Perhaps, does my kid also have ‘caffeine addiction’?

Parents who know that children can be ‘caffeine addiction’ are not many. However children’s food itself is a route of caffeine intake. For example, there are sweets, chocolate, cola and instant food. If parents examine sweets, ices and carbonated drinks carefully (maybe parents unintentionally gave them to children), they will be know that it contains a large amount of caffeine and sugar. When people continually take foods which contain caffeine, faint stimulant’s effect appears and caffeine stimulates the central nerve. It is temporarily effective in refreshing head, but if people are addicted to caffeine they will be add the amount of caffeine to obtain the same effect. It is ‘caffeine addiction’. The problem is that even if adult are out of the question, caffeine can be poison to children. The level that caffeine bears toxicity is about 150mg/kg for adult, but 35mg/kg for children.


Korea food & drug administration(식약청) indicated that the level of caffeine intake per day for children should be under 2.5mg per 1kg. For example, if a kid that weighs 10kg eats milk with coffee and chocolate a day, the amount of caffeine intake is about 38.14mg and it exceeds a standard amount, 25mg. Caffeine which takes at a time is used up at least 3~4 days later because children, in comparison with adult, lose ability to dissolve in the body. It is more likely to disturb children’s growth because it obstructs absorption of calcium and iron that is included in another food. It has also a bad effect on enhancing memory. The probability of being exposed to stress is larger because it causes a kind of stimulant’s effect. If children are continuously exposed to stress, the production of growth hormone will not go smoothly and cause impediment to growth. Therefore caffeine’s excessive intake is bad for children.


To deal with ‘caffeine addiction’, the only method is preventing children from tasting instant food from the first. From a child, children must avoid eating these foods, have a balanced diet, and eat properly. Parents have to feed kid fresh vegetables and fruits every day and make accustomed to eat milk, bean, tofu, soybean milk etc. It is also good way to make checklist whether or not children’s snack contains caffeine. Parents avoid snacks that designate ‘chocolate taste’, ‘coffee taste’ because these foods contain a lot of caffeine. In addition, it is better to feeding vanilla or strawberry ice cream than chocolate ice cream. If kid already tasted caffeine, parents would reduce the amount gradually and seek substitute foods. Parents can feed beverage made by natural fruits in place of cola and hard-boiled food in place of chocolate.

reference article
http://www2.enewstoday.co.kr/sub_read.html?uid=222699&section=sc1
http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=001&oid=098&aid=0002012431
http://artsnews.media.paran.com/news/9218