate and cola as well. It is the daily total that counts.
Milk drinks are especially popular with teenagers: latte, cappuccino and flat white. Milk gives the drink a creamier texture and a softer flavour, and it dilutes the caffeine, which makes the drink gentler. That also makes it easier for parents to keep the caffeine in check.
Decaf coffee: children and teenagers can drink it safely
Decaf coffee is becoming popular with younger drinkers too, thanks to a decaffeination process that removes most of the caffeine. The drink is rich in antioxidants, supports the body and is a safe alternative to regular coffee. Introducing decaf can help a child develop their palate and a more conscious approach to food, as long as it stays moderate and the diet stays varied. Parents can relax about safety, though any change to the menu is worth discussing with a specialist first. On those terms decaf can be a useful part of a healthy menu.
In short, the best options for children and teenagers are the ones with less caffeine: a small espresso, milk drinks or decaf. The key is for parents to watch not only the coffee itself but every other source of caffeine in the diet, so that the daily total stays inside safe limits.
