Should children and teenagers stay away from coffee?

Coffee is the most popular beverage in the world - but for many reasons it is and must remain an "adult" drink.

While it is now widely known that for adults, coffee is not only enjoyable but also beneficial to health, with its multiple benefits far outweighing its "side effects" which, moreover, are insignificant and do not affect all people in the same way. This is not the case with children - and teenagers.

It is a fact that coffee is not suitable for consumption by children and adolescents, for a number of reasons that have to do with how the coffee affects the child's body. A popular coffee myth states that coffee "stops developing" children, but this is far from the truth. However, coffee (and especially its systemic consumption) should be avoided during childhood.

It should be noted that most of the effects listed below are primarily due to caffeine, and are therefore not limited to coffee, but extend to all caffeinated foods such as Cola's soft drinks or strong black tea. The key to the healthy development of children and adolescents is, among other things, a balanced diet.

How coffee can afffect a child's body? 

Insomnia: While in most adults coffee does not greatly influence either the quantity or the quality of sleep, the same does not happen with children or adolescents. As the nervous system of younger age is much more sensitive to the active substance of coffee, its consumption can disturb the normal sleeping conditions of children and adolescents. Children and teenagers, moreover, need at least nine or ten hours of sleep, unlike adults, and coffee consumption can deprive them of precious hours of sleep, with very unpleasant consequences.

Oral Health: Although coffee does not have the slightest effect on adult teeth, the same does not apply to the teeth of children. As baby teeth are not fully developed, they are much more sensitive to acids found in various foods, including coffee. Still, due to their very nature, they are much easier to paint than adult teeth. The sensitivity of the teeth decreases as time passes to zero in an adult denture.

Reduction of appetite: A characteristic of coffee is that in some organisms it can reduce the appetite for food, something that is desirable in the adult world and makes coffee a necessary companion to any diet that aims at weight loss. In teens and especially children, this incidence of coffee is undesirable, as balanced and proper nutrition is the key to healthy growth, both physical and mental.

Bone Growth: Coffee has a diuretic effect and helps to eliminate calcium from the human body. In the adult world, this effect of coffee is completely indifferent and common, but at younger age, calcium is valuable for proper bone growth and its elimination should, as far as possible, be avoided.

Hyperactivity: In adults, coffee increases concentration, improves productivity and is suitable for work under stressful conditions. However, in children's nervous system, it can have opposite effects, reducing concentration and causing hyperactivity. Different child and adult working conditions (the difference between adult work and the school environment) can greatly aggravate these unwanted effects.

Obesity: While coffee has zero calories, and is a drink well suited to anyone who cares for its diet and its silhouette, it is true that its natural bitterness is usually repellent for younger people, preferring sugar-rich coffee beverages, full of syrups and whipped cream, which of course are caloric bombs. The frequent consumption of such beverages from younger ages can act as an aggravating eating habits, laying the foundation for the development of obesity.

Coffee is an everyday enjoyment, beneficial to our health, which we have the ability to enjoy throughout our adult life, without any limitation or deprivation. A few years of patience until adulthood are worth the effort so that we can enjoy our favorite coffee, without any fear, until death do us apart!