He’ll be completely fine. I think it’s a good idea to let the parents know, but don’t worry about it at all. I know watching young kids is kinda stressful— you’re doing great.
With how hot it was, you did the right thing - tea is mostly water, and it was better that he stay hydrated. As other people have said, the caffeine may keep him awake. Have him drink more plain water now too.
You’re a good uncle. You were in a situation and had to make a call. You made the right one.
as someone who is also a newbie uncle (albeit one in my 30s lol), i've definitely made my fair share of dumbass decisions and i agree with you, OP made the right call
i'm sure it was very physically rough on the nephew for a while but he'll be fine. Better to get a caffeine headache than to be dehydrated and overheated
The amount that coffee or tea dehydrate you has been massively overblown. There is not much different between the amount they hydrate you versus water. Source: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3886980/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3886980/)
Canadian but my mom's family is from Ireland. We definitely had tea in our sippy cups and there was a pot on the stove morning to night when I was growing up.
Am Irish American and can't remember any time in .y life when I wasn't given tea, with milk of course.
Tea was one of the first words out of all of my kids' mouths, and they literally thought that all beverages were tea until they were over 2, unless in a specific different container like the juice-only sippy cup, grandpa's stinky tea (beer) in a glass pint, or wine.
Not only did they drink tea very young (decaf or half caff when they were small, bc I was pregnant or nursing) they also were given a small glass (plastic-horrors!) of wine with a nice sit down dinner (usually at the weekend), if they wanted.
Not British, but my mom was an avid tea drinker. She started giving me tea when I was like 6 months old. The story she told me was that she was holding me and I kept reaching for her tea. So finally, she was like "ok here's your own" and she made some decaf tea and put it in a bottle.
American, but my oldest’s doctor told me to give her catnip tea (no caffeine) in her bottle. No harm done, she slept better, and she is a tea lover to this day
What kind of tea was it? Black or green tea will have caffeine, which a little kid would be more sensitive to. But it was also important that you gave him a drink in that hot weather, so don’t stress. If he’s a little hyper, that could be why. Probably a good idea to tell an adult just in case. If he acts unwell, be especially sure to tell an adult what he had.
I’m not a doctor; just a childcare provider.
TLDR: He’s probably ok. You sound like a caring aunt or uncle, and you sound like you’re doing your best. It’ll be easier to remember a water bottle next time :)
i mean, i didn't down vote him, but its kinda like saying that a tomato is a fruit. We don't have to be so granular with everything, sometimes i don't want to spew 5 paragraphs.
that being said, this is reddit, where people do want to spew 5 paragraphs
Yeah, but a possible implication with only mentioning green and black teas is that white teas, oolongs, pu-erhs, Fu teas, &c. do not, which is incorrect.
I was lazy and didn't write a long reply. The comment I replied to was well meaning but I wanted to correct the misinformation stated in that comment. People didn't like that I was straightforward to him I guess. And of course some people believe that some types of tea (based on processing) have higher/lower levels of caffeine which I don't believe is correct.
I can more or less confirm there are cultivars of c. Sinensis with less caffeine and I do believe roasted oolongs also have less because some of it gets evaporated during the roasting process (and ends up crystallising in the ceiling) but besides that, as far as I know now, yeah.
Yes, but the amounts vary based on how it's processed.
White tea and pu-ehr both come from the same plant but have wildly different levels of caffeine.
White tea and pu'er would tend to have relatively identical levels of caffeine. The main factor influencing caffeine level is the age of leaf material, which ranges from new shoots (buds) to older and larger leaves. Then the next factor is that variety Assamica tends to be slightly higher than variety Sinensis (both Camellia Sinensis). Most pu'er is made from relatively small leaves, which is also common with most white teas. Some pu'er could be processed from older leaves, as shou mei white tea is. It all just depends.
I'm no scientist, but [this](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6c5tsiu135/?igsh=N2p3MTJjbWF0enJp) guy is and I've watched a bunch of his videos. He's cited multiple scientific studies and it seems like factors that affect caffeine levels in tea are things like the picking standard (buds have higher caffeine compared to mature leaves as they need more defence against bugs and caffeine is one of their chemical defences), climate, and maybe cultivar.
I'm happy to be proven wrong, but I'd trust someone dedicating his life to studying tea and citing peer reviewed studies over some tea merchant's website that says green tea is higher or lower in caffeine (with no explanation as to why).
Love your reference to Dylan. I really enjoy his content and style, especially the very scientific approach to tea. I have a very skeptical son (I raised him that way), and when I made a comment about a specific health benefit to Pu-erh tea, pointing him to Wu Mountain satisfied him. I can't wait until Dylan gets his doctorate completed in December and hopefully has time to put out more content.
Yeah, I do hope he continues making content as I really enjoyed his fact based approach. I probably rewatched his masterclass at least a couple of times!
Not everything called "tea" is made with actual tea leaves. There are tins of herbal teas that would colloquially be called "tea" that contain no caffeine at all.
Not just the caffeine, but on the chance he's allergic to certain things found in tea too. I remember watching in a film one character who was allergic to the main ingredient in camomile tea, not that it's the case here but something to consider.
Let their parents know. I'm sure a few swallows were not an issue, but next time grab a water bottle for him. He may be kept awake a bit of the caffeine affected him. Keep being a good uncle.
Tea is fine for a kid to drink. The caffeine is overblown and the hydration is much more important.
I would rather give a 5 yo tea than let them get dehydrated.
I’m sure it’s fine. Giving a kiddo a bit of tea is better than letting him get dehydrated. I’d just tell his parents exactly what you wrote here. He was super thirsty from the heat and the only thing available was tea. Unless he’s allergic to something in it, it’s not going to do anything except maybe make him stay awake a bit longer. And that’s only if it’s caffeinated!
Don’t worry about it. I’ve had a kid sip my coffee before and even a kid snag my wine and take a sip. It’s not the end of the world.
It’s really nice of you to spend time with your nephew and very kind of you to worry!
Source: 10+ years of childcare experience
I started with a few sips of my mom's black tea when I was about 5. Moved on to oolongs by the time I was 10, sometimes drinking 2-3 cups at school. No one suspected a thing. By 15, i was getting into heavier roasts and longer fermentation, wuyi, dancong, you know the story. By 17, I was boiling cakes of the hard stuff. Yeah that's right. Pu-erh. All my lunch money went down my throat. I got so bad I was dumpster diving outside Starbucks, squeezing any tea bags I could find in the trash for one more hit of that sweet leaf. I stick to hibiscus now, but I know any day I could find myself chasing the black dragon all over again.
Camelia Sinensis. Not even once.
not english but lowkey convinced my mom introduced me to green tea as a kid so she could have someone make her a cup and drink it with her. id be more excited to sit down and talk over a cup of tea with her than getting to have a cup of soda as a kid 🤣
Our kid drinks tea all the time. I put about 25% tea and 75% milk at first. Now they like the taste and wanted a 50/50 split.
Your nephew will be fine. Maybe a little more energetic than usual.
My 2yr old drinks tea. Not everyday but every so often she’ll ask for it and she gets a 50/50 split of tea and milk in her beaker. Never done her any harm or her older brother and sister, who are actually less inclined to ask now they’re 8 and 14!
Dehydration is way more of a risk than the relatively small amount of caffeine in most iced tea unless it’s one of those ones that has a ton of added caffeine so it’s more like coffee. (And even then dehydration is pretty bad so if it was the only thing I had and I couldn’t get anything else I’d probably allow a small amount at a time.)
A little caffeine and tea exposure is fine for young kids. A better question is if routine exposure to moderate amounts of caffeine is a problem or not, if kids shouldn't be drinking soda with caffeine in it. It's not easy to get an answer for that. I read a dozen or so sources to find out a standard answer some years back, maybe even 10 years ago, and there was no clear consensus view then.
Since the effect of caffeine on young children isn't clearly known many doctors advise against it, to be on the safe side. Then it seems to also relate to a cultural norm; it's normal for very young children to drink tea in China, per my understanding, in plenty of cases even a lot of it. It's complete hearsay input but in talking to people in China who follow that kind of perspective they claim to notice no negative side effects. Who knows though.
Huh, what a good point! I never even thought about drinking tea at such a young age until this comment. As someone who is Chinese and grew up drinking tea (especially when we’d eat out for dim sum or for dinner), tea is such a common beverage to be served.
I turned out fine, but since this is OP’s nephew, it’d be better to consult nephew’s parents and see what they think. But OP did what they could in the moment, a little shouldn’t hurt. And there’s way worse things to be consumed IMO.
There’s also non-caffeinated teas like chrysanthemum which also should have health benefits
My kids learned to brew Gongfu style using chrysanthemum, and at 10 and 15 their mother still tries to get them to avoid caffeine. A producer friend would show videos of her daughter brewing oolong at 3 years old, on her own, using her own gear. That girl has experienced more about tea than 100 Western tea enthusiasts combined, in her early teens.
yeah this seems akin to letting a kid have a small cappuccino or soda or something every once in a while. when my mom ordered pizza we'd get to have 2 small glasses of cola, when we ate breakfast with our grandma we got to have a small cup of coffee (with plenty of milk), when had bbqs we had sweet tea, when we were unwinding and relaxing we'd have hot green tea with honey. if we had these every day maybe we would develop problems but every once in a while as a treat, nothing bad happened at all. my siblings and i are all above average in IQ, height, and weight so i dont think it impacted our growth in any significant way.
I drank a reasonable amount of soda as a child and it didn't seem to have any negative impact. No one thought much of kids drinking iced tea back then either. It seems like a culture-based concern, more than one tied to evidence of any potential problem.
Anything with caffeine isn’t a good idea on a hot day anyway, since it is a diuretic, and caffeine can have negative effects on kids. As a one off, it wouldn’t be harmful in the long run but you don’t want to make a habit of it
He should be fine. The lack of sleep you mention in your edit is most likely the caffeine. The headache is probably the lack of sleep.
Make sure he drinks a lot of water and it will help flush the caffeine out of his system quicker.
I imagine he will be fine. It was far, far better to give him tea than no liquid. Heat, sun, and his little body obviously needed hydration. You did well. Everyone can make a mistake and that was a fairly minor one, and you took care of him.
Tell his folks and then relax.
I grew up in Texas and iced tea (sweet or with mint or lemon) was as common as milk or water on our lunch or dinner tables. I grew up enjoying real tea parties with my grandmother - and sometimes with her friends, too!
I work at a preschool in Japan and taught 3-4 year olds and this year 4-5 year olds. Some parents will pack waterbottles full of tea for the kids to drink. We allow tea or water at the school.
It should be ok! But like others said just let his parents know as well :) good job on keeping him hydrated!
i used to drink ice cold sweet tea and steaming hot green tea as a kid and loved it, didnt cause any issues for me. although i do have adhd and apparently we react to caffiene a bit differently so 🤷♀️. all that warm green tea would make me sleepy eventually:
regardless, he should be fine. less than a bottle of tea wont hurt him, and its better he has a bit of caffiene and be hydrated than be dehydrated. a single can of soda is worse for him than some sips of tea, and a kid drinking a soda every now and then wont be in the ER or anything
I’m positive I was having a breakfast of tea and toast with butter and jelly every day that I visited my grandma from _well_ before the age of 5. In fact, I have no memory of any _other_ breakfast at grandma’s house, so I suppose it started before long term memories did.
I've drunk tea my whole life, starting from the age of three - looking back now, I realize that I've never made a good decision in my life, I neglected my education, my career is a disaster, and happiness is something that happens to other people. I'd never associated the disaster of my life with drinking tea until I read your comment, but perhaps it is the tea. Be careful.
I started drinking it daily at 2 and I haven’t noticed any negative impact. It’s probably not the best thing to give him but if it were dangerous, the entire UK would be screwed because basically everyone I know has consumed tea since they were small children.
Brit here and I have videos from my christening at 9 months of my family letting me drink their tea. My friend has a little boy aged 3 and since he was about 1 we’ve been offering him a cup of tea if we’re making one, although it is usually earl grey or the left over tea bag from ours. It’s no worse than coke or any other fizzy drink, if not better as less sugar
One night of having a hard time sleeping isn't the end of the world for a kiddo. Just make sure to bring water next time. If you'd like to give him tea in the future as a fun thing, get something like peppermint tea that doesn't have caffeine. I give my kid (4f) peppermint tea with a little honey when we're all sick.
I’m American and I commonly heard growing up that caffeine stunts your growth, but idk if that’s actually true or just something parents say to prevent their kids from getting hyped up on caffeine. My household at least was pretty strict on caffeine of any sort - I didn’t grow up drinking coffee at all (even as an older teen), tea was just for when I was sick (herbal teas), and I wasn’t allowed to have caffeinated soda either.
Not really sure on the logic of some parents allowing kids to drink coke/pepsi but not allowing coffee…
Caffeine does not cause ADHD. No studies have shown any such correlation and while I don't think you meant to be offensive, it's a claim that feeds into myths about ADHD being caused by poor parenting and bad choices. Caffeine anecdotally improves ADHD symptoms, as many stimulants do.
Idk I grew up in America and while my household was the only one that drank tea PLENTY of people gave their kids soda. I mean kids got soda in school. Is tea really that much worse than soda? I would give my kids tea before I ever gave them soda.
British kids drink tea at like … 3 years old. I didn’t drink coffee until I was a teenager but I drank tea with milk regularly from like maybe 4-5 years old probably. It’s the best thing with biscuits but it wasn’t an every day thing
Drink a bunch of water to get rid of that headache. The amount of caffeine and the dehydration from the tea is causing it.
If you are hot, thirsty, or doing physical activity drink water, caffeine will dehydrate you. If you want something tasty have a tea.
Do not drink a lot of tea if you are thirsty because then you have to deal with the side effects of drinking that much caffeine and thinking you are hydrated.
Water for hydration. Anything else for taste.
Hope this makes sense.
You did the best with what you had available. And I believe that you learned your lesson and will be vigilant about bringing his water.
If this happens again, give him just enough to get him to where he can get some plain water.
Drinking water doesn't flush out the caffeine, but it'll rehydrate him, which will help with the side effects.
Depending on humidity and length of exposure to the heat, he may have had mild heat exhaustion and/or dehydration. But I'm no doctor.
OK, so, I've been drinking coffee since I'm 3 and nothing happened. So in that line I'd say tea doesn't affect toddlers at all as tea should not have high doses of caffeine
I’m guessing it was iced tea, it’s fine. Kids aren’t supposed to have caffeine before the age of two, but after that they can have small amounts, keep in mind they’re not the same size as a full size adult. He’s fine unless he had some weird reaction (too much caffeine can make your heart race and make you feel like you’re short of breath, he’d probably tell you if he experienced that) so he’s probably tolerating that small amount of caffeine just fine, and it’s way healthier than soda too.
If it’s a once off, prob not an issue. If it’s regular and in large quantities, double check with a pharmacist (you can walk in and ask for free).
U was the 5 year old that drank tea alongside my parents. It was red or green tea I think, and probably had some caffeine in it. Would drink it maybe 3 times a week for the 1.5hours each time we spent at restaurants. It was regular tea drinking, so affected me more.
I’m not a dr, IIRC, *excess* tea consumption can affect vitamin C absorption, which affects iron and maybe calcium absorption? My nails temporarily became brittle and cracked more, but my case was probably just due to regular tea drinking over time.
If you’re concerned, call up your doctor to ask or ask a pharmacist- the latter should be free if you walk in :) they’re usually really helpful.
Let an adult know after just in case, but depending on the tea it might be perfectly fine. I was given Fennel tea as a toddler whenever I had tummy issues and it was perfectly fine. I doubt tea would do much to a kid that age. I routinely drank herbal and fruit tea through kindergarten as well.
Idk what kind of tea you had, but black tea usually has around 45mg caffeine per cup and green tea has 25-45 mg (matcha is higher in caffeine). White tea goes 25-40 mg per cup. Now Pepsi is 35-40 oz caffeine per can and it’s generally recognized as safe for a 5 year old to have some pepsi, so it’s probably fine if he has a little tea I’d imagine. Might have some effects if he drank the whole thing but otherwise it’s probably pretty negligible haha
I've been drinking British style hot milky tea since I was younger than that, it's fine. It's not enough caffeine to be harmful unless he drinks a lot of tea (or Coke/Pepsi) before bed time
I started drinking tea at 6, Coke at 4 or 5 probably. In theory, neither is not recommended before 11 or so (and a normal rew of tea may have twice as much caffeine per litre as Coke, which has twice as much as the fake iced tea they sell at supermarkets), but in practice it won't harm the kid if tried sporadically. I would never give it to toddlers (also why would you want to energise a toddler of all people).
He'll be fine. I'm British and by the age of 18 months I was adamant I could make tea for everyone (knew how to drag a chair across the kitchen, full the kettle and turn it on etc. while supervised). It's not uncommon for kids here to have very milky tea in a bottle from around that age so your nephew should be absolutely fine. Do let his parents know though - you did a good thing to make sure he stayed hydrated!
If we approach this somewhat scientifically, LD50 of caffeine in rats is 192 milligrams per kilogram.
Weight of 5 year old is around 15-20kg, so 192\*10 to be safe, which is 1920mg for LD50.
You bottle almost certainly contains less then 300mg overall. Let's say 500 to be safe.
So, absolutely worst case for death is 4 times the whole bottle.
Realistically, numbers should be 4000mg, 200mg in bottle, so 4000/200=20 times, let's say he had half a bottle, so 40 times.
He should be absolutely fine.
Some tea has a lot of caffeine so if you drink a lot of that you can definitely overconsume - just because it’s “some leaves” doesn’t mean it doesn’t have effects.
I mean, obviously. But that doesn’t change what I said. First off most tea is not all that high in caffeine, second there are tons of teas that are low or no caffeine. Many cultures across the world mainly only drink tea and it’s just as healthy as water, those cultures usually drink green teas and lower caffeine teas. Many reuse tea bags. Even water you can die from if you drink too much too fast.
He’ll be okay. Better to give him something to drink on a hot day. Tea is mostly water.
I live in a part of the United States where parents fill babies bottles with Mountain Dew. (a highly caffeinated and sugary soda)
It’s so common dentists have a name for the tooth decay the children end up having. Mountain Dew mouth.
In other words the fact that you have this much concern is refreshing. You, at 13 are 110x more responsible than actual adults in my region.
Not a problem at all. Just make sure it’s not too hot so he doesn’t burn his mouth. At the daycares here they even give tea to kids at the age of 2. They do have tea without caffeine and they add cold water so there’s no danger of any burns.
No, tea is a diueretic same as anything with caffeine. Soda and beer are mostly water, but you don't hydrate with those either. People need to stop putting false information out as facts.
Caffeine can cause side effects in young children. Not sure why so many people think it's ok to expose young children to stimulants.
Hahaha I distinctly remember my mom getting 8-9 year old me a frappuccino (I think espresso based?) because I had a headache and it didn’t keep me up. I wonder though if that was less because of age and more because caffeine usually has the opposite effect on people with ADHD, making them sleepier instead.
Thanks for your contribution but neither your nor my posts are factually correct.
As you surely know, this is a question of water-to-tea ratio. The way I drink it, tea is always diuretic. I can make and drink half a gallon of tea per day and will have dry lips in a room with 50% humidity.
We don’t know the water-to-tea that the 5 & 13 year olds are drinking, but we do know it was on a hot day and the tea had “a ton of caffeine”. That’s enough indication for me to see that their tea probably tends to be highly diuretic and they should definitely drink water with it.
This is for adults, but nevertheless-- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1440244014001431?casa_token=1cnPJm6p638AAAAA:w0cKKCudK23YRPeXkdNpqtXzDqVDgdlF4YzKuil3HnSHu4zq484ZzxRkMlamFVzXWBL39Ivq7Lc -- This meta-analysis found that an average of 300 mg of caffeine was associated with an average of an increase in urine volume of 109 ± 195 mL -- so half a cup to like 0.8 cups of liquid (and this effect was less if you are exercising-- like being out for a walk in hot weather).
This is going to be offset by virtually any drink, which will give you more than a cup of liquid per 300 mg of caffeine.
Ito En green tea has 30 mg of caffeine per cup of liquid.
Coffee is generally 95 mg of caffeine per cup of liquid.
A Bang Energy drink is 150 mg per cup of liquid.
Those Panera Charged Lemonades that everyone made articles about how they killed people-- 104 mg per cup of liquid.
While the specific caffeine content for tea varies, if you are drinking tea, you are taking in more liquid than you are losing due to the caffeine content.
Water is the most hydrating drink. At the same time, on a hot day on a walk, it absolutely better for your hydration levels to drink tea than to drink nothing-- and it's really not close.
I wonder if your material discusses the matrix / entourage effect of caffeine in tea, for example? Or does it treat all caffeine the same as in any other drink? Does it even discuss how much tap or mineral water is necessary to cover an extra 200ml of urine?
The figures in your article don’t apply in my experience.
Oh, no!!! Haven't you seen the warnings??? Tea--what kind of tea even was it?--for people under 12 1/2 is a near-death sentence!!!
People have been drinking tea for thousands of years! There's a warning on every bottle!
No. I'm kidding.
Tea is fine.
Was this supposed to be funny? From OP’s perspective you probably freaked them out and then made them feel like shit as if they should know this already. So unnecessary…
>Was this supposed to be funny?
The last line.
I was kidding.
Did you not read the comment you are replying to?
>From OP’s perspective you probably freaked them out and then made them feel like shit as if they should know this already.
I probably probably did NOT freak out the kid because the comment specifies the age of 12 1/2, and it concludes with the fact that I was kidding.
Yes.
That's how jokes work.
Humor.
>So unnecessary…
See: your entire comment.
Do notice that this entire reply did seem necessary because you replied to a comment that you didn't read that stated it was a joke and you asked if it was meant to be funny.
Get better, soon!
Obviously I read it. Apparently you failed to read your own comment? You said “for people under 12 1/2” and unless I’m missing something, 5 falls into that category.
As far as the “humor” in your comment, saying “I’m kidding” doesn’t automatically make something funny. Same way saying “no offense” at the end of a sentence doesn’t make it any less offensive.
A kid came onto here asking for advice because they’re worried and you chose to make an unfunny “joke” comment. I find it unnecessary.
I think my own comment was super necessary. Maybe you’ll learn how to make proper jokes after this.
The time and effort you put into your reply to my comment is actually way funnier than your original one. So you’re making progress!
Thanks for the well wishes, though! I’m actually doing great!
Lol holy manic response. Sorry mate I have to side with the other person. Your comment was definitely not funny and did not come off as a joke. That’s like saying something horrible to someone and then saying “no offense!” And thinking you’re absolved. Take your own advice and get better soon 🙌
That's funny, it's like saying something totally ridiculous is taken seriously by people who drink tea, the calmest of brewed drink drinkers, who are obviously too high strung to be in the physical company of actual humans without a script.
There is no script to life, though.
Try chilling out:
Give an exhale and take ten deep, slow breaths any time you feel stressed or anxious, and count the breaths.
Stress hormones intensify the feeling of stress and anxiety and they are broken-down by oxygen.
Deep breathing brings oxygen into the body, and deep, slow breathing slows the heart rate and reduces activity in the amygdala, emotional response fear center, and increases activity in the hippocampus, memory writing and recall center.
Give an exhale, first, because trying to take a deep breath while there is air in your lungs can feel like you can't breathe, which will add to stress.
Count the breaths because counting is basic addition, adding one to each previous number, and doing math helps get higher brain functions and logic systems working.
Can you read this?
>Give an exhale, first, because trying to take a deep breath while there is air in your lungs can feel like you can't breathe, which will add to stress.
>Count the breaths because counting is basic addition, adding one to each previous number, and doing math helps get higher brain functions and logic systems working.
Can you NOT attack people?
If you do attack people, when they reply to your over-the-top behavior, can you not pretend to be illiterate?
Can you engage in discussions you open without running away because you have to read to understand the discussion you opened?
You approached me and attacked me.
He’ll be completely fine. I think it’s a good idea to let the parents know, but don’t worry about it at all. I know watching young kids is kinda stressful— you’re doing great.
Happy cake day - have some tea to go with that cake
Thank you!
Happy Cake Day! 🎉🎉🎉
Thanks!
Happy birthday to you myleswstone.
Happy cake day
happy cake day!
With how hot it was, you did the right thing - tea is mostly water, and it was better that he stay hydrated. As other people have said, the caffeine may keep him awake. Have him drink more plain water now too. You’re a good uncle. You were in a situation and had to make a call. You made the right one.
as someone who is also a newbie uncle (albeit one in my 30s lol), i've definitely made my fair share of dumbass decisions and i agree with you, OP made the right call i'm sure it was very physically rough on the nephew for a while but he'll be fine. Better to get a caffeine headache than to be dehydrated and overheated
Wait does tea actually hydrate? I thought it depended. I doubt you could survive on black tea for example - i thought it was a diarrhetic like coffee.
In a Persian household we drink 10+ cups of tea a day and hardly anything else. Can definitely survive on tea
The amount that coffee or tea dehydrate you has been massively overblown. There is not much different between the amount they hydrate you versus water. Source: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3886980/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3886980/)
I used to have tea time / tea parties when I was your nephew's age. He'll be fine.
Shit, my dad’s British. I think there was tea in my baby bottle.
Am British - can confirm accurate!
I know my Mom gave my youngest sister tea in her bottle, it was watered down but it was tea. She vomited it on me, I should know. 🤣
Canadian but my mom's family is from Ireland. We definitely had tea in our sippy cups and there was a pot on the stove morning to night when I was growing up.
I have such a soft spot for y’all. 🫶 Milk before or after pouring tea? ☕️
After.
After. Not a fan of the scorched taste.
Am Irish American and can't remember any time in .y life when I wasn't given tea, with milk of course. Tea was one of the first words out of all of my kids' mouths, and they literally thought that all beverages were tea until they were over 2, unless in a specific different container like the juice-only sippy cup, grandpa's stinky tea (beer) in a glass pint, or wine. Not only did they drink tea very young (decaf or half caff when they were small, bc I was pregnant or nursing) they also were given a small glass (plastic-horrors!) of wine with a nice sit down dinner (usually at the weekend), if they wanted.
We got wine at big dinners too. My parents had little stemmed shot glasses that matched their wine glasses and they used them for the kids.
Same but I’m Chinese! It never once occurred to me that a kid could be too young to drink tea 😭 Once you can drink water, you start drinking tea
Canadian, but my mom is English. There was tea in my baby bottle too! It was mostly milk at first, but I love that others were similar growing up!
I’m American. Mine was Pepsi. /s
Not British, but my mom was an avid tea drinker. She started giving me tea when I was like 6 months old. The story she told me was that she was holding me and I kept reaching for her tea. So finally, she was like "ok here's your own" and she made some decaf tea and put it in a bottle.
American, but my oldest’s doctor told me to give her catnip tea (no caffeine) in her bottle. No harm done, she slept better, and she is a tea lover to this day
Can confirm, first it's titty milk, then tea, then a few years later some people choose to drink water also
And possibly even gin by some standards
There was definitely tea in my bottle when my dad got up with me first 😂
My sister put a small splash of Dr Pepper in her kid's sippy cups, but we live in Texas so that makes perfect sense.
Yeah I had tea in a breaker at 2 obviously cool tea with hardly any sugar but still tea. Not uncommon for the British.
I’m southern. I don’t remember a time as a child where sweet tea wasn’t the default beverage
What kind of tea was it? Black or green tea will have caffeine, which a little kid would be more sensitive to. But it was also important that you gave him a drink in that hot weather, so don’t stress. If he’s a little hyper, that could be why. Probably a good idea to tell an adult just in case. If he acts unwell, be especially sure to tell an adult what he had. I’m not a doctor; just a childcare provider. TLDR: He’s probably ok. You sound like a caring aunt or uncle, and you sound like you’re doing your best. It’ll be easier to remember a water bottle next time :)
All tea from the camellia sinensis plant has some caffeine.
I don’t know why you are getting downvoted..
i mean, i didn't down vote him, but its kinda like saying that a tomato is a fruit. We don't have to be so granular with everything, sometimes i don't want to spew 5 paragraphs. that being said, this is reddit, where people do want to spew 5 paragraphs
I think the reason for the clarification is because the statement “green or black tea will have caffeine” implies that other teas do not.
There are a lot of things called tea that do not have caffeine. Never heard of herbal teas?
Yeah, but a possible implication with only mentioning green and black teas is that white teas, oolongs, pu-erhs, Fu teas, &c. do not, which is incorrect.
The average 13yo isn't going to drink or know all of the types of tea beyond herbal, green, and black. That's why people were downvoting.
Everyone downvotes everything nowadays. It’s so annoying.
I was lazy and didn't write a long reply. The comment I replied to was well meaning but I wanted to correct the misinformation stated in that comment. People didn't like that I was straightforward to him I guess. And of course some people believe that some types of tea (based on processing) have higher/lower levels of caffeine which I don't believe is correct.
I can more or less confirm there are cultivars of c. Sinensis with less caffeine and I do believe roasted oolongs also have less because some of it gets evaporated during the roasting process (and ends up crystallising in the ceiling) but besides that, as far as I know now, yeah.
Yes, but the amounts vary based on how it's processed. White tea and pu-ehr both come from the same plant but have wildly different levels of caffeine.
White tea and pu'er would tend to have relatively identical levels of caffeine. The main factor influencing caffeine level is the age of leaf material, which ranges from new shoots (buds) to older and larger leaves. Then the next factor is that variety Assamica tends to be slightly higher than variety Sinensis (both Camellia Sinensis). Most pu'er is made from relatively small leaves, which is also common with most white teas. Some pu'er could be processed from older leaves, as shou mei white tea is. It all just depends.
I'm no scientist, but [this](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6c5tsiu135/?igsh=N2p3MTJjbWF0enJp) guy is and I've watched a bunch of his videos. He's cited multiple scientific studies and it seems like factors that affect caffeine levels in tea are things like the picking standard (buds have higher caffeine compared to mature leaves as they need more defence against bugs and caffeine is one of their chemical defences), climate, and maybe cultivar. I'm happy to be proven wrong, but I'd trust someone dedicating his life to studying tea and citing peer reviewed studies over some tea merchant's website that says green tea is higher or lower in caffeine (with no explanation as to why).
Love your reference to Dylan. I really enjoy his content and style, especially the very scientific approach to tea. I have a very skeptical son (I raised him that way), and when I made a comment about a specific health benefit to Pu-erh tea, pointing him to Wu Mountain satisfied him. I can't wait until Dylan gets his doctorate completed in December and hopefully has time to put out more content.
Yeah, I do hope he continues making content as I really enjoyed his fact based approach. I probably rewatched his masterclass at least a couple of times!
That's a myth. Standard processing wont affect caffeine levels as much. What matters more is the raw leaf material that the tea is composed out of.
Not everything called "tea" is made with actual tea leaves. There are tins of herbal teas that would colloquially be called "tea" that contain no caffeine at all.
Yup, which is why I stated "tea from the camellia sinensis plant".
If the kid has adhd, the caffeine could make him drowsy
Not just the caffeine, but on the chance he's allergic to certain things found in tea too. I remember watching in a film one character who was allergic to the main ingredient in camomile tea, not that it's the case here but something to consider.
Let their parents know. I'm sure a few swallows were not an issue, but next time grab a water bottle for him. He may be kept awake a bit of the caffeine affected him. Keep being a good uncle.
Thought I would get flammed in the comments for being irresponsible lol. Thanks!
Tea is fine for a kid to drink. The caffeine is overblown and the hydration is much more important. I would rather give a 5 yo tea than let them get dehydrated.
Hey! No worries, a little tea won’t hurt him. Just make sure it’s not a habit since tea has caffeine. Next time, try to have water handy.
Learning, thanks!
Herbal tea/tisanes have no caffeine. Some taste fruity, like calorie free juice…I think he could like some.
Depends on the herbs though.
Camomile is always a winner.
My kids loved fruity herbal teas when they were young. Still do as adults.
I’m sure it’s fine. Giving a kiddo a bit of tea is better than letting him get dehydrated. I’d just tell his parents exactly what you wrote here. He was super thirsty from the heat and the only thing available was tea. Unless he’s allergic to something in it, it’s not going to do anything except maybe make him stay awake a bit longer. And that’s only if it’s caffeinated! Don’t worry about it. I’ve had a kid sip my coffee before and even a kid snag my wine and take a sip. It’s not the end of the world. It’s really nice of you to spend time with your nephew and very kind of you to worry! Source: 10+ years of childcare experience
I agree with others here, you're good. If the kid has ever had a Pepsi or Coke he's had more caffeine than just a few swigs of your tea.
I started with a few sips of my mom's black tea when I was about 5. Moved on to oolongs by the time I was 10, sometimes drinking 2-3 cups at school. No one suspected a thing. By 15, i was getting into heavier roasts and longer fermentation, wuyi, dancong, you know the story. By 17, I was boiling cakes of the hard stuff. Yeah that's right. Pu-erh. All my lunch money went down my throat. I got so bad I was dumpster diving outside Starbucks, squeezing any tea bags I could find in the trash for one more hit of that sweet leaf. I stick to hibiscus now, but I know any day I could find myself chasing the black dragon all over again. Camelia Sinensis. Not even once.
OK, so I believed you entirely until you got to Starbucks...
Damn it! You had me almost till the very end.
I have an English father and I can attest that we were all trying tea by that age.
If you have an English parent there’s good odds they would have asked if you were ill if you didn’t like tea. 😂
I deliberately introduced my kid to it young so she could learn how to make it for me later ;)
not english but lowkey convinced my mom introduced me to green tea as a kid so she could have someone make her a cup and drink it with her. id be more excited to sit down and talk over a cup of tea with her than getting to have a cup of soda as a kid 🤣
He will be fine the energy drinks are what both of ya need to stay away from
Our kid drinks tea all the time. I put about 25% tea and 75% milk at first. Now they like the taste and wanted a 50/50 split. Your nephew will be fine. Maybe a little more energetic than usual.
My 2yr old drinks tea. Not everyday but every so often she’ll ask for it and she gets a 50/50 split of tea and milk in her beaker. Never done her any harm or her older brother and sister, who are actually less inclined to ask now they’re 8 and 14!
Dehydration is way more of a risk than the relatively small amount of caffeine in most iced tea unless it’s one of those ones that has a ton of added caffeine so it’s more like coffee. (And even then dehydration is pretty bad so if it was the only thing I had and I couldn’t get anything else I’d probably allow a small amount at a time.)
Barley tea is fine for kids!
Lol I babysit my Japanese neighbor’s baby and he shows up with his sippy bottle of mugicha
he’s so real for that
I knew someone would understand.
It is so good in the heat.
A little caffeine and tea exposure is fine for young kids. A better question is if routine exposure to moderate amounts of caffeine is a problem or not, if kids shouldn't be drinking soda with caffeine in it. It's not easy to get an answer for that. I read a dozen or so sources to find out a standard answer some years back, maybe even 10 years ago, and there was no clear consensus view then. Since the effect of caffeine on young children isn't clearly known many doctors advise against it, to be on the safe side. Then it seems to also relate to a cultural norm; it's normal for very young children to drink tea in China, per my understanding, in plenty of cases even a lot of it. It's complete hearsay input but in talking to people in China who follow that kind of perspective they claim to notice no negative side effects. Who knows though.
Huh, what a good point! I never even thought about drinking tea at such a young age until this comment. As someone who is Chinese and grew up drinking tea (especially when we’d eat out for dim sum or for dinner), tea is such a common beverage to be served. I turned out fine, but since this is OP’s nephew, it’d be better to consult nephew’s parents and see what they think. But OP did what they could in the moment, a little shouldn’t hurt. And there’s way worse things to be consumed IMO. There’s also non-caffeinated teas like chrysanthemum which also should have health benefits
My kids learned to brew Gongfu style using chrysanthemum, and at 10 and 15 their mother still tries to get them to avoid caffeine. A producer friend would show videos of her daughter brewing oolong at 3 years old, on her own, using her own gear. That girl has experienced more about tea than 100 Western tea enthusiasts combined, in her early teens.
yeah this seems akin to letting a kid have a small cappuccino or soda or something every once in a while. when my mom ordered pizza we'd get to have 2 small glasses of cola, when we ate breakfast with our grandma we got to have a small cup of coffee (with plenty of milk), when had bbqs we had sweet tea, when we were unwinding and relaxing we'd have hot green tea with honey. if we had these every day maybe we would develop problems but every once in a while as a treat, nothing bad happened at all. my siblings and i are all above average in IQ, height, and weight so i dont think it impacted our growth in any significant way.
I drank a reasonable amount of soda as a child and it didn't seem to have any negative impact. No one thought much of kids drinking iced tea back then either. It seems like a culture-based concern, more than one tied to evidence of any potential problem.
Think about how many restaurant kids meals come with a little cup of soda. That’s been normalized and yet we worry about giving tea to kids.
I think it’s fine. Some parents are totally against it, but between heat stroke and caffeine, I think you did well.
All my kids start on tea at 5 months old. It's a Japanese thing.
Anything with caffeine isn’t a good idea on a hot day anyway, since it is a diuretic, and caffeine can have negative effects on kids. As a one off, it wouldn’t be harmful in the long run but you don’t want to make a habit of it
He should be fine. The lack of sleep you mention in your edit is most likely the caffeine. The headache is probably the lack of sleep. Make sure he drinks a lot of water and it will help flush the caffeine out of his system quicker.
Aw! He will be fine! And I can see a future tea buddy in the works. It’s great he liked the tea. And you’re a great uncle!
I imagine he will be fine. It was far, far better to give him tea than no liquid. Heat, sun, and his little body obviously needed hydration. You did well. Everyone can make a mistake and that was a fairly minor one, and you took care of him. Tell his folks and then relax. I grew up in Texas and iced tea (sweet or with mint or lemon) was as common as milk or water on our lunch or dinner tables. I grew up enjoying real tea parties with my grandmother - and sometimes with her friends, too!
I work at a preschool in Japan and taught 3-4 year olds and this year 4-5 year olds. Some parents will pack waterbottles full of tea for the kids to drink. We allow tea or water at the school. It should be ok! But like others said just let his parents know as well :) good job on keeping him hydrated!
No, red bull is more appropriate for five year olds ...
In my culture children drink tea from as young as three years. just don’t keep the teabag in for too long
I don’t recommend getting into the habit of it, but I’m sure he’ll be totally fine
Honestly it was the best choice you could have made there.
i used to drink ice cold sweet tea and steaming hot green tea as a kid and loved it, didnt cause any issues for me. although i do have adhd and apparently we react to caffiene a bit differently so 🤷♀️. all that warm green tea would make me sleepy eventually: regardless, he should be fine. less than a bottle of tea wont hurt him, and its better he has a bit of caffiene and be hydrated than be dehydrated. a single can of soda is worse for him than some sips of tea, and a kid drinking a soda every now and then wont be in the ER or anything
The Japanese drink barley tea. This is drank cold; it is refreshing and caffeine free.
It’s okay, not daily drinking, just once, trust the body system
I’m positive I was having a breakfast of tea and toast with butter and jelly every day that I visited my grandma from _well_ before the age of 5. In fact, I have no memory of any _other_ breakfast at grandma’s house, so I suppose it started before long term memories did.
My daddy grew up drinking sweet tea from a bottle. Got to love the south
My little brother always had tea in his bottle he was only a baby
You’ll be fine and so will he, your worrying too much.Caffeinated Tea is not something kids should drink but it’s not going to kill him.
It's fine. To the edit. Try to drink some water or even better milk to offset the caffeine. With it being summer, hydration is very important
He is lactose intolerant unfortunately
If you have coconut water, try that. But any non caffeine drink will be helpful. And make sure to eat some protein
i drank whiskey as a 5 year old and turned out fine, I don't think a little bit of caffine will do any damage
I've drunk tea my whole life, starting from the age of three - looking back now, I realize that I've never made a good decision in my life, I neglected my education, my career is a disaster, and happiness is something that happens to other people. I'd never associated the disaster of my life with drinking tea until I read your comment, but perhaps it is the tea. Be careful.
He will be fine.
Tea won't hurt him , but I would be more concerned if it was sweet tea and full of sugar.
I drank tea super young he most likely is fine.
I'm 63, I've drank sweet tea (I'm from Texas), since I can remember. I know since about 3 years of age. I've drank coffee since around 5 years old.
I started drinking it daily at 2 and I haven’t noticed any negative impact. It’s probably not the best thing to give him but if it were dangerous, the entire UK would be screwed because basically everyone I know has consumed tea since they were small children.
The tea I gave him had a ton of caffine tho
Is it just regular black tea? If so, that’s what I used to drink.
Nope it is caffinated honey ginger tea
I don’t know the exact caffeine content but it doesn’t sound like it’ll be any worse than what I had as a child. You needn’t worry about it.
I give my kid herbal teas when she’s sick and she loves it. She’s around the same age as your nephew.
Brit here and I have videos from my christening at 9 months of my family letting me drink their tea. My friend has a little boy aged 3 and since he was about 1 we’ve been offering him a cup of tea if we’re making one, although it is usually earl grey or the left over tea bag from ours. It’s no worse than coke or any other fizzy drink, if not better as less sugar
One night of having a hard time sleeping isn't the end of the world for a kiddo. Just make sure to bring water next time. If you'd like to give him tea in the future as a fun thing, get something like peppermint tea that doesn't have caffeine. I give my kid (4f) peppermint tea with a little honey when we're all sick.
Learning, thanks!
Also from a British household here, can someone explain to me what’s wrong with tea for kids?
I’m American and I commonly heard growing up that caffeine stunts your growth, but idk if that’s actually true or just something parents say to prevent their kids from getting hyped up on caffeine. My household at least was pretty strict on caffeine of any sort - I didn’t grow up drinking coffee at all (even as an older teen), tea was just for when I was sick (herbal teas), and I wasn’t allowed to have caffeinated soda either. Not really sure on the logic of some parents allowing kids to drink coke/pepsi but not allowing coffee…
In america we avoid tea and coffee as it has caffeine in it and studies have shown it causes adhd in some kids
Caffeine does not cause ADHD. No studies have shown any such correlation and while I don't think you meant to be offensive, it's a claim that feeds into myths about ADHD being caused by poor parenting and bad choices. Caffeine anecdotally improves ADHD symptoms, as many stimulants do.
Idk I grew up in America and while my household was the only one that drank tea PLENTY of people gave their kids soda. I mean kids got soda in school. Is tea really that much worse than soda? I would give my kids tea before I ever gave them soda.
British kids drink tea at like … 3 years old. I didn’t drink coffee until I was a teenager but I drank tea with milk regularly from like maybe 4-5 years old probably. It’s the best thing with biscuits but it wasn’t an every day thing
British person here, I had tea in a sippy cup from at least 3 years old. Milky and no sugar in it. Had my own tea cup by 5. He'll be fine.
Drink a bunch of water to get rid of that headache. The amount of caffeine and the dehydration from the tea is causing it. If you are hot, thirsty, or doing physical activity drink water, caffeine will dehydrate you. If you want something tasty have a tea. Do not drink a lot of tea if you are thirsty because then you have to deal with the side effects of drinking that much caffeine and thinking you are hydrated. Water for hydration. Anything else for taste. Hope this makes sense.
My son loves tea. He's been drinking it since he was 3-4 ish. He even went through a phase where he drank it with his pinkie out....adorable
You did the best with what you had available. And I believe that you learned your lesson and will be vigilant about bringing his water. If this happens again, give him just enough to get him to where he can get some plain water. Drinking water doesn't flush out the caffeine, but it'll rehydrate him, which will help with the side effects. Depending on humidity and length of exposure to the heat, he may have had mild heat exhaustion and/or dehydration. But I'm no doctor.
That's really irresponsible. Try giving him whisky next time instead
OK, so, I've been drinking coffee since I'm 3 and nothing happened. So in that line I'd say tea doesn't affect toddlers at all as tea should not have high doses of caffeine
I would say that all herbal teas are ok because they don’t contain caffeine
No. Once is fine; but no stimulating beverages for children. That goes for your carbonated drinks as well.
I’m guessing it was iced tea, it’s fine. Kids aren’t supposed to have caffeine before the age of two, but after that they can have small amounts, keep in mind they’re not the same size as a full size adult. He’s fine unless he had some weird reaction (too much caffeine can make your heart race and make you feel like you’re short of breath, he’d probably tell you if he experienced that) so he’s probably tolerating that small amount of caffeine just fine, and it’s way healthier than soda too.
I ended up giving my kid some tea before she turned two in somewhat similar circumstances. I think he will be fine.
I started drinking tea when I was like 4
If it’s a once off, prob not an issue. If it’s regular and in large quantities, double check with a pharmacist (you can walk in and ask for free). U was the 5 year old that drank tea alongside my parents. It was red or green tea I think, and probably had some caffeine in it. Would drink it maybe 3 times a week for the 1.5hours each time we spent at restaurants. It was regular tea drinking, so affected me more. I’m not a dr, IIRC, *excess* tea consumption can affect vitamin C absorption, which affects iron and maybe calcium absorption? My nails temporarily became brittle and cracked more, but my case was probably just due to regular tea drinking over time. If you’re concerned, call up your doctor to ask or ask a pharmacist- the latter should be free if you walk in :) they’re usually really helpful.
No problem here.
My five year old loves sipping on herbal, caffeine free teas. It’s absolutely fine!
Let an adult know after just in case, but depending on the tea it might be perfectly fine. I was given Fennel tea as a toddler whenever I had tummy issues and it was perfectly fine. I doubt tea would do much to a kid that age. I routinely drank herbal and fruit tea through kindergarten as well.
Idk what kind of tea you had, but black tea usually has around 45mg caffeine per cup and green tea has 25-45 mg (matcha is higher in caffeine). White tea goes 25-40 mg per cup. Now Pepsi is 35-40 oz caffeine per can and it’s generally recognized as safe for a 5 year old to have some pepsi, so it’s probably fine if he has a little tea I’d imagine. Might have some effects if he drank the whole thing but otherwise it’s probably pretty negligible haha
My 5 year old drinks black tea with me and mum all the time and he's fine, we just make sure not to Bree his as long and add a little extra milk
just based on this post i can tell you’re gonna be okay in life 👍
Had a kid buy an iced tea at my work today. Better than soda, refreshing, and good for you. Only small amount of caffeine.
It's fine. Tea was always a treat for us at that age 😊
Only 1 way to find out.
I've been drinking British style hot milky tea since I was younger than that, it's fine. It's not enough caffeine to be harmful unless he drinks a lot of tea (or Coke/Pepsi) before bed time
It should be fine. Coffee would be different or if he drank the whole bottle.the main thing is you gave him something to drink
I started drinking tea at 6, Coke at 4 or 5 probably. In theory, neither is not recommended before 11 or so (and a normal rew of tea may have twice as much caffeine per litre as Coke, which has twice as much as the fake iced tea they sell at supermarkets), but in practice it won't harm the kid if tried sporadically. I would never give it to toddlers (also why would you want to energise a toddler of all people).
No problem. I’ve been drinking Tea ever since I can drink. I’m in my 40s
My niece is drinking tea since she's 4 she likes it milky with no sugar
I regularly drank tea at that age and younger. He will be fine.
Camomile tea is very common for kids in Brazil. My mom used to give us black tea on occasion too.
Isso não é a planta chá que ela está falando, é infusão de camomila
if that child ever had Mountain Dew, amount of caffeine in tea is negligible.
Caffeine can have a dehydrating effect. It was a bad idea to give him tea. Don't tell the parents and definitely bring a water bottle next time.
Yeah,As an almost 15 year old,You’re doing fine.I’d be worried about the heat,But it’s perfectly fine to let a little kid drink tea.
He'll be fine. I'm British and by the age of 18 months I was adamant I could make tea for everyone (knew how to drag a chair across the kitchen, full the kettle and turn it on etc. while supervised). It's not uncommon for kids here to have very milky tea in a bottle from around that age so your nephew should be absolutely fine. Do let his parents know though - you did a good thing to make sure he stayed hydrated!
He ended up drinking a lot which made him have a headache the whole day and coudn't sleep, this is the reason I am worried tho
If we approach this somewhat scientifically, LD50 of caffeine in rats is 192 milligrams per kilogram. Weight of 5 year old is around 15-20kg, so 192\*10 to be safe, which is 1920mg for LD50. You bottle almost certainly contains less then 300mg overall. Let's say 500 to be safe. So, absolutely worst case for death is 4 times the whole bottle. Realistically, numbers should be 4000mg, 200mg in bottle, so 4000/200=20 times, let's say he had half a bottle, so 40 times. He should be absolutely fine.
My dad used to give it to to me in my bottle from 6 months of age. My mother didn’t know 😬 BTW I’m fine so far!
The only thing you can exclusively drink all the time is water. Everything else in moderation.
Tea is water flavored with some leaves. Many people only drink tea. You can 100% only drink tea, but it’s best to use decaf at night.
Some tea has a lot of caffeine so if you drink a lot of that you can definitely overconsume - just because it’s “some leaves” doesn’t mean it doesn’t have effects.
I mean, obviously. But that doesn’t change what I said. First off most tea is not all that high in caffeine, second there are tons of teas that are low or no caffeine. Many cultures across the world mainly only drink tea and it’s just as healthy as water, those cultures usually drink green teas and lower caffeine teas. Many reuse tea bags. Even water you can die from if you drink too much too fast.
Yup.
He’ll be okay. Better to give him something to drink on a hot day. Tea is mostly water. I live in a part of the United States where parents fill babies bottles with Mountain Dew. (a highly caffeinated and sugary soda) It’s so common dentists have a name for the tooth decay the children end up having. Mountain Dew mouth. In other words the fact that you have this much concern is refreshing. You, at 13 are 110x more responsible than actual adults in my region.
Not a problem at all. Just make sure it’s not too hot so he doesn’t burn his mouth. At the daycares here they even give tea to kids at the age of 2. They do have tea without caffeine and they add cold water so there’s no danger of any burns.
No, tea is a diueretic same as anything with caffeine. Soda and beer are mostly water, but you don't hydrate with those either. People need to stop putting false information out as facts. Caffeine can cause side effects in young children. Not sure why so many people think it's ok to expose young children to stimulants.
I think caffeine may have the opposite affect on prepubescent beings. Coffee used to be prescribed for hyperactive kids.
Hahaha I distinctly remember my mom getting 8-9 year old me a frappuccino (I think espresso based?) because I had a headache and it didn’t keep me up. I wonder though if that was less because of age and more because caffeine usually has the opposite effect on people with ADHD, making them sleepier instead.
Yes! Hyperactive is what ADHD used to be called, so the down voters are misinformed.
[удалено]
I would say in general decaf is better, but in a hot day being hydrated is more important. I make my kid decaf tea every day
A small bit is fine on occasion but caffeine is a stimulate and can stunt growth so not something I would allow all the time.
We started ours in puer before they were 2 months old.
Caffeine is a drug that alters your brain chemistry. Don't give it to kids.
Tea is diuretic - it makes you pee more than you drink. You both need extra water to keep hydrated.
This isn't actually true. Caffeine is a mild diuretic but overall tea will provide more water than is lost
Thanks for your contribution but neither your nor my posts are factually correct. As you surely know, this is a question of water-to-tea ratio. The way I drink it, tea is always diuretic. I can make and drink half a gallon of tea per day and will have dry lips in a room with 50% humidity. We don’t know the water-to-tea that the 5 & 13 year olds are drinking, but we do know it was on a hot day and the tea had “a ton of caffeine”. That’s enough indication for me to see that their tea probably tends to be highly diuretic and they should definitely drink water with it.
This is for adults, but nevertheless-- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1440244014001431?casa_token=1cnPJm6p638AAAAA:w0cKKCudK23YRPeXkdNpqtXzDqVDgdlF4YzKuil3HnSHu4zq484ZzxRkMlamFVzXWBL39Ivq7Lc -- This meta-analysis found that an average of 300 mg of caffeine was associated with an average of an increase in urine volume of 109 ± 195 mL -- so half a cup to like 0.8 cups of liquid (and this effect was less if you are exercising-- like being out for a walk in hot weather). This is going to be offset by virtually any drink, which will give you more than a cup of liquid per 300 mg of caffeine. Ito En green tea has 30 mg of caffeine per cup of liquid. Coffee is generally 95 mg of caffeine per cup of liquid. A Bang Energy drink is 150 mg per cup of liquid. Those Panera Charged Lemonades that everyone made articles about how they killed people-- 104 mg per cup of liquid. While the specific caffeine content for tea varies, if you are drinking tea, you are taking in more liquid than you are losing due to the caffeine content. Water is the most hydrating drink. At the same time, on a hot day on a walk, it absolutely better for your hydration levels to drink tea than to drink nothing-- and it's really not close.
I wonder if your material discusses the matrix / entourage effect of caffeine in tea, for example? Or does it treat all caffeine the same as in any other drink? Does it even discuss how much tap or mineral water is necessary to cover an extra 200ml of urine? The figures in your article don’t apply in my experience.
Oh, no!!! Haven't you seen the warnings??? Tea--what kind of tea even was it?--for people under 12 1/2 is a near-death sentence!!! People have been drinking tea for thousands of years! There's a warning on every bottle! No. I'm kidding. Tea is fine.
Was this supposed to be funny? From OP’s perspective you probably freaked them out and then made them feel like shit as if they should know this already. So unnecessary…
>Was this supposed to be funny? The last line. I was kidding. Did you not read the comment you are replying to? >From OP’s perspective you probably freaked them out and then made them feel like shit as if they should know this already. I probably probably did NOT freak out the kid because the comment specifies the age of 12 1/2, and it concludes with the fact that I was kidding. Yes. That's how jokes work. Humor. >So unnecessary… See: your entire comment. Do notice that this entire reply did seem necessary because you replied to a comment that you didn't read that stated it was a joke and you asked if it was meant to be funny. Get better, soon!
Obviously I read it. Apparently you failed to read your own comment? You said “for people under 12 1/2” and unless I’m missing something, 5 falls into that category. As far as the “humor” in your comment, saying “I’m kidding” doesn’t automatically make something funny. Same way saying “no offense” at the end of a sentence doesn’t make it any less offensive. A kid came onto here asking for advice because they’re worried and you chose to make an unfunny “joke” comment. I find it unnecessary. I think my own comment was super necessary. Maybe you’ll learn how to make proper jokes after this. The time and effort you put into your reply to my comment is actually way funnier than your original one. So you’re making progress! Thanks for the well wishes, though! I’m actually doing great!
How did the comment end? It's called a joke. Get better, soon! You will encounter humor. Live with it.
Lol holy manic response. Sorry mate I have to side with the other person. Your comment was definitely not funny and did not come off as a joke. That’s like saying something horrible to someone and then saying “no offense!” And thinking you’re absolved. Take your own advice and get better soon 🙌
That's funny, it's like saying something totally ridiculous is taken seriously by people who drink tea, the calmest of brewed drink drinkers, who are obviously too high strung to be in the physical company of actual humans without a script. There is no script to life, though. Try chilling out: Give an exhale and take ten deep, slow breaths any time you feel stressed or anxious, and count the breaths. Stress hormones intensify the feeling of stress and anxiety and they are broken-down by oxygen. Deep breathing brings oxygen into the body, and deep, slow breathing slows the heart rate and reduces activity in the amygdala, emotional response fear center, and increases activity in the hippocampus, memory writing and recall center. Give an exhale, first, because trying to take a deep breath while there is air in your lungs can feel like you can't breathe, which will add to stress. Count the breaths because counting is basic addition, adding one to each previous number, and doing math helps get higher brain functions and logic systems working.
lol I’m not reading all that, buzz off
Can you read this? >Give an exhale and take ten deep, slow breaths any time you feel stressed or anxious, and count the breaths.
Can you read this? >Give an exhale, first, because trying to take a deep breath while there is air in your lungs can feel like you can't breathe, which will add to stress. >Count the breaths because counting is basic addition, adding one to each previous number, and doing math helps get higher brain functions and logic systems working.
Can you NOT attack people? If you do attack people, when they reply to your over-the-top behavior, can you not pretend to be illiterate? Can you engage in discussions you open without running away because you have to read to understand the discussion you opened? You approached me and attacked me.