Recently I observed a mother giving a child a Red Bull energy drink. My husband had to hold me back from taking it from the child’s hand. He also had to cover my mouth because I wanted to say “Are you crazy, that’s not a drink for a child.”

Adults and kids think caffeine is harmless. Kids today are drinking coffee drinks, energy drinks and eating chocolate more than I did when I was their age.

I know firsthand the dangers of overdosing on caffeine. One morning I had my usual two cups of coffee, but I was feeling sluggish, so I drank 6 ounces of Red Bull. Within minutes I had “my wings.”

I raced through my morning chores, took a power walk and even parked, shopped, and unloaded my groceries in under an hour! I had time to spare so I did a load of wash and cleaned the windows! I had a doctor’s appointment that morning and my doctor noted that my blood pressure was so high that he wanted me to go to the hospital!

If you abuse your caffeine intake, you’re going to have problems. Caffeine will cause insomnia, tremors, nausea and diarrhea, and high doses will cause your heart to race; palpitations, seizures, and high blood pressure. Kids are not only getting high, they are getting addicted to caffeine! I was hooked on caffeine, so I weaned myself off and suffered all the symptoms of feeling sleep-deprived, with no energy and the horrific headache. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t crave my cup of coffee with the white chocolate creamer. I was addicted to the brewing, the aroma, the taste and yes, the energy!

My question is, do we want our kids addicted to caffeine? Should we prohibit kids from drinking coffee and high energy drinks? What are your thoughts?

Susan Golis

Joplin