How Much Milk Should My 17 Month Old Be Drinking?

Everyone says children need lots of milk to build their bones, but what they forget to say is that COW's milk is mostly a calcium that human bodies can't absorb (they also don't mention that you need magnesium and vitamin D to fully absorb calcium!).

If you're worried about the amount of calcium he's taking in, one of the most calcium-rich foods is sesame seeds. Tahini is a GREAT way to get calcium into a child's diet. 1 teaspoon of it has 129mg of calcium. An entire CUP of whole milk has 236. You can mix tahini half and half with peanut butter and kids don't even notice the difference (or mix it into hummas, or on soft bread by itself. There are a million ways to eat it!).

I wouldn't worry about your little guy only drinking two cups a day. He should be fine. Are you still breastfeeding (or formula feeding) him at all?

I personally would be a little more concerned that he's drinking watered down juice when he's thirsty. The watered down juice should be a treat or a snack, and he should be drinking plain water when he's thirsty. Otherwise he'll get into the habit of having to have "flavored" things to drink. :)

Just my two cents. :)

My ped told me that my daughter should have 3 glasses of milk a day, no more. That's tough for us because my kid loves milk, just like me. She drinks water the rest of the day and juices, lemonades etc... are special treats. I, too, only drink water and milk and rarely anything else. Not sure if we trained her this way or if she just takes after me in this regard.

My son was and is the exact the same way. He's now 2 1/2.
I don't think your son should be drinking MORE milk but my ped tried to get me to have my son drink less milk.
I used my "mama discretion" and he now has milk in the morning upon waking and some before bedtime. Once in awhile he will have some after naptime.
My son isn't the biggest eater (he seems to have his dad's fast metabolism) so I try all different kinds of foods and what I have found is that if I take him to a restaurant he will eat all different kinds of things. Voila so I will take him a few times a week and we end up eating healthy stuff. Good for our "well balanced diet" and an outing for me. I do it as cheaply as possible (I don't get him his own kid meal anymore. It was a waste.....not till he's older. I just get what we both like and we split it.)

Actually u r ok? I did that with mt son twenty yrs ago. Its common sense thing to do and never gets old. U should be brushing his teeth. And at nearly two get him involved in it. Cause of the sugar in the milk. Lactaid free has no sugar. But water is best before bed. Or pediasure this will keep him hydrated with electrolytes. Dont feed him those packaged meals even the gerber ones. Cook a sweet potato, peel and mash, cinnamon. All natural.

if the child wants milk, let him drink as much as he wants,besides yogurt and cheese, there is no better way to make sure that they are getting enough calcium, ignore the old wives tales who "warn" you about milk, its good for them. i had one mental midget try to "warn" me about "giving my daughter too much milk", "you dont want her to be too tall, do you ??" i told her "hel@ yes, i want her to be tall, its the only way she is going to grow into her oversize feet""beside, i would rather her be tall, then end up four and a half tall LIKE YOU""you short little fu#k"it this point the woman started backing away from me very slowly.
K. h.

I think it is fine. My 3yo drank about the same amount at your sons age and she will still drink maybe one or two 8oz cups of milk a day. I don't push it. She eats cheese and yogurt too so she gets plenty of dairy.
I stopped drinking milk when I was 4 although I eat yogurt and cheese - not on a daily basis but pretty regularly. When I was 16 I had jaw surgery to correct a narrow jaw (hereditary) and the surgeon said my bones were so strong he could not break them using the regular tools! (I did not ask what he used to break the bones as I had visions of a sledge hammer - lol!) I have also never had a broken bone, so I think my bones are in good shape. One of my Drs once told me that because my body did not rely on a daily intake of dairy, it learned to pull the needed calcium from other foods, like vegetables. So for me, I give my daughter milk when she asks for it and do not push it otherwise.