Home > What’s Up With ADHD and Coffee?

What’s Up With ADHD and Coffee?

Source: 105.9 ABC NewsRadio

Recently there have been many articles resulting from the story of a mom who gives her 7-yr-old regular doses of coffee twice daily to calm him down. The articles are divided between two opinions: that coffee helps reduce ADHD symptoms, vs that of doctors who feel medication is preferable. Who is right?

Parents of children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) often find themselves in a dilemma - having to deal with their child’s hyperactivity and impulsivity while feeling uncomfortable dosing him or her with pharmaceuticals. Christie Haskell did what many people are doing now to find answers - she turned to the Internet. From the information gleaned there, she developed a plan for her son in which twice every day, he gets four ounces of coffee, delivered consistently like medicine doses.

What she noticed was amazing. Suddenly her son was able to sit down and focus on homework; he no longer overreacts in a tantrum when asked to pick up toys. Her son likes the coffee and says that it calms him down. When Haskell blogged about her experience, many other parents responded with similar stories.

Clearly these parents are onto something. The question is: how much coffee can developing children safely consume on a regular basis? Doctors object because of this, saying that coffee isn’t good for kids. They prefer to use drugs which aren’t addictive. But they don’t mention the unpleasant side effects of these drugs. Many children have consumed coffee since the ages of six or seven, and not all show signs of addiction or problems with withdrawal. In fact, many children drink more or as much caffeine in Coke or Pepsi drinks, which carry the added problem of sugar. If coffee is sweetened with a natural sweetener such as stevia, coffee would seem to be the smarter choice. At least it’s full of antioxidants and other healthy compounds. Another consideration is the marketing and availability of energy drinks, which children drink and which impacts them much more seriously than does coffee.

So there you go. Do we use a natural substance that makes both child and parent happy, or use a pharmaceutical which can lead to further problems down the road?

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REVIEWS & COMMENTS

  • COFFEE - VS - ADHD RX.

    Deborah Carson | Mon, 02/27/2012 - 15:33

    I started recently giving coffee to my 17 yr old. He was calm & more relaxed than ever...had no side effects. This young man 17 weighing barley 90 lbs. The fact that the Rx. Ritalin causes ADHD children to not eat is heartbreaking. My son is dealing with self esteem issues due to his weight. Only recently I was advised that coffee effects ADHD people differently...they do not become the hyper individual that needs to run laps. My son had 4 meals yesterday, 1 day after starting the diet of 1 cup of coffee 2x a day. For someone to be able to drink coffee w/sugar free sugar & sugar free creamer, & then want to eat as much as possible is a miracle. I have been waiting for our medical researchers to find a cure & it is not happening. As a parent we will protect our children and be safe...but the Rx. drugs by the physicians are harming our children, not only physically but emotionally & mentally. I am so thankful to know I have this option to help my child. I feel like I have my child back as he behaves more normal now than ever before.

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  • HAVE TO GO WITH THE COFFEE

    intrepid510 | Sun, 10/23/2011 - 23:40

    Have to go with the coffee on this one, at least we know what you get with coffee, who knows how the other drugs will affect them.

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  • EASY CHOICE

    Wakeknot | Mon, 10/10/2011 - 21:11

    coffee or medicine doesn't seem like a hard choice to me.

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  • VERY COOL STAF!!!!

    STANLEY_NY | Mon, 09/19/2011 - 11:27

    VERY COOL STAF!!!!

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  • COFFEE / ADDEROL

    Steve U | Mon, 09/19/2011 - 02:10

    What doctor said they prefer meds over coffee cause coffee is addictive !?!?!?! That's infuriating ! What a line of bull ! Coffee isen't near as addictive as adderol and ridilin . Even if it was the sideffects of coffee are not nearly as dramatic as the sideffects of either med . If you doubt me look in your kids adderol script , rite where it states the ingredients and the percentage of those ingredients You'll notice ANPHETAMEN ... as in meth-anphetamin . SAME EXACT STUFF JUST A DIALED DOSAGE !!!!! Still bad for the heart ! Still highly highly addictive. Ever heard of a methadone clinic ? As for riddilin , you must be joking right. Knew a kid on it in school , always had real bad headaches in the afternoon . I assume he was coming down off his morning dose . Coffee can be bought off a shelf in the grocery store . Both the aforementioned drugs are illegal to possess without a script and both have a ( Street value ) Common sense ought to tell U which is safer for your kid .

  • COFFEE FOR CHILDREN

    Gazy | Sun, 09/11/2011 - 20:14

    In my family we have always had coffe for breakfast and dinner since we were small children. There has never been a case of ADHD or any other of the modern day mental ailments that abound.
    Good to see that Steve, an MD specialized in children, is a coffee advocate.
    There are many products out there that can cause hyperactivity and many other issues, such as yellow #5, which is widely used by big corp in making children's foods.
    Coffee is healthy!

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  • ADHD AND COFFEE

    portman.steve | Sun, 09/11/2011 - 14:20

    As a child neurologist, I have been recommending coffee to ADHD patients for years, and it is the only "natural" substance that can be helpful. Typically, an ADHD child will take a single dose of a long acting stimulant medication with breakfast or when they leave for school in the morning to cover the school day and afternoon homework or behavior in the after school care program. But if they can not get to their homework until after dinner, I recommend coffee with dinner when homework can be completed in 1/2-2 hours. This also applies to homework sessions on weekends. If the child has 3-4 hours of homework, than a dose of the shortest acting stimulant medicine, regular methylphenidate (Ritalin), is usually much more effective. Both coffee and stimulant medication can facilitate rather than impede sleep at night for ADHD patients by settling cognition (e.g., "I can't sleep at night, my mind keeps going."). However, if their effects have worn off BEFORE bedtime, sleep can be even more difficult due to the emergence of excessive mental energy, a situation termed, "rebound." Coffee given with breakfast can also (but not always) be adequate to help a hyperactive child control their physical impulses enough to sit through a Sunday morning religious service.

    The key to optimal treatment of ADHD is to maximize self-control of cognitive impulses (i.e., attention deficit disorder), physical impulses (i.e., hyperactivity), and emotional impulses (i.e., tantrums) with minimal side-effects and disruption of daily routine, at the lowest financial burden. Monitor, adjust, change as needed, and always simplify by incorporating coffee when possible.

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  • COFFEE AND ADHD

    Steven Clark | Thu, 09/08/2011 - 16:09

    I have drunk coffee since I was a toddler. They probably didn't know about ADHD in those days but I most definitely had the symptoms. I do not see any reason why kids should not drink coffee, so long as it is not Robusta. I grew up on a dry processed Brasil (relatively low in caffeine). I had a cup in the morning and in the evening. If they would have allowed it ast school I would have had a cup with lunch.

  • COFFEE FOR ADHD

    Barbara | Thu, 09/08/2011 - 16:09

    This is old, old news. Both of my older brothers were diagnosed ADHD in the early '70's and coffee was one of the things my mother was told to try (along with eliminating certain additives from their diets) to avoid medication if possible. The medications that is typically prescribed for ADHD is a stimulant. Stimulants have the opposite effect on true ADHDs. Therefore, coffee would help to keep them calm and focused. It was still being used in the '90's when I was a teacher. I had a severely ADHD boy in my class one year who was very excited to tell me that he got his own coffee maker for Christmas! I knew why, and congratulated him on such an awesome gift. Ritalin, Adderall and other medications have a host of side effects. If using coffee instead or in addition to his medication is helping, good for mom. The point is for the child to be more comfortable. It doesn't matter what other people think.

  • COFFEE - CAFFEINE COMPOUNDS - REDUCE ADHD SYMPTOMS

    Charles Thomas Wild | Tue, 02/28/2012 - 05:56

    It's been known for over thirty years that coffee - caffeine compounds - can temporarily reduce ADHD symptoms a little for a few children and adults with ADHD (no cures at all). Educational resources: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ADHD_Bulletin_Board/ - http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Tartrazine_and_ADHD/ (Modern nutrition)

  • SEEMS TO WORK FOR THEM

    jbviau | Thu, 09/08/2011 - 16:22

    Like I said in a recent blog post (http://www.roaste.com/CoffeeBlogs/jbviau/Kids-and-coffee-Part-2), I don't see much of a problem with this beyond the "coffee as drug" theme. In other cultures, I doubt this sort of consumption by a 7-year-old would raise any eyebrows. Some alleged stimulants have a calming effect in certain people, it seems, and vice versa. For example, labels for antihistamines commonly warn that the medication may cause drowsiness *or* excitability. Which is it?! Pretty interesting.

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  • FASCINATING!

    EricBNC | Thu, 09/08/2011 - 15:02


    The stimulant properties in ADHD are stronger than caffeine (possibly too strong since some adults do abuse their children's meds ) but still work as a stimulant on the body like caffeine. Someone has to be researching this.

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