I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this but everywhere we go there are kids chugging a wide variety of coffee drinks and not in kid portions. We were in a Starbucks the first time it really stood out, a guy was in line with his 5-7 year old who picked up one of the pre-mixed coffee drinks out of the cooler. Dad opened the drink for the kid and stepped up to pay, but he was not just paying for the one drink, he ordered a coffee for himself as his single digit aged kid pounded half of the Bottled Mocha Frappuccino. Then all of a sudden it hits you… should a kid that small be drinking that much caffeine?
But it doesn’t stop there and it certainly isn’t Starbucks fault by any means. We were in an Einstein’s the other morning getting breakfast when we noticed a table of three kids (under 12 years old) each with their own Caramel Blender, the 24oz size. They were chatting away while their Mom was waiting for her own coffee drink which was less than 24oz when it arrived.
It’s crazy, coffee houses are now the place where kids go to hang out. The more trendy the coffee place the more kids there are in line when you walk in. Don’t they know caffeine has a half life? Five to six hours after you drink your coffee, you still have half of the caffeine in your system. Kids don’t have ADD, they are just hopped up on caffeine. And for their body weight the amount of caffeine they are taking in is huge!
Take a look the next time you head out for coffee. Then imagine if your coffee drink was as big in your hands as the one that kid is holding.