A new study has found that, over the past 3 years, nearly 5,000 calls have been placed to poison control by parents of kids who accidentally drank an energy drink containing high amounts of caffeine. Symptoms that prompted the calls included rapid heart rate, irritability, nausea, and in some cases, chest pains. It was found that about half of these calls involved children under 6.
It's important to note that the parents weren't intentionally giving these drinks to their children. However, it's also important to remember that many energy drinks contain packaging that can be enticing to kids, and can even be mistaken for fruit juice. And, even low doses of caffeine can cause an adverse reaction in kids and teens, boys especially. If you consume energy drinks or keep them in your house, make sure to keep them out of reach of your kids.
Do you know how much caffeine your child is consuming? Although you may think you are monitoring her caffeine intake, the FDA doesn't require food manufacturers to list caffeine content on food labels, so there may be some foods in your child's diet that contain higher amounts than you think. Read about these 8 surprising sources of caffeine in kids' foods to help cut down on your child's consumption.