October 2015 • Valley Bugler • Page 9
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Caffeine & Your Child Most parents wouldn’t dream of giving their kids a mug of coffee, but might routinely serve soft drinks containing caffeine. Foods and drinks with caffeine are everywhere, it’s wise to keep caffeine consumption to a minimum, especially in younger kids. The United States hasn’t developed guidelines for caffeine intake and kids, but Canadian guidelines recommend that preschoolers get no more than 45 milligrams of caffeine a day. That’s equivalent to the average amount of caffeine found in a 12-ounce can of soda or four 1.5-ounce milk chocolate bars. “The short and long-term effect of caffeine on kids’ health is something every parent should take note of,” explains Stanley Grogg, DO, an AOA board-certified pediatrician in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “Most adults are aware of the fact that caffeine is a stimulus and tends to make children hyperactive, but they don’t recognize the other symptoms.” How Caffeine Affects Kids A stimulant that affects kids and adults similarly, caffeine is a drug that’s naturally produced in the leaves and seeds of many plants. Caffeine is also made artificially and added to certain foods. Caffeine is defined as a drug because it stimulates the central nervous system. At lower levels, it can make people feel
more alert and energetic. In both kids and adults, too much caffeine can cause: * jitteriness and nervousness * irritability * upset stomach * headaches * dehydration * difficulty concentrating * difficulty sleeping * increased heart rate * increased blood pressure Especially in young kids, it doesn’t take a lot of caffeine to produce these effects. Other reasons to limit kids’ caffeine consumption include: * Consuming one 12-ounce (355-milliliter) sweetened soft drink per day increases a child’s risk of obesity by 60%. * Not only do caffeinated beverages contain empty calories (calories that don’t provide any nutrients), but kids who fill up on them don’t get the vitamins and minerals they need from healthy sources, putting them at risk for nutritional deficiencies. In particular, kids who drink too much soda (which usually starts between the third and eighth grades) may miss getting the calcium they need
from milk to build strong bones and teeth. * Drinking too many sweetened caffeinated drinks could lead to dental cavities (or caries) from the high sugar content and the erosion of tooth enamel from acidity. Not convinced that sodas can wreak that much havoc on kids’ teeth? Consider this: One 12-ounce (355-milliliter) nondiet, carbonated soft drink contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar
(49 milliliters) and 150 calories. * Caffeine can aggravate heart problems or nervous disorders, and some kids may not be aware that they’re at risk. One thing that caffeine does not do is stunt growth. Although scientists once worried that caffeine could hinder growth, this isn’t supported by research. But the symptoms and obvious results of caffeine consumption should be seriously considered.
Job well done Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. We run this each year, because they are just so hilarious, and readers report they love them. Here are some winners..... 1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master. 2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free. 3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the
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dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it. 4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E.Coli, and he was roomtemperature Canadian beef. 5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up. 6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever. 7. He was as tall as a six-foot, threeinch tree. 8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife’s infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine. 9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.