Every parent has had to stop at a Starbucks to grab one more coffee to make it through the day. If the kids are in the car, you know you will order drinks — and every kind of cake pop they have — for your child. While water from Starbucks just hits differently, if you treat yourself, those kids should get something fun, too. Aside from letting a child run around with a caffeinated beverage, we have Starbucks drinks for kids every parent needs to know about.
Easy drinks to please most kids
These tasty go-to drinks at Starbucks usually please everyone.
Chocolate milk
We know you can make this at home, but kids love chocolate milk. Instead of the boxed kind from Horizon out front that your child will drink down in two gulps, ask for handmade chocolate milk. Your child could always get regular milk with vanilla for a kick or try strawberry milk if they feel adventurous.
Hot chocolate
Although this one technically has a little caffeine, it’s not a lot. If your child likes their drink hot, nothing beats a hot chocolate on a cool day. The same is true when you order a mocha; your child can have regular hot chocolate, white hot chocolate, zebra hot chocolate, or vanilla hot chocolate.
Lemonade
Starbucks usually has a rotating lineup of lemonades your child will love to try. From regular to strawberry puree, you can’t go wrong with a refreshing lemonade. See if your location has any employee creations to try or has a seasonal flavor.
Blended lemonade
When it’s a little hotter out, and a frozen drink would keep your child cool, a blended lemonade would do the trick. Starbucks takes a regular lemonade and blends it up to a slushy consistency for an additional texture your children will enjoy. Strawberry is a favorite, but see what other options your local one has.
Babyccino
While you won’t see a Babyccino on the menu, order your little one steamed milk with added foam on top. To take it up a notch, ask for a drizzle of flavored syrup.
Apple cider
While only seasonal, no child can resist the call of a hot apple cider from Starbucks. There is something about that first one of the year, like how adults are with their pumpkin spice.
More creative drinks for the kids
If your child likes a little more fun in their cup, try these Starbucks drinks for kids with extra flavor.
Purple Drink
This one is the Pink Drink, but purple. Blueberries, blackberries, vanilla syrup, and milk blended up make for a fruity and mostly healthy Purple Drink to keep the kids happy.
Strawberry Creme Frappuccino
With only milk, ice, and strawberry puree in a Strawberry Creme Frappuccino, parents won’t have to worry too much about this option. Add a little whip on top for a grown-up version your children will devour.
Double Chocolaty Chip Creme Frappuccino
If your kid doesn’t like anything fruity, get them a chocolaty treat with a Double Chocolaty Chip Creme Frappuccino. While there isn’t caffeine, there is a lot of sugar between the mocha sauce, mocha drizzle, and whipped cream, so this would be a drink choice for earlier in the day.
Caramel Apple Spice
If your children love all things fall, a Caramel Apple Spice drink tastes like a caramel apple. Parents who dread cutting up a real caramel apple for the kiddos will appreciate this one. It’s steamed apple juice, cinnamon, caramel, and whipped cream, and sounds delicious.
Pumpkin Spice Creme
When you grab yourself a Pumpkin Spice Latte, get the little ones a Pumpkin Spice Creme. Made with milk and pumpkin sauce, with pumpkin spice and whip to top it off, you and your child can match in the fall with the most popular drink of the season.
Keep these drinks in mind for your child of any age for a caffeine-free treat, or get one for yourself when you want to cut back on the coffee.
Ordering tips for a child’s drink
If you’ve never ordered for a child before, you may not know you can customize things even more for a kid.
Let them know you want it at a kid’s temperature
Make sure to say it’s for a child, and they will make it at a lower temp so your child won’t burn their tongue. This is also a good tip for adults who hate burning their mouths. Instead of the usual hot temp, the drink will be a cooler (but still hot enough) 130 degrees.
Opt for a kid’s size
If you don’t want to order a drink and have half of it wasted, tell the barista it’s for a child. There are smaller cups (a short) for both hot and cold drinks to save you a bit of money and lead to less waste if they don’t like it.
Ask if the drink has caffeine
When in doubt, ask the barista if a drink your child wants has caffeine. And, yes, those delightful-looking refreshers have caffeine.
If you have kids, you know when you roll through the Starbucks in Target, your child will get something, but you don’t want a drink with caffeine for them. They just want to be included, so make it a cute experience and let them try these Starbucks drinks for kids that won’t send them jittering through the rest of their day.
