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Caffeinated Tea Party: How Bad?
Filed under: Nutrition: Health, Mealtime, Birthdays, Opinions, Nutrition: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Activities: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Expert Advice: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Nutrition: Big Kids, Activities: Big Kids, Expert Advice: Big Kids, Activities: Family Time
Using caffeinated tea at your children's tea parties is just fine. Credit: Rick Takagi, Flickr
Hmmm, well ... is a little spot of tea for children bad, and if so, how bad? To find out, I phoned Mommy Advisor Christine Palumbo, a nutritionist in private practice in a Chicago suburb, who's an adjunct faculty member at Benedictine University.
"Weak [caffeinated] tea is fine," said Palumbo, "Or, if a mother is concerned about caffeine she can always purchase decaffeinated tea." Palumbo had other ideas to get the nutritional nod of approval.
Try different teas. Harney & Sons Peach comes in a fabulous pink tin. (Admittedly there may be other, more discerning ways to choose tea.) And of course, Palumbo said, if your child shows signs of being overstimulated or can't fall asleep on a day that she's had caffeinated tea, switch to a relaxing herbal tea for the next tea party. Chamomile, in particular, is a known sleep-inducer.
Don't get burned. No need to make the water piping hot. "Remember a lot of the tea-party fun is about having your own little tea ceremony," said Palumbo. It's not about having tea exactly the way grown-ups do.
Keep sugar low. "For a five-ounce cup of tea, a half-teaspoon of sugar or honey should do it -- and if you add a little bit of milk you're getting a calcium boost," added Palumbo. If you serve desserts with tea, consider making them small, such as mini-cookies.
Make tea sandwiches. Cut the crusts off and make little triangle sandwiches with cucumbers or peanut butter.
Don't forget the frilly toothpicks.
Have you had a parenting moment that's left you wondering, "How bad"? Send it to Sabrina at PrincessLPink9@aol.com. She'll try to answer as many as she can.
Sabrina Weill is the founder of the pink, princess-y gift site: PrincessLovesPink. Many of the Mommy Advisors in this column are the writer's personal or professional friends.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
10-12-2009 @ 10:31AM
Lisa Cain said...This seems silly - just use herbal tea (something like Red Zinger) it has a great color and no caffeine!
Lisa
Snack Snoop
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10-13-2009 @ 2:00PM
LillieFaerie said...I've drank tea ever since I can remember. I never suffered any ill effects from it. My daughters and granddaughters love tea as well. Their favorites are Celestial Seasons Chai - the original caffeinated type (same as mine, other brands just don't do). Lipton tea and Tetley's English Breakfast are great as well. Lady Grey and Earl Grey Teas by Twinings are also good. Sometimes a Gunpowder or Bloomig tea is fine, but only rare. I do not care for the so-called whites and greens and have gotten headaches from them so why drink them. The other tea that only comes out at Christmas is Cleestial Season's Peppermint, which we have to stock up very well. Tea is a great ritual for gathering and enjoying the flavors, the closeness of those moments. It is a great alternative to sodas which also have their place and great juices and coffees. A good beverage compliments a good gathering, conversation, or book reading,,,television, beading session, art session, you name it. Drinking doesn't bother our sleep, activity or conversations. In other words, it is a good thing for us.
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10-31-2009 @ 6:37AM
Robin said...I have a three year old daughter and I generally use Chamomile tea or Apple tea, neither have caffeine. I also use apple juice or sometimes a cranberry blend like cran-grape or cran-strawberry to sweeten her tea. Rarely will I use sugar. I recently had a "fancy nancy" type ta party for my daughter and her friends and even the adults liked the apple juice sweetened Chamomile tea.
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