Good Soymilk for Toddlers?

We use the brand Silk. it has vanilla, egular and chocolate. my son loves it and so do I. it is at all major grocers aand target and walmart.

Hi E.,

We have a 2 year old who drinks Silk Soy milk and he loves it. We buy the plain in the red carton. They do have different variaties to choose from. Your daughter will get the calcium she needs with the soy milk. Any questions feel free to ask.

Hi E.! I have a 3 year old son who is allergic to all dairy products, and he has been drinking soy milk since he turned 1. I buy him Silk Soymilk. I like the Very Vanilla (purple carton) because he likes the taste the best and it is fortified with many different vitamins and minerals (including Calcium..but they all have Calcium) so it's great for kids. HOWEVER...it does contain more sugar than the rest of the milks, so I mix that one and the blue carton (Vanilla flavored). He really doesn't like the Vanilla flavor as much as the Very Vanilla, but I'm concerned about his teeth, too...hence the reason I mix them. The Very Vanilla does taste very good, and I do like the fact that it has additional vitamins. I think the plain tasting one is gross. I tried it myself... :) Silk is somewhere around 2.50 a quart, and I usually buy around 2 or 3 a week for him. YOu can find it at Walmart and most grocery stores. Good luck!

My daughter was also on soy formula and now soy milk. Since her one year check-up we started mixing regular milk with the soy and she has done really well (she is 17 mo. and we are up to 1/2 soy, 1/2 reg.) no runny diapers at all. We really like the Roundy's brand of soy milk, it comes in half gallon containers and is less expensive than the Silk brand. We found it at Copps and Pick-n-Save.

My oldest was on soy formula and when we tried to switch to whole milk she hated it so I just bought the Silk soy milk. It's nice because the experation dates are longer than regular milk too so you can buy a bunch at a time.
I had her on that until she was 2 and then switched to skim just fine. She had a milk protein problem though so the switch to skim went fine since she had gotten over it. Another option for your daughter since she's continuing to have problems might be lactose free regular milk. Have you tried that? It's by the regular milk.
Good luck,
J.

My son is also lactose intollerant. He has been since we first started to give him whole milk. He takes none soy milk but we havent had any problems with it. It is called Dairy Ease and it 100% Lacotse free and still provides 50% of the daily calcium intake needed in a day. It is around $2.90 for a halk gallon. We also use Lactaid and it has the same 50% of the daily calcium needed. It runs about $3.24 for a half gallon. Good Luck Hope you find something that works.

Silk brand. It's organic and enriched, so there is plenty of calcium. My daughter had been drinking it since she was weaned. The taste is great - not so soy tasting as with other brands. You can buy a 2 pack of half gallon cartons at Super Target for $5.14. That is the cheapest I have found at regular pricing. Costco has carried it in the past, but only the Vanilla, not plain.

There are a lot of options out there. Check the Calcium content on the non-cow milks. Most are equal to Cow Milk, not all. Check out Rice Milk, Almond Milk and Soy Milk. There are even powdered Potato Milk and Hemp Milk at Fresh & Natural. Everything besides the Potato Milk also comes in Vanilla and many in Chocolate. At our house we avoid the Soy and drink the Rice Milk and Almond Milk. Unfortunately, it is definitely more expensive than Cow Milk.

My 4yo likes Silk. We also use Organic Valley which he seems to like even better. We don't give him any dairy and have found alternative cheeses, yogurt, ice cream and more. It's a little bit extra work at first, but after awhile, it just flows like everything else. We have tried goat's milk products with him and he's been fine with that. Most soy milks have as much calcium as regular milk, but if you need a supplement try Adora - it tastes just like a chocolate wafer. Good luck!

-M.
http://www.theSmartSeedsCompany.com

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My daughter and myself had a issue with milk. We used soy for some time. The silk is good tasting but sits very heavy in the stomach...personal expierience. It is loaded with thickners, mainly carageenen. There is alot of controversy about this additive (as there is about soy itself and dairy). 8th continent has thickners but seemed to sit better ane I think tasted better...maybe not as much?? There are carageenan free soy milks like west soy and some dream soy (better tasting of the two).

I think it is important to add that my daughter and I HAD an issue with dairy because we are both gluten intolerant (Wheat, Rye, Oats and Barley)...she has celiacs. ALOT of people that are lactose intolerant because they are gluten intolerant. I after six months gluten free can eat cheese with no probs..have not tried milk as I just don't have the desire. I don't rely solely on dairy products for calcium...they aren't even the best source of calcium. Dairy is also low in magnesium compared to the calcium it has (you need a balanced calcium to magnesium ratio...not enough magnesium and you are causing more probs with calcium that can't be utilized properly). http://groups.msn.com/kenziebugzplayhouse/glutenfreeresou...

I don't dis dairy completely...yoghurt especially home-made definetly has its perks. Home-made can be fermented long enough to be lactose free also.

Check this out for other food sources of calcium... http://www.soystache.com/calcium.htm (note the magnesium content)

After researching, I believe that almond milk is probably the best milk period. I only have access to Blue Diamond...which has carageenen in it...doesn't seem to be too heavy though. I buy the chocolate occassionaly for my daughter as a treat and the plain or vanilla to wet her (gluten-free)cereal. I plan to make my own one of these days. The less additives in anything the better...and cheap too!

http://www.almond-milk.com/almond-milk-nutrition.html

You could do a 2 wk trial of being lactose free (no cheese, milk, icecream, milk chocolate, prepared foods with milk solids, etc.) to determine if it makes a difference with her stools.
If she is, you could by lactose-free cow milk (I think land o lakes makes one or a different big manufacturer---it tastes like normal milk). That way you'd still get her the calcium and vitamin D she needs. Or use soy milk (tastes grainy) but make sure they've added calcium and vitamin D. Most kids that are lactose intolerant can eat yogurt with active cultures, but don't try that out yet. You could also go see your family doctor for advice. There are blood tests to check for allergy to lactose/milk.
Other calcium sources are enriched orange juice, yogurt, soy icecream, or calcium carbonate if she still can't get enough. She requires about 500 mg of calcium a day (less than two cups of milk). Good luck

Hi, I am allergic to dairy products, and I need to stay away from milk and cheese. So, after trying many milk alternatives, my naturopath suggested almond milk. It is the best tasting alternative and healthy. and my doctors first choice for milk substitutes.

If I were you, I would give my child Lactose Free Cow's Milk such as Lactaid rather than Soy Milk. It is much more nutritious, and not to mention does not have the hoards of estrogen found in Soy Milk. I do childcare and am part of the Food Program overseen by the Federal Government and they will not even count Soy Milk as a milk substitute for my nutritional guidelines or financial reimbursement for the food.