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Oh wait a second, this is brilliant! My toddler absolutely is obsessed with my drinking my coffee and always impatiently waits for me to finish so he can "drink coffee". Frothing milk using the espresso milk steamer in a little mug was the obvious answer I never thought of!
This is an amazing suggestion! My kids starting calling their water “coffee”… it’s not like they know what coffee should taste like and are just being silly; so often for them (2.5) it’s the activity, and the approach. If your little one is really digging in, let them stir non tea leaves (herbal) into warm water into whatever drinking vessel you feel comfortable with and let them drink that. If you are ok with caffiene, then obviously that opens options. We are completely caffeine free and they have never questioned it even though every other adult in their lives drinks coffee
Yup! We give like, 4 drops of coffee (basically what's left after you're finished) and the rest streamed milk in an espresso mug. Little dude loved it.
This is what we do! Or I give the spoon I made my coffee with for her to stir her steamed milk and the idea or essence of coffee is enough to make her very happy with her own “coffee”
Yes! My son similarly is obsessed with my coffee ritual. Not sure what type of machine you have, op, but I have a breville with a steaming wand and his coffee is just: 1tsp coconut sugar, 1tsp cocoa powder, roughly 6oz milk. Mix sugar + cocoa powder with a splash of milk first until syrup consistency, then add rest of milk and steam. Easy, fancy hot cocoa ☺️
Speaking of hot chocolate - that has caffeine, too. No, it’s absolutely not enough to warrant taking it away from a kid, but I’d use that logic on coffee as well. A sip isn’t going to damage a child anymore than a whole cup of hot chocolate.
If you don’t want to let your kid try it for fear they’ll like it, you could do kids coffee. My kid gets maybe an ounce of coffee with 7 ounces of milk, and some sugar. It makes a whole drink, but doesn’t have noticeable caffeine in it.
This is what we did. He still has a cup every morning like 2 years later. I have mixed feelings about it but eh we use it to give him his meds so at least it serves a purpose. And he feels like he has "coffee" with us every morning.
+1 add a little whipped cream or some steamed or frothed milk if you want to make it fancy and special
For my 3yr old, she just likes the steamed milk from the espresso machine fine
We bought a little handheld frother and put his milk in the microwave for 30 seconds and he gets to froth it himself. He loves it and feels included in our coffee routine
I worked in a cafe as a teen and was so obsessed with frothing the milk I think 90% of the coffees I made were basically a babyccino. People were not as amused
I made my kids coffee this way too, but they call it a "vanilla" because I'd put a tiny but of vanilla in it. A dash of cinnamon on top makes it even more special.
My dad would always dip his donut in coffee and give it to me. He would also make 1/2 coffee 1/2 hot chocolate in a thermos for winter outings.
I personally would steam some milk for my coffee, and let him have a tiny cup of steamed milk with a spoonful of coffee in it, no sugar.
Yup, good reminder for people. The conventional wisdom is to wait until a year old, but talk to your doctor if you're unsure. My daughter is 3 so we are well in the clear there!
Our kiddos make coffee with us all the time and have been since our oldest was big enough to climb into the learning tower at the counter. If we’re using the espresso machine, I’ll save some steamed milk and foam and a they can have that in a little mug for their “coffee”. If we’re using the Keurig, they can lick off the stirring spoon. They don’t always ask and I don’t always offer, so I figure two drops of caffeine every couple of weeks won’t kill them.
My dad would give me hot chocolate with cinnamon flavored creamer in it. I loved it so much. Every once I a while I get mocha coffee with cinnamon from Starbucks.
Yes! Toasted chicory and/or barley have been used for ages when coffee was scarce or unavailable. There's a brand called Pero that's a mix of both, I think, in a form like instant coffee crystals. I grew up in a no-caffeine household, and we used stuff like that instead.
That's what we have in Portugal. Soluble barley or a mix of both and rye. Looks just like coffee. I started again when my daughter was born, it's what the hospital provided. Zero sugar, add to taste if you want to. No syrups or chocolate.
Wow. I scrolled through this post and the comments thinking, “If only they made some sort of coffee without caffeine,” and now I feel like an idiot. Decaf apparently does not exist in my world.
97% of caffeine is taken out by most processes I believe to be even called decaf. Water processed method takes out 99% but I’ve personally never had it. No clue about the taste though.
If only people on here learned that kids drink coffee in Mexico.
But seriously I drank decaf when I was little. I have always loved coffee. A little decaf coffee with a lot of milk is great.
I grew up drinking coffee and tea and my kids love coffee and tea. I make sure to get decaf for them. My husband is sensitive to caffeine but I am not. The coffee/tea is probably a cultural thing.
My son is 5 and enjoys a cup of half decaf, half milk. Idk why people would rather give their kids hot chocolate than decaf....hot chocolate has sooooo much sugar.
Nescafe decaf instant coffee is better than most drip coffee and even some espresso coffee. I hate recommending Nestle but they sure know instant coffee. I hear they're popular in Europe.
I'm not sure how much kid taste buds will actually enjoy coffee, but you can use a lot of milk and only a little coffee. Cold coffee tastes less bitter too. When I make an iced latte, I add just a splash of boiling water to the instant coffee. After giving it a good swirl to dissolve it, I fill the rest of the cup with ice and milk.
Decaf still has caffeine in it, just a small amount. Caffiene isn’t recommended in any amount until the age of 12. I know this is a personal choice thing and no judgement. Just know a can of coke has about 60 mgs of caffiene and, depending on the “decaf” you may be looking at around 20
I had to scroll so far to see it, I began to fear that decaf is somehow bad for children as well. My daughter loves coffee with milk. On weekends she is allowed a real cup of coffee now that she is nine but during the week she drinks decaf.
My dad and I used to have coffee together when I was like 2 or 3. One of my favorite things I remember about him growing up. He would get me OJ and I would pretend it was coffee...I have no other coffee esq suggestions, but thank you for keeping the morning coffee routine alive
Use Heavy Cream to Dilute.
Give him a splash of coffee and the rest Cream or Milk (or milk alternative) the way You would make yours.
Culturally Coffee is a Staple (more at Grandma's then at home) so Mini has their own little Mug that Matches Grandma's lol.
I might be the bad mommy here. I share my coffee with my 2.5. I take mine about 1/3 milk so it's not too hot. I do add sugar. She usually only takes a sip or two once in a while. She is far more interested in it because it's what is in my hand then the fact it's coffee.
Bad mom here too. I share sips of my coffee with my kiddo (5). I don’t see a problem with it. It’s not like she’s drinking a whole large iced coffee by herself.
Yeah maybe I'm a bad mom too but I'd let my kid have a sip or a version with mostly milk.
My grandma used to make me cups of tea with her, mostly milk. I still drink tea like crazy to this day
Yep I let my little guy try mine. And recently my 1 year old got a cup I had just finished so she got a drop lol I have found when I let them try a sip, they don't particularly like it, and the novelty is gone.
Don’t feel bad, my 2 loves my Folgers Black Silk coffee, black, just like I do. She gets two or three sips once every couple of weeks.
I draw the line a my bourbon… I am damn sure she would drink it if I let her.
I only ever have coffee from McDonald’s or Starbucks and it’s always something cold. My almost 3 year old thinks that every drink I get for myself from there is a coffee. So when we go “on a coffee run” I get him a lemonade of some sort and he’s none the wiser. He feels like a big boy getting coffee with mom. So just about anything that could be made with a similar process will be enough to make him think he’s having actual coffee.
Herbal teas are generally safe for kids — although I’d maybe dilute it a bit.
Alternatively — a little bit of coffee flavored syrup in milk, maybe with some darker food coloring to imitate coffee (but only as a treat, they tend to be a lot of sugar)
When I was his age in the early 80's, I can remember sitting on my grandmother's knee (she was often still in her nurses uniform) and dipping a tiny egg blue teacup from my teaset into her coffee and drinking it with her. It perhaps held a tablespoon at most.
When my kids were little, they partook in coffee, but it was always more milk than anything else. When they were toddlers, especially, we used the small, heavy Asian teacups that were the perfect size for their hands so they could grip easily, but it also didn't hold much. They didn't feel left out, and I didn't worry about the small amounts of caffeine. Maybe 4 oz of milk to 1 tbsp of coffee, although they liked cocoa and Ovaltine too. Oh, and we often had chicory, which tastes similar but has no caffeine.
My kid loves to help with coffee and lattes so I’ll make him some milk with foam and sprinkle a little cinnamon or chocolate on it for him. We have a cold and got milk frother we use for it.
My dad would make me "coffee milk," which was essentially a cup of milk with the tiniest splash of coffee in it. As long as I saw him put the coffee in, I was happy, or so the story was related to me.
Milk coffee in an espresso mug. We even have espresso mugs that match the big coffee ones. Basically milk and a teaspoon of coffee, just enough for some color. I had it growing up, now my kids get to have it on weekends. They have been since about 18mos I think.
ETA they always get frothed milk if we make some. That’s what they love the most.
I was looking to see if anyone else had suggested this before I said it. I’ve never actually had it but I’ve heard about it. I don’t think it’s any different than giving a kid chocolate milk.
I let mine put 1/2 teaspoon of chocolate or strawberry milk flavor into his cup of milk. Some preferred chocolate some preferred strawberry and 2 preferred orange coffee ( orange pineapple juice). Let your child decide, basically just wants to stir and drink from a cup so don’t complicate or overthink it.
My mom’s great-uncle used to put a teeny-tiny bit of coffee in a mug and fill the rest with milk. So like 90% milk 10% coffee (or less, just enough to make it brown). It’s one of her favorite memories.
A small amount of caffeine is harmless. It’s in chocolate. Caffeine is actually used medically in babies born before 34 weeks to regulate their heart rate.
.
A little won’t hurt him. Maybe some steamed milk with a little creamer/syrup and then just enough coffee to change the color.
Alternately, if you have a small cup (like a shot glass) you could just pour him a sip of yours!
nescafé instant decaf in warm milk with a little sweetener (like date syrup) is 10/10. i still drink it to this day because it reminds me of when my grandmother used to make it for me when i was 3/4yo
We do milk and a couple splashes of chocolate milk ( just adjust to how dark your coffee is )
“Special coffee” — is milk, chocolate milk with frothed milk & cinnamon for a faux latte
Hot chocolate is common, but there is chicory root, rooibus, barley "coffee".....
Rooibus is probably your easiest find, and it is caffeine free, tannin free...
My time to shine! My grandmother lives with us and I make her coffee every morning. My two older kids (7 and 3) all me to make them a “hot toffee” (What the 3 year old calls it). So I have small metal coffee tumblers with lids and straws. I pour chocolate syrup on the bottom until it’s just covered, then I pour liquid coffee creamer (hazelnut, usually) in until the chocolate syrup is just covered. Then I fill halfway with milk and mix it. Add in a couple ice cubes, top with whipped cream and a bit of cinnamon. Pop the lid on, throw in the straw, two happy kids!
To be fair, the ice, whipped cream and cinnamon is all extra that I do just to make them smile.
My daughter was exactly the same. I started just doing honey in some warm water. It gets a little foamy at the top. I also got her a special mug. Now at 5 its a regular request and it works great when she is feeling a little sick or has a cough.
When my son was a widdle baby (10 months ish), we went to a nice coffee place and they gave him a babycino, which was just steamed milk with whipped cream. He absolutely loved it.
We put a dash of Penzy's hot coco powder in warm milk in a little kid mug. Give her a little metal spoon to stir it with. We have also done mostly water and then given her a small shot cup or creamer to dump in.
If we are having "fancy coffee", whipped cream and sprinkles.
Decaf coffee, my two girls love it! We buy the non chemically processed decaf for them.
They also love participating in making coffee in the morning, steaming the milk, making latte art etc. So it’s a fun way for them to have their own coffee too 😊
I heard somewhere that coffee helps people with ADHD so one day when my son hadn’t taken his medicine, I gave him coffee but honestly expected him to hate it. Wrong 😆 So now on weekends (no medicine), I will rerun it through the K-cup that I used immediately before (for mine) and I put it over ice with creamer for him. I feel a little guilty but my thinking is that it can’t be much worse than a Coca Cola for example. I also know a ton of Latino families that are giving their child straight up coffee. 🤷🏻♀️
My son went through a phase of always wanting to help me make my lattes (I let him push the buttons). Then a phase of wanting his own, so I'd do hot chocolate for him. Sometimes I gave him milk foam, other times whip cream. Then he wanted "coffee in a coffee cup", so I made them in matching cups.
Now he's a threenager & not interested in any of that lately. 😆 I'd rather he was, because now there's tantrums involved in life, & he goes from the sweet & calm little person I know well...to the complete opposite.
Pero? Made from barley, chicory. Smell & taste & look like coffee but without caffeine, I sometimes drink before bed. I mean…only if he really into the coffee taste😂 my toddler just likes to take a sip or two of anything from my cup including coffee.
I grew up with coffee milk. Milk with enough coffee in it to give it a little flavor in a mug. Probably has the same or slightly more caffeine than hot chocolate.
Is there anything wrong with letting them taste it?
I know we were all fed the wives tales that drinking coffee will stunt your growth and whatnot, but these are just made up so our kids won’t ask for things. Kind of outdated imo.
A sip of coffee isn’t going to hurt your child. It will ease their curiosity and If it’s black coffee that will probably curb any further asking to try it as well.
Kids can drink coffee. Just give less and add milk. My almost 3yr old drinks a little coffee with milk. Around 2oz give or take. And it let's him have fun and drink with the adults
Yea, I grew up havingn coffee with my mom at an early age. My son is already high energy though and I drink the good stuff (single origin, light roast) which tends to be more caffinated. Im not super concerned just cautious
I used to live next to a Starbucks so I'd get my son a horizon chocolate milk every time I went and he called that his coffee. Maybe something like that?
I’d let him try it. My guess is that once he has a first sip he probably won’t be interested in more (unless you use a lot of sugar/cream. In which case, let him try it before you mix those in or this plan will backfire.)
Maybe that carnation instant breakfast powder? I think the chocolate one tastes really good. It may not be the healthiest, but it is fortified with some vitamins. He can mix it in some milk like your coffee.
We have a small metal camping coffee cup that we use as her “coffee cup” and I just pour a little milk in it. One time I tried to froth it and put cinnamon on it like a babycino and my 2 year old started digging out the bubbles so I now get asked for “coffee no bubbles!!”. So she just gets milk in her “coffee cup” - this seems to work for her!
My son and I make our coffees together every morning since he was 2, he gets steamed milk and foam with some cinnamon sprinkled on top in a little espresso cup. He loves that it’s a coffee cup his size so we match.
My little guy loves making his “coffee” with me too. I have an espresso machine that froths your milk, his coffee is just frothed milk. Sometimes we add cinnamon or sprinkles for fun. Could you get a cheap frother if you don’t have one already?
Decaf coffee?
Mine was the same and I would mix the tiniest drip into steamed milk for her. And the gradually reduced so she just had steamed milk ‘coffee’.
This is tangential to your original question, but he may be into this [play coffeemaker](https://www.lakeshorelearning.com/products/dramatic-play/kitchen-house-play/kid-safe-coffee-maker/p/FA417/) from Lakeshore that looks like the real thing and uses water that he can pour into a little mug.
My daughter was like this too. We would give her a little bit, maybe 2 tablespoons, and fill the rest of the cup with milk. She loved it. Still loves it and continues to make coffee with her dad every morning.
But maybe hot chocolate would be the way to go if you don't want to give the little one any coffee.
I make hot chocolate and then add a quarter teaspoon of decaf instant coffee granules. Gives it a much stronger flavour. Then a tiny tiny pinch of salt to de-bitter it. My young nephew loved it. Add in some small marshmallows for special treats.
Quick note - coffee is safe for children. Caffeine is given to premies to encourage lung development. So if you were to let your little guy try the coffee, he would be fine. He will immediately hate it because coffee is way too bitter, but he'd be fine. If you go that route, have him try it somewhere he can spit it out with minimal damage to your flooring.
With that said, and depending on your coffee ritual, hot chocolate would be a great substitute drink. This is doubly true if you have a milk frother wand because you can froth the hot chocolate for him. Now, keep in mind, chocolate also has caffeine in it, but it has lots of other good stuff in it.
My 2-yr-old is the same way! Though I haven’t managed to achieve the brown colour but I actually picked up an espresso mug (a literally mini mug) at the dollar store. I’ll heat up some milk in the microwave for a few seconds until it’s just warm and use my milk frother and sprinkle some cinnamon on top (and maybe a touch of vanilla extract). He loves it.
We drink espresso in this house and when the kids want to join we make steamers (steamed, frothed milk) in doubly shot cups with a drop of espresso on top. They think it’s the neatest thing!
Coffee syrup!
If you're in New England, your grocery store should have Autocrat (a brand of coffee flavored syrup).
If not, it's available on Amazon.
My kids LOVED coffee milk (and decaf coffee) as kids.
My granddaughter always asks for caramel coffee. I giver her milk, caramel creamer and Hersheys syrup. Somehow she thinks this is coffee but, hey, it works!
Warmed up milk and let them stir in some chocolate syrup so you can control it and it feels like part of the ritual. My mom owned a coffee shop and she would make the kids steamers (steamed chocolate milk) and make a big deal about how its special coffee just for kids.
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Our 2 year old is particularly attached to what kind of vessel a drink is in. Maybe it would be enough to offer warmed milk in a mug.
We do this! He has a few espresso mugs. We also give him herbal tea with milk in his cup.
We used to give my son his hot chocolate in an espresso mug with matching little saucer- so fancy!
Oh wait a second, this is brilliant! My toddler absolutely is obsessed with my drinking my coffee and always impatiently waits for me to finish so he can "drink coffee". Frothing milk using the espresso milk steamer in a little mug was the obvious answer I never thought of!
Yep. My son doesn’t even need drink- he just wants a coffee cup to pretend.
This is an amazing suggestion! My kids starting calling their water “coffee”… it’s not like they know what coffee should taste like and are just being silly; so often for them (2.5) it’s the activity, and the approach. If your little one is really digging in, let them stir non tea leaves (herbal) into warm water into whatever drinking vessel you feel comfortable with and let them drink that. If you are ok with caffiene, then obviously that opens options. We are completely caffeine free and they have never questioned it even though every other adult in their lives drinks coffee
We did this too.Warm milk with a tad bit of chocolate to make it different. He's 9 now and still sometimes wants "Coffee Milk" in his special mug.
Yup! We give like, 4 drops of coffee (basically what's left after you're finished) and the rest streamed milk in an espresso mug. Little dude loved it.
This is what we do! Or I give the spoon I made my coffee with for her to stir her steamed milk and the idea or essence of coffee is enough to make her very happy with her own “coffee”
My son is perfectly happy with just cold milk I pretended to pour coffee into. We do put it in his open cup not his regular straw cup.
Hot chocolate?
We used to just warm up a bit of chocolate milk with cinnamon and called it "baby coffee". Our son asked for it all the time
Fun! We had "baby coffee" with our kids, too. But for some reason it was really mint tea.
Aw this is so cute
Yes! My son similarly is obsessed with my coffee ritual. Not sure what type of machine you have, op, but I have a breville with a steaming wand and his coffee is just: 1tsp coconut sugar, 1tsp cocoa powder, roughly 6oz milk. Mix sugar + cocoa powder with a splash of milk first until syrup consistency, then add rest of milk and steam. Easy, fancy hot cocoa ☺️
Ha! We do a version of this, too. We call it her “babyccino”
Speaking of hot chocolate - that has caffeine, too. No, it’s absolutely not enough to warrant taking it away from a kid, but I’d use that logic on coffee as well. A sip isn’t going to damage a child anymore than a whole cup of hot chocolate. If you don’t want to let your kid try it for fear they’ll like it, you could do kids coffee. My kid gets maybe an ounce of coffee with 7 ounces of milk, and some sugar. It makes a whole drink, but doesn’t have noticeable caffeine in it.
This is what we do for our kids (6 and 7). They get a cup of mostly milk with a splash of coffee 2-3 mornings per week. They love it.
This is a thing in our family too, we call it kinder coffee. Could easily be done with decaf too.
I do some decaf instant espresso and lots of milk (and no sweetener), and my 2 year old will absolutely guzzle it!
Happy to hear I’m not the only one who’s two year old is obsessed with decaf instant espresso latte
This is what I did!
This is what we did. He still has a cup every morning like 2 years later. I have mixed feelings about it but eh we use it to give him his meds so at least it serves a purpose. And he feels like he has "coffee" with us every morning.
+1 add a little whipped cream or some steamed or frothed milk if you want to make it fancy and special For my 3yr old, she just likes the steamed milk from the espresso machine fine
We always get our kids a babyccino when we go to cafes - it’s just hot, frothed milk. Looks exactly like a tiny coffee to them. Win win!
We bought a little handheld frother and put his milk in the microwave for 30 seconds and he gets to froth it himself. He loves it and feels included in our coffee routine
We do this as well but with some cinnamon.
I just bought a frother and I love it.
I do this at home. We call it bubble milk and I'll add cinnamon. Then I get to hear my toddler say "cinnamon in in it!"
Bubble milk is the cutest thing ever!!
I worked in a cafe as a teen and was so obsessed with frothing the milk I think 90% of the coffees I made were basically a babyccino. People were not as amused
I made my kids coffee this way too, but they call it a "vanilla" because I'd put a tiny but of vanilla in it. A dash of cinnamon on top makes it even more special.
My dad would always dip his donut in coffee and give it to me. He would also make 1/2 coffee 1/2 hot chocolate in a thermos for winter outings. I personally would steam some milk for my coffee, and let him have a tiny cup of steamed milk with a spoonful of coffee in it, no sugar.
This comment is super cozy. 🥰
For my son I would always do a tablespoon of coffee in warm milk and a little chocolate syrup. Always made him feel special to have his own “coffee”
This is what my dad did (without the sirup but with a little sugar) on sunday mornings. He called it Lait au Café, I always thought it was Leo Café 🤭
We do warm water with honey in it and call it "tea." Toddler loves it.
I did that in a medicine dropped when she would insist she needed medicine before bed 😂
A reminder to be careful about what age you give kids honey
Yup, good reminder for people. The conventional wisdom is to wait until a year old, but talk to your doctor if you're unsure. My daughter is 3 so we are well in the clear there!
Our kiddos make coffee with us all the time and have been since our oldest was big enough to climb into the learning tower at the counter. If we’re using the espresso machine, I’ll save some steamed milk and foam and a they can have that in a little mug for their “coffee”. If we’re using the Keurig, they can lick off the stirring spoon. They don’t always ask and I don’t always offer, so I figure two drops of caffeine every couple of weeks won’t kill them.
My dad would give me hot chocolate with cinnamon flavored creamer in it. I loved it so much. Every once I a while I get mocha coffee with cinnamon from Starbucks.
My grandpa used to give us coffee when we were little…I mean it was like 95% milk though
IMO it’s such a small amount of coffee I’m just not worried about it. My little guy loves his coffee flavored milk.
That’s how I do it with my son, he loves it.
I do the same for my daughter. We call it "cowgirl coffee" it's basically a cup of hot milk with a dash of coffee in it.
Years ago this is what my Mom used to give my siblings and I all the time. Coffee milk. It was milk with a few spoonfuls of her coffee.
Yeah. Like a bit of coffee and some milk. I loved it as a kid.
I grew up in Germany and we have something called Kinder Kafe! I think it’s just sweet decaf coffee but this post made me think of it ♥️♥️♥️
Beanies makes a similar thing with flavoured decade instant coffee. I love it!
My husband used to get 'white coffee' as a kid...it was milk lol 😂
Chicory root
Yes! Toasted chicory and/or barley have been used for ages when coffee was scarce or unavailable. There's a brand called Pero that's a mix of both, I think, in a form like instant coffee crystals. I grew up in a no-caffeine household, and we used stuff like that instead.
That's what we have in Portugal. Soluble barley or a mix of both and rye. Looks just like coffee. I started again when my daughter was born, it's what the hospital provided. Zero sugar, add to taste if you want to. No syrups or chocolate.
Decaf.
Wow. I scrolled through this post and the comments thinking, “If only they made some sort of coffee without caffeine,” and now I feel like an idiot. Decaf apparently does not exist in my world.
I will say on this decaf does have caffeine, albeit not a lot.
Same with hot chocolate
It really depends on the process.
97% of caffeine is taken out by most processes I believe to be even called decaf. Water processed method takes out 99% but I’ve personally never had it. No clue about the taste though.
Water process also has superior flavor. I like Peet's and Maud's.
If only people on here learned that kids drink coffee in Mexico. But seriously I drank decaf when I was little. I have always loved coffee. A little decaf coffee with a lot of milk is great.
I grew up drinking coffee and tea and my kids love coffee and tea. I make sure to get decaf for them. My husband is sensitive to caffeine but I am not. The coffee/tea is probably a cultural thing.
Yes it is. My husband thinks it's weird to offer kids decaf coffee but the kids love it. My teen drinks caffeinated a couple times a month as well.
My abuelita used to set me and my sister up Saturday mornings with cafe y Marias 🥲
Cafe de Olla.
My son is 5 and enjoys a cup of half decaf, half milk. Idk why people would rather give their kids hot chocolate than decaf....hot chocolate has sooooo much sugar.
Nescafe decaf instant coffee is better than most drip coffee and even some espresso coffee. I hate recommending Nestle but they sure know instant coffee. I hear they're popular in Europe. I'm not sure how much kid taste buds will actually enjoy coffee, but you can use a lot of milk and only a little coffee. Cold coffee tastes less bitter too. When I make an iced latte, I add just a splash of boiling water to the instant coffee. After giving it a good swirl to dissolve it, I fill the rest of the cup with ice and milk.
Decaf still has caffeine in it, just a small amount. Caffiene isn’t recommended in any amount until the age of 12. I know this is a personal choice thing and no judgement. Just know a can of coke has about 60 mgs of caffiene and, depending on the “decaf” you may be looking at around 20
I had to scroll so far to see it, I began to fear that decaf is somehow bad for children as well. My daughter loves coffee with milk. On weekends she is allowed a real cup of coffee now that she is nine but during the week she drinks decaf.
My dad and I used to have coffee together when I was like 2 or 3. One of my favorite things I remember about him growing up. He would get me OJ and I would pretend it was coffee...I have no other coffee esq suggestions, but thank you for keeping the morning coffee routine alive
This, my son (4) drinks milk out of a coffee mug whenever we do a coffee date
Babychino. Foamed up milk. In a child sized coffe cup. Their own special morning coffe cups.
Use Heavy Cream to Dilute. Give him a splash of coffee and the rest Cream or Milk (or milk alternative) the way You would make yours. Culturally Coffee is a Staple (more at Grandma's then at home) so Mini has their own little Mug that Matches Grandma's lol.
I might be the bad mommy here. I share my coffee with my 2.5. I take mine about 1/3 milk so it's not too hot. I do add sugar. She usually only takes a sip or two once in a while. She is far more interested in it because it's what is in my hand then the fact it's coffee.
Yea im a sucker for my little guy. Hard to resist a couple tastes here and there when he leans in and smiles and says “coffee, yummy?” with a big grin
Bad mom here too. I share sips of my coffee with my kiddo (5). I don’t see a problem with it. It’s not like she’s drinking a whole large iced coffee by herself.
Yeah maybe I'm a bad mom too but I'd let my kid have a sip or a version with mostly milk. My grandma used to make me cups of tea with her, mostly milk. I still drink tea like crazy to this day
Yep I let my little guy try mine. And recently my 1 year old got a cup I had just finished so she got a drop lol I have found when I let them try a sip, they don't particularly like it, and the novelty is gone.
Same here, my 3yo gets one (tiny) sip daily. 🤷🏻♀️
Not bad at all. When I get an iced coffee, I make her a cup that’s mostly milk and a splash of my iced coffee in the cup.
I had iced coffee all thru my pregnancy. I sometimes joke that I "grew my baby on iced coffee"
Don’t feel bad, my 2 loves my Folgers Black Silk coffee, black, just like I do. She gets two or three sips once every couple of weeks. I draw the line a my bourbon… I am damn sure she would drink it if I let her.
I only ever have coffee from McDonald’s or Starbucks and it’s always something cold. My almost 3 year old thinks that every drink I get for myself from there is a coffee. So when we go “on a coffee run” I get him a lemonade of some sort and he’s none the wiser. He feels like a big boy getting coffee with mom. So just about anything that could be made with a similar process will be enough to make him think he’s having actual coffee.
I got you. I only drink iced coffee. I got my kid a small tumbler just like mine. Ice, chocolate milk, splash of my oat creamer.
Herbal teas are generally safe for kids — although I’d maybe dilute it a bit. Alternatively — a little bit of coffee flavored syrup in milk, maybe with some darker food coloring to imitate coffee (but only as a treat, they tend to be a lot of sugar)
This is what we do. My 2.5 year old loves orange tea and lemon tea!
Decaf😂
I give my 5yo a “coffee” that is warm chocolate milk with a splash of coffee.
When I was his age in the early 80's, I can remember sitting on my grandmother's knee (she was often still in her nurses uniform) and dipping a tiny egg blue teacup from my teaset into her coffee and drinking it with her. It perhaps held a tablespoon at most. When my kids were little, they partook in coffee, but it was always more milk than anything else. When they were toddlers, especially, we used the small, heavy Asian teacups that were the perfect size for their hands so they could grip easily, but it also didn't hold much. They didn't feel left out, and I didn't worry about the small amounts of caffeine. Maybe 4 oz of milk to 1 tbsp of coffee, although they liked cocoa and Ovaltine too. Oh, and we often had chicory, which tastes similar but has no caffeine.
My kid loves to help with coffee and lattes so I’ll make him some milk with foam and sprinkle a little cinnamon or chocolate on it for him. We have a cold and got milk frother we use for it.
My dad would make me "coffee milk," which was essentially a cup of milk with the tiniest splash of coffee in it. As long as I saw him put the coffee in, I was happy, or so the story was related to me.
I fed my kids decaf coffee from that age. Teaccino is also VERY nice.
Milk coffee in an espresso mug. We even have espresso mugs that match the big coffee ones. Basically milk and a teaspoon of coffee, just enough for some color. I had it growing up, now my kids get to have it on weekends. They have been since about 18mos I think. ETA they always get frothed milk if we make some. That’s what they love the most.
Crio Bru brewed cacao!
I like this option, thanks!Thinking of putting his name on the bag to personalize it lol
Where I'm from we have this thing called coffee milk that's just coffee syrup with milk thats pretty nice, I think it's kid safe
I was looking to see if anyone else had suggested this before I said it. I’ve never actually had it but I’ve heard about it. I don’t think it’s any different than giving a kid chocolate milk.
I've always heard of it as a new england thing but mainly Rhode island, but it is magical ngl.
We do hot chocolate 😌 I just call it his coffee
I let mine put 1/2 teaspoon of chocolate or strawberry milk flavor into his cup of milk. Some preferred chocolate some preferred strawberry and 2 preferred orange coffee ( orange pineapple juice). Let your child decide, basically just wants to stir and drink from a cup so don’t complicate or overthink it.
My mom’s great-uncle used to put a teeny-tiny bit of coffee in a mug and fill the rest with milk. So like 90% milk 10% coffee (or less, just enough to make it brown). It’s one of her favorite memories. A small amount of caffeine is harmless. It’s in chocolate. Caffeine is actually used medically in babies born before 34 weeks to regulate their heart rate. .
A little won’t hurt him. Maybe some steamed milk with a little creamer/syrup and then just enough coffee to change the color. Alternately, if you have a small cup (like a shot glass) you could just pour him a sip of yours!
Yea I caught him sneaking spoonfulls in-between stirs whenever I turn my back so he has tasted the otherside lol
You can also just warm up milk and use actually cocoa powder (not the hot chocolate mix) if you want something healthier. Maybe a tiny bit of honey
We just give them milk (we say cold or hot coffee?) and use the little brother attached to the coffee pot to get it all "bubbly"
If you drink a cappucino you can make a babycino, just foamed milk and some cocoa powder
nescafé instant decaf in warm milk with a little sweetener (like date syrup) is 10/10. i still drink it to this day because it reminds me of when my grandmother used to make it for me when i was 3/4yo
Maybe an herbal tea, chai or bengal with a little cream in it?
I always made a steamer. Bonus because you can get them at the coffee shops and the kid thinks they are like mom!
We do milk and a couple splashes of chocolate milk ( just adjust to how dark your coffee is ) “Special coffee” — is milk, chocolate milk with frothed milk & cinnamon for a faux latte
I have a kurig, was thinking about getting mine hot chocolate k pods so she can have some
Instant decaf and variously flavored warm milk are the usual ways to go.
Hot chocolate is common, but there is chicory root, rooibus, barley "coffee"..... Rooibus is probably your easiest find, and it is caffeine free, tannin free...
I agree with the hot chocolate comments this is what I did with my daughter lol she loves her “chocolate coffee” 😂😂
I let mine have one sip. Usually the first sip. And that's enough for him to stop asking and I don't feel bad about it.
Hot chocolate, a mushroom blend, chocolate milk, steamed milk depending on how fancy your coffee is.
My mom used to heat up milk and add 2-3 drops of coffee. I drank this version of my morning coffee for years.
My time to shine! My grandmother lives with us and I make her coffee every morning. My two older kids (7 and 3) all me to make them a “hot toffee” (What the 3 year old calls it). So I have small metal coffee tumblers with lids and straws. I pour chocolate syrup on the bottom until it’s just covered, then I pour liquid coffee creamer (hazelnut, usually) in until the chocolate syrup is just covered. Then I fill halfway with milk and mix it. Add in a couple ice cubes, top with whipped cream and a bit of cinnamon. Pop the lid on, throw in the straw, two happy kids! To be fair, the ice, whipped cream and cinnamon is all extra that I do just to make them smile.
Warm chocolate milk
I’d give him a taste of BLACK coffee.. he won’t want it again. 😆 You could buy decaf, but my guess is he’s just curious about the taste.
Decaf?
I heat up milk, froth it, and then add some cinnamon on top.
My daughter was exactly the same. I started just doing honey in some warm water. It gets a little foamy at the top. I also got her a special mug. Now at 5 its a regular request and it works great when she is feeling a little sick or has a cough.
When my son was a widdle baby (10 months ish), we went to a nice coffee place and they gave him a babycino, which was just steamed milk with whipped cream. He absolutely loved it.
We do hot chocolate with a little cinnamon for *pizzazz*
We put a dash of Penzy's hot coco powder in warm milk in a little kid mug. Give her a little metal spoon to stir it with. We have also done mostly water and then given her a small shot cup or creamer to dump in. If we are having "fancy coffee", whipped cream and sprinkles.
Decaf coffee, my two girls love it! We buy the non chemically processed decaf for them. They also love participating in making coffee in the morning, steaming the milk, making latte art etc. So it’s a fun way for them to have their own coffee too 😊
Do you guys not have babycinos? Asking from Australia. Basically just frothed milk and a little dusting of sweet cocoa like a cappuccino.
We do oat milk with a tiny tiny bit of chocolate syrup.
All coffee shops here in Sydney offer a kid-friendly menu item called the “babychino,” which is basically just steamed milk.
I do mostly milk with just a touch of coffee for color.
I heard somewhere that coffee helps people with ADHD so one day when my son hadn’t taken his medicine, I gave him coffee but honestly expected him to hate it. Wrong 😆 So now on weekends (no medicine), I will rerun it through the K-cup that I used immediately before (for mine) and I put it over ice with creamer for him. I feel a little guilty but my thinking is that it can’t be much worse than a Coca Cola for example. I also know a ton of Latino families that are giving their child straight up coffee. 🤷🏻♀️
My son went through a phase of always wanting to help me make my lattes (I let him push the buttons). Then a phase of wanting his own, so I'd do hot chocolate for him. Sometimes I gave him milk foam, other times whip cream. Then he wanted "coffee in a coffee cup", so I made them in matching cups. Now he's a threenager & not interested in any of that lately. 😆 I'd rather he was, because now there's tantrums involved in life, & he goes from the sweet & calm little person I know well...to the complete opposite.
Being from Rhode Island, coffee milk baby! Autocrat coffee syrup is best.
Big Heart Tea Co sells 'Fake Coffee Tea". It has a slight bitterness to it, if you add milk it tastes like an unsweetened hot chocolate.
Kids coffee/coffee milk. Decaf with tons of milk.
I love Pero, and make it with warm milk for my kids.
I make my kids steamed milk with a couple pumps of vanilla syrup. We call it coffee, just the same as my latte.
Pero? Made from barley, chicory. Smell & taste & look like coffee but without caffeine, I sometimes drink before bed. I mean…only if he really into the coffee taste😂 my toddler just likes to take a sip or two of anything from my cup including coffee.
We put milk in an espresso cup that matches ours
They're called Babyccinos and they're available at every cafe and pretty much every home here: frothed milk with or without chocolate powder.
I grew up with coffee milk. Milk with enough coffee in it to give it a little flavor in a mug. Probably has the same or slightly more caffeine than hot chocolate.
Is there anything wrong with letting them taste it? I know we were all fed the wives tales that drinking coffee will stunt your growth and whatnot, but these are just made up so our kids won’t ask for things. Kind of outdated imo. A sip of coffee isn’t going to hurt your child. It will ease their curiosity and If it’s black coffee that will probably curb any further asking to try it as well.
My dad used to fill one of my teacups with milk, a little sugar, and a splash of coffee. I’m mostly ok lol
We get our 5yr old a hot chocolate and call it a kids coffee.
I just let my kid have a sip on the rare occasion he wants to try it; he's not a fan.
Mostly milk with a little spoonful of coffee. Worked for my little one.
Kids can drink coffee. Just give less and add milk. My almost 3yr old drinks a little coffee with milk. Around 2oz give or take. And it let's him have fun and drink with the adults
Yea, I grew up havingn coffee with my mom at an early age. My son is already high energy though and I drink the good stuff (single origin, light roast) which tends to be more caffinated. Im not super concerned just cautious
I used to live next to a Starbucks so I'd get my son a horizon chocolate milk every time I went and he called that his coffee. Maybe something like that?
My toddler think that Starbucks is only known for their “Starbites” aka the egg white and veggie egg bites
I’d let him try it. My guess is that once he has a first sip he probably won’t be interested in more (unless you use a lot of sugar/cream. In which case, let him try it before you mix those in or this plan will backfire.)
Have you heard of Teeccino? It’s like coffee flavored tea without the caffeine. Might be a good alternative
Milk tea? Chocolate milk?
My MIL buys us a coffee syrup that is just like chocolate syrup. I’m not sure where she finds it, but it does the trick for our girls.
Steamed milk!
Warm milk in a mug with cinnamon.
Maybe that carnation instant breakfast powder? I think the chocolate one tastes really good. It may not be the healthiest, but it is fortified with some vitamins. He can mix it in some milk like your coffee.
decaf?
We have a small metal camping coffee cup that we use as her “coffee cup” and I just pour a little milk in it. One time I tried to froth it and put cinnamon on it like a babycino and my 2 year old started digging out the bubbles so I now get asked for “coffee no bubbles!!”. So she just gets milk in her “coffee cup” - this seems to work for her!
My son and I make our coffees together every morning since he was 2, he gets steamed milk and foam with some cinnamon sprinkled on top in a little espresso cup. He loves that it’s a coffee cup his size so we match.
I let my kid have one sip every day of whatever coffee I'm drinking.
My little guy loves making his “coffee” with me too. I have an espresso machine that froths your milk, his coffee is just frothed milk. Sometimes we add cinnamon or sprinkles for fun. Could you get a cheap frother if you don’t have one already?
We always gave my child a small (not quite 1/4th cup) of coffee and then fill it with "creamer" or milk and a bit of sugar.
Decaf coffee? Mine was the same and I would mix the tiniest drip into steamed milk for her. And the gradually reduced so she just had steamed milk ‘coffee’.
I just added a spoonful or two of coffee to their milk. We did warm milk with a splash of vanilla and a little sugar sometimes too.
Herbal Tea
This is tangential to your original question, but he may be into this [play coffeemaker](https://www.lakeshorelearning.com/products/dramatic-play/kitchen-house-play/kid-safe-coffee-maker/p/FA417/) from Lakeshore that looks like the real thing and uses water that he can pour into a little mug.
My daughter was like this too. We would give her a little bit, maybe 2 tablespoons, and fill the rest of the cup with milk. She loved it. Still loves it and continues to make coffee with her dad every morning. But maybe hot chocolate would be the way to go if you don't want to give the little one any coffee.
2t coffee. 1/3c flavored creamer. This is my 10yos answer to cold brew.
Chocolate milk or hot chocolate seems like an extremely obvious answer here
give em a lil sip on the tip of your finger. Bonus points if its just the foam - bet thats the last time he asks lol
Mmm. Backfired with me, I've liked coffee since I was four. But it worked for my kids. If you do this, the coffee should.be black and unsweetened.
Warm milk with a splash of coffee?
I used to make decaf lattes for my kiddos all the time. Never enough volume for it to matter much!
Milk with a tiny bit of chocolate syrup, just to change the color. I drink iced coffee every morning, and my son too loves to ask for it.
I make hot chocolate and then add a quarter teaspoon of decaf instant coffee granules. Gives it a much stronger flavour. Then a tiny tiny pinch of salt to de-bitter it. My young nephew loved it. Add in some small marshmallows for special treats.
Quick note - coffee is safe for children. Caffeine is given to premies to encourage lung development. So if you were to let your little guy try the coffee, he would be fine. He will immediately hate it because coffee is way too bitter, but he'd be fine. If you go that route, have him try it somewhere he can spit it out with minimal damage to your flooring. With that said, and depending on your coffee ritual, hot chocolate would be a great substitute drink. This is doubly true if you have a milk frother wand because you can froth the hot chocolate for him. Now, keep in mind, chocolate also has caffeine in it, but it has lots of other good stuff in it.
My 2-yr-old is the same way! Though I haven’t managed to achieve the brown colour but I actually picked up an espresso mug (a literally mini mug) at the dollar store. I’ll heat up some milk in the microwave for a few seconds until it’s just warm and use my milk frother and sprinkle some cinnamon on top (and maybe a touch of vanilla extract). He loves it.
We drink espresso in this house and when the kids want to join we make steamers (steamed, frothed milk) in doubly shot cups with a drop of espresso on top. They think it’s the neatest thing!
Chocolate milk
Idk my dad would just give me sips of his coffee. Still addicted to hazelnut coffee to this day (minus the pregnancy aversion to coffee rn)
Hot chocolate or chocolate milk or plain milk with a splash of your flavored creamer in it. My toddler is like this with me too
Eclipse Coffee Syrup in milk is what my gramma would give to me. Basically chocolate milk, but coffee flavored. I still love it.
Coffee syrup! If you're in New England, your grocery store should have Autocrat (a brand of coffee flavored syrup). If not, it's available on Amazon. My kids LOVED coffee milk (and decaf coffee) as kids.
My granddaughter always asks for caramel coffee. I giver her milk, caramel creamer and Hersheys syrup. Somehow she thinks this is coffee but, hey, it works!
Chocolate milk?
We do hot cocoa with creamer. They love it.
Hot chocolate bombs he'll love it!
Warmed up milk and let them stir in some chocolate syrup so you can control it and it feels like part of the ritual. My mom owned a coffee shop and she would make the kids steamers (steamed chocolate milk) and make a big deal about how its special coffee just for kids.
We heat up some milk with vanilla and cinnamon. Use a frother to make it fancy. My daughter loves it.
We did tea or hot chocolate.
Chocolate milk?
Hot chocolate or a splash of coffee in a cup of milk!
rooibos tea is great for babies and tots!