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Expert Q&A

	By David L. Fay, M.D. Family Physician Associate Director, Waukesha Family Practice Residency Program

Can you give me information or direct me in the dangers of giving kids caffeine. The father of my niece gives her coffee on the weekends when she is at his house. She comes home mean and sick. She will be 3 in March. I found out that they been giving her coffee since she was a baby. I am so outraged by this and I want the father to read in black and white the damage he is doing to his child. Can you please help me with this?

Unfortunately, the effects of caffeine in children have not been well studied. Theoretically, since high levels of caffeine can cause restlessness, irritability, excitability, and insomnia in adults, one might think that the same would be true for children. Having said that, however, we know that giving stimulants to children often calms them down (we give methylphenidate to children with ADHD). A search of the pediatric literature from 1948 to the present revealed only one poorly-designed study from which no conclusions can be drawn. Given the absence of studies, I'm not in a position to make recommendations one way or another. It should be noted that it is commonly believed that large doses of sugar cause hyperactivity in children, but this has been studied, and has been found to be false.

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