Contrary to popular belief, coffee doesn’t stunt kids’ growth. However, there are other reasons kids should avoid caffeine.

Despite what you may have heard, caffeine will not stunt a child’s growth. However, caffeine can cause children to be irritable, upset their stomachs, increase their heart rates, raise their blood pressure, and interrupt their sleep. Furthermore, although caffeine itself will not stunt growth, inadequate nutrition can. Caffeinated beverages like soda are empty calories that provide no real nutritional value. Caffeinated soft drinks, coffee, energy drinks, iced tea, hot tea, chocolate milk, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate all contain varying levels of caffeine.

Ultimately, your height is determined by the heights of your parents, the quality of your diet, and your overall health while you’re growing. As long as you eat a balanced diet, you’ll likely reach the maximum height determined by your genes. Drinking coffee won’t make you any shorter, nor will avoiding coffee make you any taller."