I Musjudged Coffee Toting Mom

I think everyone misjudges other people at some point or another. I know I have even though I can not name one at the moment. As far as the coffee goes...I do not judge about giving kids coffee. When I was little my grandfather would give me a cup more than half full of milk, a spoon of sugar, and a splash of coffee. Being a kid I just wanted to do what he was doing so he found a way to make me feel like I was. I have done the same with my children. I also have discovered through a school for children with learning disabilities that children with ADD or ADHD can sometime drink coffee as a way to calm them down rather than using medicine. I only know this because I have ADD and asked the director of the school why coffee always made me sleepy rather than wake me up like most.

Oh gosh, I can think of several times I've seen little kids with coffees in their hands - and it was really coffee! We used to go to an indoor kids gym class where there was a Starbucks just around the corner from there. I remember there was a kid who always came in with one of those iced coffee drinks . . . and the parent did say it WAS iced coffee. Apparently the kid really loved it, so the parents would buy the kid a cup before class just so he would go to class. When I used to skate, my friend allowed her daughter to drink coffee in the morning if she wanted it - really sweetened up - and I think the girl was like 5 or 6. Eek!! And I saw actually the girl all grown up a couple years ago - she was super short compared to mom and other sisters . . . coincidence or was her did she stunt her growth from the coffee??

You can use those Starbucks coffee cups for any kind of drink. Never assume that there is coffee in it. As you know, Starbucks sells more than just coffee, and they do give out free water. You can also order tea, non-coffee drinks, specialty drinks without coffee in them. You don't always have to have coffee from Starbucks. I don't always order coffee from Starbucks.

heehee. my son often drinks water from a coffee mug. He calls it "foffee". And he drinks water or milk from a tea cup and calls it tea. He just likes to use the same type of cup as my husband. Although, to be honest, if I see a kid with a Starbucks cup I assume it is hot chocolate. If I go to Starbucks with my son I order him a kids' hot chocolate but I ask them to make it mostly steamed milk with just one squirt of chocolate syrup.

I can understand how you feel as I know that I would be a litle upset by the mother as well. It's not good for a little baby to have coffee, heck I didn't have coffee until my preteens for the first, and didn't like it then lol. I like it now, but that's beside the point. There have been plenty of times I've misjudged someone but I can't think of one time that I've been proven wrong. Sometimes you misjudge but don't get to see the actions around it so don't know for sure.

I probably would not have thought twice about him having coffee, other than to be concerned it might be hot, cause coffee is TOO HOT at those places. My dad gave me coffee at a young age, and I've even let my son have coffee, a half/half coffee milk mixture, on occasion.

No. First off, I can't see well enough to notice such details, and secondly, if I could see such things, I would not jump to conclusons, because things, as you pointed out, can be a lot different than they would appear. I think the mother did a good thing. Probably rinced out the cup, and recycled it. Not only did she have something for her chil to drink out of, she re-used her cup, and did not pay money, or put garbage into the environment to buy him a bottle of water. Perhaps a sippy cup might have been a better idea, but wh's to say she didn't forget to take it out of the house that morning, or that she may not have had room for it in the bag? Afterall, she could just crumple up the cup and toss it out, when the kid was done.

I think we all do at times, but it is a lesson to us that we should not judge someone until we have all the facts.

This brings to mind a guest who allowed the little boy with her to drink coffee. I said out loud to her before I could catch myself: "You let him drink coffee?" She was like a deer caught in headlights for a moment, then she said: "Oh, he drinks it all the time at home." This kid was about seven years old. I just couldn't imagine allowing a little child drink coffee. I just stared at them in disbelief-speechless. What eventually happened was that I began to judge myself, wondering if I was to harsh in verbalizing my surprise. I wondered if I was too hard on the lady, was I not aware of properties that would make the beverage not harmful to small children. It was a very uncomfortable and situation.

No, my assessments of people are usually pretty close--not always very nice, but usually right. I will say, though, that coffee is probably less of an issue for small children than all of the rubbish that is targeted at them. Prepackaged kids' "foods" are usually pretty much loaded with stuff that would be better off disposed of in a toxic waste dump than down the throats of young children.

I think everyone tends to misjudge someone at sometime in their life, just some do it more then others, think about it some once they realize they have misjudged still keep their horrible opinion just because they don't want to admit they are wrong. If the child had been drinking coffee that would be the mother's personal choice to do so, it could have been decaffeinated, and in other parts of the world a child drinking coffee is the norm. I don't let my kids drink coffee but I can tell you my parents when they were alive were the first to let my kids try it when they were still babies, well at least toddlers.

With all the things that people nowadays come up with I can't exactly blame you for being concerned to the kid. Though I sure wish some people who misjudged me is like you who's quick to admit their fault and to give it a rest. Some people who misjudged me didn't actually keep their opinions to themselves and even after knowing that they have wrongfully hurt my feelings they didn't Ben do something about it. Oh well, karma's waiting just around the corner.