A morning visit to the coffee shop is a comforting ritual for many. While not every cafe has a kid-friendly vibe, Starbucks provides a welcoming environment for young and old alike. So there’s no reason a trip to the coffee shop shouldn’t be a family affair. This guide to friendly drinks for kids at Starbucks will help you choose the perfect order for your youngsters.
The Top 10 Starbucks Drinks For Kids
- Kid’s hot chocolate: This classic favorite is served in an 8-ounce cup. It combines 2% steamed milk warmed to 130 degrees and 2 pumps of chocolate sauce. It can be optionally topped with whipped cream and chocolate sauce drizzle.
- Syrup steamer: A steamer is steamed milk flavored with any syrup, such as vanilla or caramel, and topped with whipped cream.
- Vanilla Bean Frappuccino: A caffeine-free blended cold drink with milk, ice, creme frappuccino syrup, vanilla syrup, vanilla bean powder, and whipped cream.
- Purple Drink: This Instagram friendly concoction combines passion iced tea, soy or coconut milk, blackberries, vanilla-flavored syrup, and ice.
- Cinnamon Dolce Creme: This more sophisticated steamer consists of steamed milk, cinnamon dolce flavored syrup, whipped cream, and cinnamon dolce topping.
- Strawberry Creme Frappuccino: This beautiful iced drink has a base of blended ice, milk, strawberry puree layered on more strawberry puree and topped with vanilla whipped cream.
- Babyccino: A Babyccino is essentially a cappuccino without the coffee — steamed milk with plenty of foam.
- Double Chocolatey Chip Frappuccino: This decadent blended treat is for chocoholics only, with ice, milk, crème Frappuccino syrup, whipped cream, mocha sauce, and Frappuccino chips.
- Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk: This riff on the popular shaken espresso drink removes the espresso, leaving a delicious sweet blend of brown sugar, oat milk, ice, and cinnamon.
- Caramel Apple Spice: A perfect winter warmer, the Caramel Apple Spice adds cinnamon syrup to steamed apple juice and tops it with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Is There A Starbucks Kids Menu?
Starbucks doesn’t have an official kid’s menu, but the regular menu includes fun Starbucks drinks for kids and delicious options for growing bodies. While there is no designated child sizing, if you ask for a “kid’s” size, you will get an 8-ounce hot drink or 12-ounce cold drink.
How To Choose A Kid’s Drink At Starbucks
When ordering for a child, the most important thing is to avoid caffeine and stick to coffee alternatives. There is no known safe caffeine amount for children under 11, and children 12 to 17 shouldn’t consume more than 100 mg per day – about a quarter of the amount recommended for adults (1).
Kids are smaller than adults, and it takes much less caffeine to cause adverse effects on their bodies.
It’s also best to avoid overly sugary drinks if you and your child are Starbucks regulars. But we can all do it with a sweet treat sometimes! If you’re a coffee shop frequent flyer, ask for a sugar-free syrup or “half-syrup” version of your favorite Starbucks drink to avoid sugar overload.
The Best Starbucks Drinks For Kids
With those guidelines in mind, here are some ideas for good kids’ drinks at Starbucks. Some are on the regular menu, while others are custom creations your barista will happily whip up!
Check out this video for some fun ideas, then keep scrolling for more Starbucks for kids:
Hot Drinks
There’s nothing like a comforting warm drink on a cold day. Everyone loves a basic hot chocolate, with or without whipped cream, or steamed apple juice for a warm cider feel. A syrup steamer is steamed milk with any flavor syrups added, a fun way for your child to take charge. Try the caffeine-free Cinnamon Dolce Creme with steamed milk, cinnamon syrup, whipped cream, and Cinnamon Dolce topping for a more sophisticated palate from the number of kid drinks at Starbucks.
Cold Drinks
There are several cold kids’ drinks from Starbucks, such as, kid-friendly Starbucks Frappuccinos, and the Vanilla Bean, Double Chocolatey Chip, and Strawberry Creme Frappuccino are all caffeine-free. Or you can order the Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino minus the coffee syrup to make a decadent frozen hot chocolate.
Strawberry Lemonade or Blended Strawberry Lemonade are refreshing options for avoiding dairy or looking for something lighter in the kids’ Starbucks drinks selection.
Bottled Drinks
Wondering what Starbucks bottled drinks for kids are available? Many of the pre-packaged drinks can be made into special treats. Buy any juice box and have the barista blend it with ice for an instant slushy.
Pick one of the Italian sodas, have the barista pour it over ice, and add flavored syrup for a fancy treat.
On a cold day, any boxed milk can be warmed into a soothing beverage. Add chocolate sauce or whipped cream to make it special.
Learn How to Make Starbucks Drinks for Kids
Final Thoughts
Next time you visit Starbucks with your family, you’ll know what to order for the younger set and what are good Starbucks drinks for kids. Whether you want a winter warmer or summer refresher, there’s a safe, healthy, and tasty option on the Starbucks kids’ drinks menu. Of course, just like when ordering Starbucks for adults, feel free to get creative with the menu to suit the needs of any picky drinkers. It’s half the fun!
FAQs
Many wonders – is the pink drink kid friendly? Kids can have the Starbucks Pink Drink, but only older children as the green coffee bean extract in Starbucks refreshers contains caffeine. A better option is the Purple Drink, a caffeine-free mix of passion iced tea, soy milk, blackberries, and vanilla-flavored syrup – with the same visual appeal.
A Babyccino at Starbucks is a cappuccino without the espresso, so it is essentially steamed milk with a lot of foam. It’s an excellent choice for toddler Starbucks drinks. Just make sure it’s cool enough. Starbucks also offers something similar for dogs. The “drink” is called a puppuccino.
Kids can drink decaf coffee, though it should still be in moderation as decaf coffee still contains some caffeine. Most children don’t enjoy the bitter taste of coffee, so the bigger health impact can be the amount of sugar added.
References
- Columbia University Irving Medical Center. (2022, August 3). Caffeine and Kids. Retrieved from https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/caffeine-and-kids
