Don’t all little girls like to play dress up and do what their mothers do? Well most do, so as a variation to the usual birthday party you could try organizing a little tea party for your child, which will let her feel all grown up and very much the hostess!
As for whether you can have real tea at your child’s tea party, it is something one may want to clear with the other parents, but really there is no reason why children should not drink tea. It is a healthy and health giving drink and many parents choose to give that to their children rather than the zero nutrition, sugar packed, obesity inducing fizzy drinks that everyone seems to have at arm’s length these days.
Certainly most parents will agree that as a beverage, they would be more willing for their child to take regular sips out of their cup of green tea than a cup of coffee! Many small children don’t go for the taste of tea, which can develop over some years for many. However for those children who do like the taste and fancy having a cup, many parents think it prudent to have decaffeinated tea in the house so that children can have it without any issues. In any case fizzy drinks have far more caffeine and sugar in them than your average cup of tea, so really that is less of an issue that one may think.
Some parents admit to letting their one and a half year old take sips from their cup of tea, and others claim that their children drink tea from age 7 to 8 on. Some parents even say that they have been giving their children tea in their little sippy cups right from babyhood.
Many cultures believe in giving children black tea from fairly early on and believe that black tea (without milk) is actually very helpful in soothing a baby’s upset tummy.
So the rule of thumb should be, if your child does demonstrate interest in tea, there is no reason for forbidding the beverage to the child. The parent is the best judge of what is the right age for their child to start having tea. So if your little girl does want that fancy little tea party, there is no reason why you should not indulge her! Remember tea is a far better habit for kids to have than sodas and sweetened fizzy drinks!
