Coffee for Kids?

I was always restricted from coffee and coffee-flavored items, like most other children, because of the caffeine they contained. Parents often say no to coffee for children because they believe caffeine stunts growth by blocking adenosine receptors. When caffeine occupies these receptors, it prevents that feeling of tiredness, leading to heightened alertness, increased heart rate, and delayed sleep onset, which is when growth hormones are released to drive tissue repair, bone growth, and muscle development.

From a neurobiological perspective, caffeine’s effects go far beyond preventing tiredness and can actually be addictive. By inhibiting adenosine, it indirectly increases dopamine signaling in key reward regions such as the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter responsible for motivation and pleasure, and the more caffeine interferes with adenosine’s normal dampening effect, the stronger the sense of reward or focus one feels. The brain learns to associate it with alertness and productivity, forming weak reinforcement loops similar to a stimulating addiction.

In addition, children and adolescents receive these effects more amplified because they have more permeable blood–brain barriers and lower tolerance levels, which means caffeine reaches neural tissue faster and in higher relative concentrations. Additionally, the prefrontal cortex, responsible for impulse regulation and decision-making, is not yet mature until about mid-20s and even later. Repeated caffeine intake during this period may alter adenosine receptor density and disrupt sleep-dependent synaptic pruning, a process crucial for memory consolidation, creating stable, lasting memories and emotional regulation.

However, coffee “stunts growth” is actually a myth, and research consistently finds no evidence that caffeine interferes with bone growth or calcium absorption when consumed at moderate levels. 

Ultimately, parents restrict coffee not to protect height, but to protect the development of the brain. Sleep disruption, overstimulation of dopamine pathways, and addiction can all affect cognitive, emotional, and behavioral growth. In short, caffeine doesn’t stop children from growing taller, but it can interfere with how their brains learn, rest, and regulate themselves.

References

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2023). Caffeine and children. HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/Caffeine-and-Children.aspx

American Psychological Association. (2017). Energy drinks, caffeine, and the adolescent brain. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/04/energy-drinks-teens

Harvard Health Publishing. (2019, January 11). Does coffee really stunt your growth? Harvard Health Blog. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/does-coffee-really-stunt-your-growth-2019011115780

National Sleep Foundation. (2021). How sleep affects growth and development in kids. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/how-sleep-affects-growth-and-development-in-kids