The Kappuccino Kid!

[Pagan]

My parents used to give me Actifed whenever I got too rowdy and crazy and out of control.

The package said that it can cause restlessness and irritability. But in my case it put me right to sleep.

Well, considering it's an antihistamine, drowsiness it actually one of it's big side effects. Restlessness and irritability are way less common. Well, before they changed the formulation anyway. It doesn't work as good anymore.

Now diphenhydramine (Benadryl) knocks me out in about 30 minutes. And I mean out! Of course, loratadine knocks me out, too.

It's mostly just frothed-up milk, sometimes served with a treat such as a marshmallow or chocolate. Looks like a cappcuccino, so the kiddies think they're grown up, but no caffeine is actually present.

Except for the chocolate!

Once there, I got to spend my days watching trains out the waiting room window and then having holes drilled in my arm by nurses and doctors wielding needles, injecting various substances into Yours Truly so they could note the reaction. That was when I decided needles and I would be interacting as little as possible.

Ah, yes, I had the "lovely" scratch test done....all across my back. I was a toddler when it was done and I remember it vividly to this day.

[Akasa]

Pffft. Give me anything with artificial red food dye when I was a kid and I'd have run through brick walls if only I were big enough.

Wow Irv, me too! Though in my case I was nicknamed "The Pink Tornado" and after my surge of hyperactivity I would wind up in a corner crying. They called it a toxic reaction. We won't go into the moms of the Girl Scouts insisting on making red koolaid for our meetings.

[Nohbody]

Except for the chocolate!

You'd have to eat enough chocolate to make The Blob look svelte before getting a noticeable caffeine buzz off of chocolate.

[/nitpick]

[AccountingDrone]

Been drinking full caffeine coffee since I was old enough to start sharking it out of anybodies cup at breakfast

There is a supposed toxic level for caffeine ... IIRC it is 30 cups in 4 hours. mrDrone and I have split the standard bulk party percolator of coffee before, giving us each the supposed toxic level. It is not uncommon for us to polish off a pound of coffee any given saturday morning.

I do a 24 ounce expresso as my before bed treat. Nope, no porblem getting to sleep [though I do have bouts of reverse insomnia, once I wake up, no matter what time, I am up for the day, even if it is 1 AM *sigh*]

[tamezin]

I wonder if he has ever let her have coffee before. I let my kids drink coffee once in a while. But they drink it 1/2 and 1/2 coffee and milk. I know this isn't good necessarily, but they have a huge tolerance for caffeine.

[NightAngel]

I'm not saying this is right but it is COMMON.

My guess is that he and Mom aren't together anymore. My guess is also that the daughter was going to be with Mom pretty soon.

People have long been sugaring up/caffienating their kids right before return to the other parent. This is backed in my mind by the fact they were going to the toystore next.

Hanging with Dad is fun- I get coffee, candy, toys, etc. Why can't you be more like Dad?

Also, some people find a Masochistic pleasure in knowing "other parent" has to deal with the aftermath of said coffee/sugar.

[Darkforge]

Just skimming through the responses to this post, I wonder if anyone here has heard of (or had) a babycino? I'm aware you're leaving CRML, but maybe ask your manager about making them. It's mostly just frothed-up milk, sometimes served with a treat such as a marshmallow or chocolate. Looks like a cappcuccino, so the kiddies think they're grown up, but no caffeine is actually present. (the US call them steamers apparaently....)

I remember having the babycinos at a small cafe when I was younger. I would've been about the age of the girl in the OP.

We did similar at the cafe I used to work for. We'd get a smiley face mug *, put some warm milk with a little froth at the top, then chocolate sprinkles, and a marshmallow. We'd even do patterns in the chocolate if we weren't mad busy.

It lets the kids drink something that looks like a grown up drink but isn't.


*smiley face mugs were awesome, they were just normal mugs but witha smiley face on the bottom of the inside of the mug so that when you had your last mouthful you saw a big smiley face looking back at you, it was so cute it couldn't help but make you smile. Kudos to whoever came up with that idea.

[protege]

Ah, yes, I had the "lovely" scratch test done....all across my back. I was a toddler when it was done and I remember it vividly to this day.

Ugh. I had that done...twice. Once when I was about 4, the second time several years later. Felt like there were giant chickens walking on my back and arms, and yes, it hurt like hell! But, at least I got some toys out of it...Matchbox cars and Legos IIRC

[Pagan]

Ugh. I had that done...twice. Once when I was about 4, the second time several years later. Felt like there were giant chickens walking on my back and arms, and yes, it hurt like hell! But, at least I got some toys out of it...Matchbox cars and Legos IIRC

I'm thinking that I really should have it done again. It's been about, what, 30 years. I know that there's some I've outgrown and some I never had before. I just assume if it produces pollen (that's small enough to blow in the breeze, that is), there's a chance that I'll sneeze at it.

I know one allergy that was never tested for....marijuana. Makes my eyes swell shut.

And I'm still highly allergic to doggies and bunnies.

[Andara Bledin]

You know, there's a theory out there that the hyperness some children experience is actually an allergic reaction.

It's not just a theory.

I have a friend whose kid was "diagnosed" with ADHD, and the doctor wanted to drug the kid. The friend didn't want to start their 7-year-old on drugs, so they did an easy test for allergy reactions. They started by dropping breakfast to something very basic, like eggs. Then added stuff over the course of a week. When they got to the cereal, the kid reacted, and they pretty much took wheat out of his diet and he was fine.

Wheat is one of the more common causes, and also one of the more common bases for breakfast cereal.

As a child, I could drink E-numberriffic Panda Green Cola and Raspberryade and not get particularly hyper, but my little brother practically went thru the ceiling if given too much sugar or any stimilants, like caffine.

They did a study and found that sugar given to kids almost never makes them hyper. The idea that they're getting a treat is what makes them hyper, not the treat itself.

I'm fortunate in that I don't have any notable allergies, and the only thing I need to watch out for is to not overdue dairy, 'cause I'm lactose intolerant. But that won't stop me from eating my cheese and ice cream.

^-.-^

[bloodrose]

Pffft. Give me anything with artificial red food dye when I was a kid and I'd have run through brick walls if only I were big enough.

Ohhhhhh Yeeaaah.


(can't believe I'm the first to say it)

[Lace Neil Singer]

They did a study and found that sugar given to kids almost never makes them hyper. The idea that they're getting a treat is what makes them hyper, not the treat itself.


^-.-^

Link please. Also, my reference was to E numbers and artificial colours and flavourings, like in Green Cola. I actually miss that stuff a little. XD

Tho now, they'd probably dress it up as AHDD and pump him full of drugs. O_o

[Munkie]

Pffft. Give me anything with artificial red food dye when I was a kid and I'd have run through brick walls if only I were big enough.

My roommate has the same issue. Only it makes him severely anxious and jittery. Goes a little paranoid too.

<snip> [though I do have bouts of reverse insomnia, once I wake up, no matter what time, I am up for the day, even if it is 1 AM *sigh*]

Know exactly how you feel! A phone call is the worst though... i can never get back to sleep after one...

And a whole fucking lot of fun it was getting that allergy diagnosed, boy howdy!

It took about a week when I was 4 or 5 or so. It was before I started school anyway. Get dragged out of bed at the ass crack of dawn and bundled up in my dad's truck or my mom's Mustang, both of which were plagued with frequent stalling problems, and head down to Waukesha to see the allergist.

Once there, I got to spend my days watching trains out the waiting room window and then having holes drilled in my arm by nurses and doctors wielding needles, injecting various substances into Yours Truly so they could note the reaction. That was when I decided needles and I would be interacting as little as possible.

I feel for ya Irv... I got tested with drops of concentrate on my arm. Turns out I'm allergic to felines and canines... I'm allergic to my own pets! (I have two cats). I can tell when someone within ten feet has a pet, as my eyes will immediately start to itch. Useful and annoying at the same time.

[Zombi]

I drank a lot of instant coffee when I was a kid, with no notable effects that I can recall - it definitely didn't make me go nuts like the kid in the original post. I eventually stopped because I discovered hot chocolate when I was nine or ten, but I was always allowed big people strength coffee when we went out. I think the kid's behaviour depends more on the parents and what they're allowed to get away with normally than the amount of coffee consumed, and IIRC doesn't cappucino have a lot of milk? (not as much as latte, but still quite a bit)
Now I'm a hopeless addict - I gave up stimulants (coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate and salt) once, and it was hellish. I had muscles spasms, headaches, shaking hands, darting eyes, poor concentration, the lot. I lasted two weeks, then hooked myself up to the caffeine drip again.

[Estil]

Are you sure she didn't also put her shirt over her head, raise her hands/arms and shout, "I AM THE GREAT CORNHOLIO!!! I NEED TP FOR MY BUNGHOLE!!!!!"