For those that share coffee with your kids, wondering how it came about in your household?

My daughter (now 14) has loved coffee since she was ... 9 months old. I was at my cousin's house, sitting on the floor with my daughter in my lap, and my cuz treated me to a latte made with hand-pressed espresso. He hands the mug down to me, and my daughter stands up, and holding onto my shoulder (she wasn't walking yet), starts grabbing for the mug. Fearing my baby would pull the mug out of my hand, and burn herself, I transferred it to my other hand. She immediately cruised around, holding onto my shoulders and head, until she was facing my other hand, and immediately starts grabbing for it again. I transferred it back. Same results.

So, I said, "Ok, ok, I'll give you a taste!" She plops back down on my leg and opens her mouth. Like a baby bird.

I dipped my finger into my coffee and lifted so a droplet clung to my fingertip, and placed the drop on her tongue. She - and I swear I'm not making this up - swished the droplet around on her tongue ... then her mouth popped open again. Her wishes couldn't be more clear. So I gave her another drop. And another, and another. After about a dozen drops or thereabouts, I said, "Kivi, you're a baby. You've had enough." And she crawled away to go play. (Just because they cannot talk, does NOT mean they don't understand you.)

As a toddler, I'd give her the last swallow of cooled-down coffee from the bottom of my cup, or I sometimes gave her a "cup" of coffee of her own, in a 1-ounce shot glass. Somewhere along the way, I bought a couple of espresso mugs for her to use, and would just transfer a few tablespoons of coffee from my mug to hers. Eventually, when she was about 10, I got her a six-ounce "hot chocolate" mug and increased the amount of coffee that I brewed. At 13, I got her a 10-ounce mug, and that's what she's currently using, at 14. When we are out and about, she gets a small coffee/latte, though I do know that when she's not with me, she gets a medium. . I told her she can have a 12-ounce mug at 16, and a 16-ounce (like mine) when she's 18. One reason I haven't allowed her bigger amounts sooner, is that my favorite brewing methods only brew 24 ounces at a time. Eventually, I'll have to get something bigger.

My father had been raised with "coffee milk," and I can remember him using primarily Taster's Choice instant, when I was a kid. I liked even his not-particularly-good coffee, the first time I tasted it, though I didn't become a regular coffee drinker until I was in college. Dad was never picky - when I was an adult he'd use either "coffee bags" (like tea bags), or a small automatic drip with Folgers, but by the time he was using that single-serving auto-drip maker, I couldn't drink it - I was too used to my own coffee.

So, how did your children become coffee drinkers?

We own a coffee shop and both kids (one and four) have grown up there. Espresso cups are the perfect size for them and they both like the taste.

My son who is now 11 likes coffee. He'll drink it without any sugar. When pulling shots I'll often make him a cappuccino or a mocha.

The research on coffee shows overall very positive health effects and the claim that it "stunts kid's growth" has been debunked.

In any case it's far healthier than all the soda that kids might otherwise drink. But like anything you might want to keep tabs on the caffeine, too much caffeine may not be good.

All 5 of my children like coffee. My oldest daughter (13) can make lattes and such. I let her roast one time and it didn't turn out so well.

I remember going to my grandparents house as a youngster and having coffee with lots of milk and sugar in it.

I don't think anyone makes a drug that can wire my kids any higher or tighter than they've been since birth.

Same here. My kids don't need an energy boost, that's for sure. I haven't given them coffee for this reason. But they love the "mini cappuccinos" I make them in my espresso cups. Just steamed soy milk because of a dairy allergy. And no coffee...yet

keno wrote:The research on coffee shows overall very positive health effects and the claim that it "stunts kid's growth" has been debunked.

My 3rd grade teacher didn't think I paid enough attention in class so she told my mom that I should try coffee before going to school...I was 8, I am now 6'4" tall.

One day I had a colander of roasted coffee I had just cooled sitting on the kitchen counter. I went out to tidy up my roasting area and returned to see that my 20 month old daughter had dragged a chair all the way across the kitchen (it was the first time she'd ever done that), used it to climb up onto the counter and had shoved a handful of the coffee in her mouth and was chomping on it. She had another tightly clenched fistful and refused to give any of it up, chomping away and running from me so I couldn't make her spit it out. I think she she skipped her nap that day.

My 4 year old son likes latte macchiatos (in the traditional Italian sense, not the *S version) and my daughter likes hers with fresh coffee grounds sprinkled on top.

They both insist on helping me prep the shots, and they like to watch the coffee pour out of the bottom of the naked portafilter

dominico wrote:One day I had a colander of roasted coffee I had just cooled sitting on the kitchen counter. I went out to tidy up my roasting area and returned to see that my 20 month old daughter had dragged a chair all the way across the kitchen (it was the first time she'd ever done that), used it to climb up onto the counter and had shoved a handful of the coffee in her mouth and was chomping on it. She had another tightly clenched fistful and refused to give any of it up, chomping away and running from me so I couldn't make her spit it out. I think she she skipped her nap that day.

That reminds me very much of my 9-month-old insisting on a taste of my latte.

dominico wrote:They both insist on helping me prep the shots, and they like to watch the coffee pour out of the bottom of the naked portafilter

I do hope my daughter will take an interest in making coffee herself. She is happy, delighted even, to drink my coffee, and says it's better than any coffee we get while out and about. I've shown her how to brew coffee a few times, but she's really not interested. She'll grind the beans for me, if I ask. But when I'm out of town, she prefers to make instant coffee. As soon as I'm back, she mentions how sick she is of instant, that she doesn't think it has as much caffeine as brewed coffee, and how glad she is to be drinking my coffee again. I don't push - I figure if she cares enough, she'll do it herself, someday. It's my hobby (obsession) - it doesn't have to be hers.

"Clint Orchuk wrote:
I don't think anyone makes a drug that can wire my kids any higher or tighter than they've been since birth."

No, I meant caffeine or no caffeine doesn't make a dang bit of difference. They're nuts either way!