Our son just turned a year old and we were going to start him on whole milk. I've seen toddler formulas in the store and was wondering what people thought of this? Should I give him this instead of whole milk? Please let me know your thoughts and what worked with your little ones. THANK YOU!
You all are awesome! Thanks for your great advice! We will skip the toddler formula and go straight to milk.
Marketing gimmick and chock full of unnecessary sugar to boot.
The mom/pediatrician who writes the Seattle Mama Doc blog blasted it last year. Really, really blasted it. Even used the word "abhor". Here's the link if you are interested in why.
http://seattlemamadoc.seattlechildrens.org/chocolate-form...
I think it's a marketing gimmick. Just another way to keep you as a customer.
With my daughter I just switched to whole milk. Gave her a cup of milk. She drank it. She was fine. I was also still breastfeeding. It was fine.
Kids don't have to be "weaned" off of anything to go onto whole milk... UNLESS they are rejecting the taste of whole milk.
Then, you simply add about 1 ounce of whole milk, to the existing thing your child is drinking (ie: breastmilk or Formula), then GRADUALLY, increase the ratios over time. Until the child gets used to it.
That is what I did with my son, who did not immediately "like" the taste of whole milk. I used Formula for him as a Toddler, because he was EXTREMELY picky with eating and per our Pediatrician, it was fine to continue Formula/milk in addition to... his usual foods etc.
He got nutrition that way.
You, do not have to give your son Toddler Formula "for a few months then whole milk", because, he does not seem to have a problem with eating or with drinking.
The milk, has to be WHOLE milk. Because, it has the milk 'fats' in it which is an important nutrient for brain growth.
I think it is totally unnecessary, and just a way to keep parents of older kids as customers. We just did whole milk after age one, no problems.
i asked my pediatrician this question when we were transitioning to milk and he basically siad it was unnecessary. more of a marketing tool. if he's drinking milk and eating solids, he'll get the nutrition he needs. if he is a really picky eater, it may help some b/c it has more nutrients than milk but the average toddler doesn't need it.
Toddler formulas are for toddlers who cannot physically go on milk yet, could be due to a surgery where they can't sit up and eat, perhaps they have a malformed jaw and can't chew food well and need the extra nutrition since they eat no food, maybe they can't tolerate it or they are allergic.
I would not use it unless your child is underweight or has a medical problem preventing him from eating food.
Just search questions here about how to transition him from full formula to regular whole Vitamin D milk.
We started mixing milk in with our childrens infant formula. First 1/4 milk, 3/4 formula for a couple of days, then 1/2 and 1/2, then after a day or two 3/4 milk, then straight milk. It took about a week total for each child, but was an easy transition. We never went to a toddler formula. It just seemed like an unnecessary step.
Have you read the ingredients on the toddler formulas? If there are any chemicals, then my answer would be "no" - kids are fed way too many chemicals these days. :(
