Second-Grader Combats ADHD With A Cup Of Joe

When her son Rowan was diagnosed with ADHD, Denver mom Christie Haskell was hesitant to sign her second-grader up for a prescription to Ritalin or Adderall. Wanted to avoid the negative side effects of said drugs, she researched other options online and came across a natural, yet controversial, cure for her son: coffee.

She tried the remedy, and it worked. Twice a day, Rowan is served a 4 oz. cup of joe which, he exclaimed to cameras, “tastes good!” His mother says he no longer has “the jitters,” and that his behavior has improved as well:

“He doesn’t overreact if we ask him to pick legos. Rather than screaming, throwing a tantrum and throwing himself on the floor, if we ask him to sit down and do his homework, he can actually do it.”

Obviously, getting your child hooked on a daily dose of Starbucks at a young age is not ideal, but is a small dose of caffeine really any worse than the potential side effects of pharmaceuticals? And at least caffeine is natural (assuming that’s a concern — for some, like, uh, half of the fine people working at this company, it isn’t. But we’re technically adults). Some believe that coffee’s risks outweigh the benefits. But that’s a possibility with pills, too. So nobody wins — except for the kid whose supernatural academic focus gets him a full ride to Harvard.