My Daughter Won't Drink Milk

There are a lot of other foods out there that are high in calcium. As long as she's getting the calcium, it doesn't matter if she is drinking the milk.
You can find a list of high calcium foods at this website:
http://www.alkalizingforlife.com/CalciumMyth.html

Hi J.,
Have you tried chocolate milk? My daughter will NOT drink regular (or white) milk, but she'll drink chocolate milk all day long. While I feel a modicum of guilt b/c she doesn't need the sugar, I know she's getting her milk, so I'm willing to make the compromise. My Mom had coffee syrup and made her milk that way and she drank that too. If you try it, you might call it chocolate juice.

Hmmm... you might want to consider listening to her instincts. Truth be told, milk is best left for baby cows. I know this goes way outside of conventional thinking, but while milk's been promoted to be high in calcium, the proteins are so strong it breaks down most of the calcium before your body can absorb it. It kicks up our body's mucous generation too. She might enjoy soy milk, some kids do. She'll get the calcium and other nutrients milk provides. If you do stick with milk, consider going organic as regular milk has a lot of human growth hormones in it that have been linked to breast and prostate cancers, and is thought to bring on early puberty in our children. Good luck!

Hi,
Perhaps your daughter would like to drink milk the way I do. With ice and a straw! Or in little frosty mug. It seems like a treat that way and there's no added sugar. At one point it was the only way I could drink it, and now I can drink milk if it's very cold.
Best wishes, Rose

Hi there,

I wouldn't worry too much about her daily milk intake. First, cheese has a much higher density of protein and calcium (and fat) than plain milk. Also, recent research is starting to show that forcing our children to drink a certain amount of milk every day is not as necessary to their health and growth as it was once thought. What matters most is that growing kids get a good variety of different healthful foods, particularly foods that contain protein (chicken, tofu, beans), calcium (cheese, broccoli, collard greens) and antioxidants (fruits and veggies), as well as plenty of water to drink.

Milk has long been thought of as a healthy drink, however it is more accurately described as a drinkable food. It is relatively high in sodium, and does not provide good hydration the way water or even juice does. Many kids have no interest in drinking cow's milk, yet are very healthy and strong, getting calcium from various other food sources.

Over the last few decades, the Dairy Industry did an excellent job of promoting their star product - milk - as essential to children's health. Now, however, with concern about high-sodium and high-fat diets, as well as the prevalence of milk-allergies and their related health problems, and concern over the artificial hormones and antibiotics frequently added to dairy and meat products, many are questioning the wisdom of forcing their children to drink milk every day.

I think as parents we need to look at the bottom line: how healthy and well-nourished are our children? If your daughter is thriving and growing and healthy despite not drinking milk every day, she is probably fine. However, it might not be a bad idea to consult your child's pediatrician, or a nutritionist, about making sure that your daughter is getting the right balance and quantity of nutrients. They can also give you ideas for good sources of calcium (other than milk) that your daughter might prefer. The last thing you need is for every meal to become a hassle!

Good luck!

i agree with cecilia! milk today is loaded with growth hormones, antibiotics etc that they give to the cows to get them to produce more. if it 's the calcium you're looking for there are plenty of vegetables and fruits that provide it. try making smoothies with yogurt and fruit. my kids, who are now adults, rarely ever drank milk growing up.they just didn't like it. they are both healthy. you didn't say if your daughter was breastfed. if she was, you could always pump out the milk and give it to her in a cup.

If all else fails give her flavored milk. I used to give my kids as much regular milk as they would drink (maybe 2-4 ounces) then give a couple ounces of weak chocolate or strawberry milk to make the serving size equal 6 ounces
(I did this four times a day to fullfill the recommended daily requirement of 24 ounces a day)
Then just be sure to brush her teeth after each meal and before bed.

I have to agree with several previous posts..milk is not an absolute necessity and before I would sub in sweet or flavored milks I would try to sub in fruits, veggies, cheese, yogurts...the fruit & yogurt pops are a great idea. Altough organic can be more expensive it can help to alleviate the concerns of growth hormones in meats and dairy too.

My son (13 mos) is really not a huge fan of milk either. He will drink some first thing in the morning and before he goes to bed at night as a comfort & often he would prefer to snuggle...which is fine with me!

ANyway, good luck but my first reaction is to not worry!! MANY, MANY very healthy children do not drink milk!

My son did the same thing when he stopped using the bottle at 13 months. We now have to put strawberry syrup in the milk and that's the only way he will drink it. I checked with his doc and they said that is fine as long as he is brushing his teeth.

my daughter is 2 and does not drink milk either. Her DR. said it is ok as long as she is eating yogurt or ch. for her calcium. She is doing fine. Good luck with her.

Hi Jen,

My 3 1/2 year old won't drink much milk either so I have resorted to buying the fun flavored yogurt. She loves the "Trix" brand especially cotton candy. Another thing I have done is froze the gogurts so it is more like an ice cream than a yogurt.....she loves them. You may want to try something like this.

S.

Maybe if you let your daugther choose two or three fun sippy cups especially for milk she'll be more inclined to try. Or a realy different fun straw?

I agree with the others' advice of fortifying with OJ + calcium if she'll drink it and cheese. Almonds also have lots of calcium, if she can eat them. You could try making treats with yogurt or giving her frozen yogurt with fruit.

I would stay away from giving flavoured milk as the norm. Then that will be the only way she'll drink it, and it's got lots of sugar, etc. In our house it's a treat or used as an energy drink. That's just us! Best of luck.

Don't worry about it. If she is only drinking 5 oz at most a day for now that is better than non at all. My son went through the same thing would not drink ANYTHING out of a sippy cup once the bottles were gone. But he had no choice, no bottles so either go thirsty or drink from the sippy. He finally drank a little & a little turned into a LOT! Now he drink milk, water and juice out of sippy's no problem. I also tried different types of sippy cups he prefers the ones with the straws in them.

J.-

I had the same problem with both my kids! I get the small drinkable yogurts, put a fun straw in them and they gobble them up, sometimes 3 a day! Also, we buy cheese sticks, they are more fun to eat than slices of cheese. Just show them how to peel them. Also, I hate to say it but I also would put a bit of Ovaltine in their milk to make it chocolate milk and they gobble that up too. i don't put as much as called for on the container but enough to give it a little kick. ovaltine has vitamins etc, it's not the greatest but at least they are getting their calcium.

Don't stress too much. Calcium can be gotten in many other places. Fortified OJ is great, broccoli, maybe even vitamins ? Do some research and give her a transition period. You can work around this. She probably will go back to milk, at least some, in a while. Relax, she'll be fine.

I'd check with you pediatrician, but That may be plenty of milk, if she can get calcium from other sources, ie: juice, mac and cheese, etc. My daughters did the same thing, no milk after we took away the bottle. Turns out they are both lactose intolerant, so maybe they decided if the bottle was gone it wasn't worth the discomfort from the dairy! There are plenty of other good sources of calcium! Don't worry!!

Hi J.,
I find my kids are not great for eating yogurt, but I discovered they like frozen yogurt. I make popsicles from yogurt and I also freeze "Gogurts". At least if your daughter does'nt drink milk, you can try to make sure she is getting milk from other sources....
good luck!

have you tried chocolate milk or strawberry flavored milk? you can call it vanilla milk too & change how you present it to her. make it a treat for her. let her pour the syrup in with your help. the point is to get her to drink milk. so dont worry about the flavor oasrt for now.

good luck,

B. - sahm to a cute 3 y/o girl

I would talk to your pediatrition, my son just turned 1 and my doctor told me that he should not have more than 240z in a day..so at least she is getting something. She is also getting all of her vitamins from everything else she eats. As for the bottles go, I wouldnt bring them back eventually she will just get used to them.

Hello J.. I had similar trouble with my first son. Our Pedi suggested flavoring the milk slightly with strawberry or chocolate and that worked wonders. If you limit the amount of syrup you put in, it's not enough sugar to matter. Maybe you've already tried this. Hope that helps.

Hi J.,

I have not read through the other responses, so I'm not sure if any of this is repeated, but, here goes.
First, I refused to drink any type of milk as a baby, except breast milk. My mother consulted the pedi and he said, "Human milk is for baby humans, cow milk is for baby cows. Don't worry." So that is/has been my starting point. To this day I will not drink cow's milk. I am not against it with cereal and such, but to drink it straight? No way.

Second, my daughter #2 does not drink much milk, either. #1 can't get enough of it and we have to monitor how much we allow her to take in. With #2, I offer it to her, but she has never taken more than 4-5 ounces in an entire day. She doesn't reject it completely like I used to, but it isn't something that she is terribly interested in. I asked our pedi and he said not to worry. She will eat cheese--sometimes--and yogurt. Have you tried "Yo Baby" brand yogurt? She loves it. Grilled cheese can be unbelievably nutritious--just be careful with the amount of butter you put on it. A couple of slices of whole wheat bread and some healthy cheese? Sounds good to me. In fact, that is the breakfast that my dietician used to give her own kids in the morning.

Third, she may want milk only from the bottle. If this is the case, just give it some time and she will eventually come around to drinking it from the cups, as well.

Good luck and enjoy your time with this little one.

I had the same problem when my daughter turned 13 months, except she wouldn't even take 5 ounces! My pediatrician said it was ok and many kids reject milk when you take away the bottle. She recommended getting 3 servings of dairy per day. Sneak milk into oatmeal, offer cheese and full fate yogurt. Good Luck! My daughter is 15 months and still will not touch it.

Just keep trying to give it to her. Maybe even try other brands or types of milk. Try enriched rice, almond, hazelnut, or oat milk. Different types and brands of yogurt taste different too so keep trying those too. Try plain yogurt. She just might love the tartness of it. Also try greek strained yogurts. There are a few of them on the market now. They have a much thicker texture she might like better. Also try smoothies. A great way to get lots of nutrition into her in a relatively small package.

My son was one of those infants and now toddlers that drinks so little, if any, milk. I think I've mentioned it at every pediatrician appt since my son was born. He always says not to worry about it at all as long as he is getting calcium from other sources. My son is not the best eater either (understatement!!!) so we also started to give him 1 pediasure a day (or carnation instant breakfast which is a lot more affordable and my pediatrician says there is no difference...of course my son will only drink the pediasure!) Another thing we tried to get him to drink more (of anything including milk) was switching to a straw cup. A lot more gets in with each sip and I think it's made a difference.

We used a special cup (real fancy) just for milk. My daughter also loves to have a straw with it.

My son was different. I nursed him for a long time, and then he would not like the taste of milk. When he turn 4 or so, he started liking it much better.

Just to add to the milk debate in general:
Milk has a lot of protein, and since my daughter doesn't eat much meat (which can be loaded with hormones as well), I found it really important to make sure she gets her milk. I buy milk from cows that are not stimulated with hormones, so I don't worry about it.
Soy milk has a lot of added sugar (in form of cane syrup).

H.