Mum shocks internet by letting her toddler drink coffee: 'Don't do it'
A mum of four has caused a stir on TikTok after revealing that she buys her two-year-old son his own coffee.
Mara from the US went viral last week when she posted a video titled “some things I do that others don’t agree with".
In the 22-second clip, which has been viewed more than 4.6 million times, the Texas mum told viewers that she lets her children eat sand, play with marbles and walk barefoot in public.
But it was what she gives her toddler to drink that hit a nerve with many.
Over footage of Mara’s son sipping on an iced beverage was the caption “let my kids drink coffee".
The admission has caused outrage with TikTokers.
“I see so many parents talk proudly about how they parent their kids,” one person wrote. “It’s none of my business but coffee just isn’t good.”
“I agree with everything but the coffee,” another said. “You know it’s a stimulant. Just don’t do it.”
“Coffee isn’t healthy for adults let alone children,” someone else added.
“I can’t even handle coffee,” said another.
Mum gives toddler coffee because he looks 'cute'
After copping flak online, the mother of four created another video to explain her toddler’s drink of choice.
“He loves coffee!” she wrote. “It’s his fav!”
In the 15-second clip, the family can be seen moving through the drive-thru of a local cafe before Mara hands her son an iced drink.
“I don’t know why so many people are upset because I said Indy drinks coffee,” she says in a voice over.
“I mean, don’t you drink coffee everyday?”
She goes on to explain that they “went to the best place in town,” which roasts its own beans, to get her son a coconut latte.
“I mean how can I tell him no to coffee?” she says in the video.
“Look how cute his little face is.”
Once again Mara’s TikTok blew up with comments from worried users.
“He can choose to drink coffee as an adult when he can rationally make his own decisions,” one person wrote. “He doesn't know the effects of coffee to decide that.”
“Getting him addicted? Super cute,” another said, while others claimed that caffeine stunts brain development and growth.
But many were quick to side with Mara.
“It’s a myth that it’s bad for kids,” one person wrote.
“Big deal, I grew up drinking coffee,” another added.
“It’s no worse than caffeine in soda,” someone else pointed out.
“Let her parent her own kid,” another added.
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Should kids drink coffee?
“Coffee can actually help kids who have ADHD to calm them down,” one Tiktok user said.
The Australian Institute of Food Safety says more children than ever before are drinking real coffee with 15 per cent of teenagers and even a small percentage of two to three-year-olds drinking coffee.
While it says there are no recognised health-based guidance values for caffeine, a Food Standards Australia New Zealand study concluded “there was evidence of increased anxiety levels in children who drink coffee".
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