Do your teens drink coffee or other caffeinated beverages?
A new University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital poll finds one in four parents admit their teenagers consume caffeine every day or nearly every day. Doctors warn that can have negative health consequences on young people, including increased heart rate and palpitations.
University of Michigan pediatrician Dr. Susan Woolford, who co-led the poll, says parents can help kids reduce their caffeine intake.
“Amongst our parents who indicated that their teens drink caffeine, the vast majority shared that they do this at home,” Woolford said. “So parents are well situated to help their teens by ensuring that they have non-caffeinated drinks in the home, such as water or flavored water, rather than only having beverages with caffeine.”
The American academy of pediatrics discourages the use of caffeine by children, and recommends a limit of no more than 100 milligrams of caffeine daily for young people.
More than half parents admit they rarely look at caffeine amounts when buying beverages for their teens.
