Should children be given tea and coffee?

Do you give your children tea or coffee? About the effects of this on the health and routines of children, Independent Urdu spoke to a nutritionist, head of pediatrics at a government hospital in Lahore and a mother of three children.

This article can help you to know whether tea is necessary for children or not.

Should children be given tea?

Shaughta Hadi from Lahore has three children. Who are aged between five and nine years. Talking to Independent Urdu, Shaughta said that everyone in her house is fond of tea and coffee.

Shaughta says that ‘who has lived in Pakistan without tea? When someone tells us that he does not drink tea, we are surprised and worried that he does not drink tea. On this social media memes have become so much that Pakistanis’ veins are not blood but tea.

After saying this, he laughed openly.

Shaughta said that in her house, everyone, including children, must drink at least two cups of tea throughout the day. Also make as much tea as you like.

He said that ‘Absolutely our children drink tea. Especially in winter, I definitely give it to them, they like it, it keeps the children warm in the cold.’

He said that they also use coffee in winter.

He said that ‘since all the members of the house mostly sit together and drink tea, the children have also got used to it.’

Independent Urdu asked him that after using tea, did he see any change in his children? So he replied, ‘No, I have never considered it, yes, if children drink tea at night, especially on weekends, they make it hard for them to sleep. Sleep is disturbed but this is a natural process because tea wakes you up anyway.’

According to Prof. Dr. Haroon Hamid, Chairman of Department of Pediatrics, MAO Hospital, Lahore, ‘Tea or coffee should never be given to children.’

‘It is extremely dangerous for their health. Children’s heart rate is naturally faster than adults and the caffeine in tea increases the heart rate which is not good for them.’

What is caffeine?

Caffeine is a natural stimulant commonly found in tea, coffee and cocoa plants.

It works by stimulating the brain and central nervous system, helping you stay alert and relieve fatigue.

According to Professor Dr. Haroon Hamid, ‘Children don’t need tea, their stomachs are small anyway and if you fill them with tea and don’t give them food, it will affect their growth.’

According to Professor Dr. Haroon Hamid, ‘tea contains caffeine and other elements that prevent iron absorption in children. They are deficient in iron which also leads to anemia. Which has its own problems and it also affects the development of the mind.’

He said that tea has a bad effect on teeth, heartbeat, brain, liver, kidneys and stomach.

Therefore, tea should never be given to children.

Independent Urdu also spoke to UK-based dietician Fareeha J in the same regard.

Freeha is registered with the Healthcare Professions Council of Great Britain and is also present on social media as ‘Your Diet’ and is followed by millions of people from all over the world who seek healthy diet advice from her.

Regarding giving tea to children, Fariha said, ‘According to the guideline for adults, they should not take more than four hundred milligrams of caffeine, which is five to seven cups of tea. It’s important to understand how much caffeine you’ve consumed, because if you’ve had cola or any other caffeinated beverage, you’ll have to watch and research has been done.

But when we think about children, there’s no research yet that clearly shows how much caffeine you can give children?’

Fariha said that it is not that there are no benefits of tea, but these benefits are for adults and not for children. He further said that ‘Tea contains antioxidants that strengthen the immune system of adults. It contains ingredients that reduce inflammation. However, caffeine should not be taken too much.

At the same time, he said, ‘If we are thinking that we have to give tea to children, then we have to give it very carefully. The guidance is that tea should not be given to children under the age of 12 because there is not enough research to know how much caffeine will affect children’s health. I would say that if you have children, keep them away from the tea.’

He said, ‘Another thing to be considered is that there are tannins in tea that do not allow the body to absorb the iron found in plant foods.

Tannins, polyphenols are a type of chemical compound that belongs to a broad group of compounds.

That is, if you are eating pulses, spinach or vegetables that contain iron, the tea will not allow the iron to be absorbed by the body. Iron is very important for children at this age. Not only for the development of their bodies but also their minds.’

Fariha further said that since iron carries oxygen to the brain and if you are giving tea to your child along with these foods, your child may be tired, his intellectual development may not be possible. , so why are you feeding your child tea?

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children under the age of 12 should not be given caffeinated coffee, tea, soda, sports drinks or other products, while between the ages of 12 and 18, caffeinated beverages should be limited to 100 milligrams.