Great user name/post combo. 
Maybe it’s just where I live (Chicago suburbs) but I see plenty of middle school and younger kids going to Starbucks and the like. I’m sure they order sugared-up things that barely resemble coffee in flavor, but it does involve coffee.
I don’t know - mine have been drinking it since they were toddlers. My daughter IS a little short for her age, but I think thats more genetics, not coffee.
Which may as well be about dinosaur rustling, for all its relevance to the present era.
It’s possible to order a ton of different items at Starbucks that contain no coffee.
Including most of the ice-cream “coffee” drinks. 
Well yes, but I often hear orders given by the younger set that involve coffee in various frozen/blended/sugared/whipped variations that no longer taste like a standard Americano.
I mean seriously, it seems like kids drink a ton of caffeinated soft drinks these days (including energy drinks), so I see absolutely no reason that they wouldn’t caffeinate the fuck out of themselves at a coffee shop as well.
He must have learned something from it, if he was able to dupe airport employees repeatedly and get on that airplane.
Abagnale has stated that swindling nowadays is easier than ever.
Coffee, Sierra Mist, Fried Pickle.
Yes that sounds like a Wes Anderson movie.
If this is an actual, serious question, coffee is seen as an “adult” drink by many people. I’m stunned if you haven’t come across that viewpoint. I don’t remember being strictly forbidden from drinking coffee as a little kid, but I also don’t remember ever being explicitly allowed it. I got to drink a rye, barley, chickory beverage called “Inka” that was a coffee substitute.
Why it’s such a big deal, I’m not entirely sure. We kids got to drink Coke, tea, and other caffeinated beverages, but coffee was usually off limits. I know that when I worked at a coffeeshop if a 9-year-old came up and ordered a coffee, I’d’ve raised an eyebrow. I’m not sure if I would not have served him, but it would have been weird.
My daughter turns 9 today.
I would not buy her a coffee drink, nor “allow” her to buy one for herself.
I will not encourage her to drink coffee - and do limit colas and the like…
I’m a bit surprised to have to offer data on this point, but Table 27 of this FDA study (pdf) shows that children 2-13 drink only around 1% as much coffee as adults.
This kid’s adventure suggests that perhaps we should be encouraging them to drink more.
It’s a big deal because the idea of wrangling your average small kid, only caffeinated, makes strong men run screaming. I’m trying to imagine my four-year-old on coffee - and she’s not a particularly hyper kid - but my mind keeps blanking to protect me from the horror.
And there’s way, way less caffeine in Coke or tea than there is in coffee. Check out these stats. A Coke: 30-35mg. Black tea: 14-61mg. Generic instant coffee: 27-173mg. Starbucks latte: 150mg.
I’ve come across that viewpoint. My confusion is based on the fact that the OP seems to suggest it’s universal.
Yes, I know that, but we weren’t exactly monitored on how much Coke or tea (or it was mostly RC in my family) we drank, so we could easily pound the equivalent of a cup of coffee.
Coke tastes good and coffee doesn’t so kids don’t drink coffee
I think that this kid really needs to be watched. He is a potential budding genius or a criminal mastermind. He has also stolen a car, among other adventures.
My little brother did something similar to this when he was about 12 years old. He was always on the small side as a kid, so he probably looked even younger than 12. This was in the late 70s, so there was no TSA or nearly as much airport security. We had recently moved from Atlanta to Tampa, and he was the delinquent of our brood, always fighting with my father.
One day he decided to run away. He hitched a ride out to Tampa airport, about 20 miles away. He said a priest and some nuns gave him a ride, although I’m not sure what story he told them. Walked onto a Delta flight wearing cutoff jeans, flipflops and a t-shirt. Hid in the bathroom until everyone boarded, then found a free seat. Hitched up to our old neighborhood in Atlanta, also at least 20 miles from the airport, and not that easy a route, so I’m impressed that he found the place.
Then he lived in his friend’s bedroom for a few days, hiding under the bed until the coast was clear. Remember, this was in the day of stay at home moms, so another slick trick. Eventually they found him and called my folks. Delta made my folks buy him a ticket for the ride home. These days I’ll be surprised if there is not some kind of suit accusing the airline of negligence.
(On the side note of coffee, neither of my kids were allowed to drink coke or any caffeinated beverage until they were in their teens. Cause I’m a mean dad. My daughter now drinks Coke and coffee. My son still mostly prefers non caffeinated drinks.)
And yes, the boy has a bad home life. Someone is leaking social services email to the press, which shows that he has repeatedly sneaked into a water park, and he was recently arrested for grand theft auto.* His mother works at the airport, and there is an investigation into whether she helped him get on the plane to Vegas. :eek:
And there’s this:
I was hoping he’d turn out to precociously cool, but this is just turning out to be sad and grim.
- Trust me, RNATB; this is unusual at age 9.
I remember a This American Life where a girl and her sister hopped a plane to NYC dressed in ballerina costumes. I think they were like 12 or 13 at the time.
Also, I drank cofffee when I was a little kid, apparently it’s was pretty common for little kids in the country; I grew up in the burbs, but my dad grew up straight up white trash.