Need 4 Year Old to Drink Milk or Water

C. - while I agree with the moms who say "tell her it's water or nothing!" I know this is easier said than done. My own 4 year old refuses to drink milk, and I haven't pushed it. We don't, however, have trouble with water. My kids will drink it plain, but they LOVE a drink called Propel Fitness Water. It has just a touch of flavor and it even has some vitamins and minerals, too. My whole family likes it so I get the big package at BJ's. Maybe you should let your daughter try it? Good luck!

K.

When I stopped nursing my son didn't like milk either. It took almost 2 weeks of offering it to him for him to start driking it. Now he loves it(we buy organic from Wegman's for our kids, the least expensive that I've found--no hormones etc.). I have found that consistency and following through has worked pretty well for us. It's really hard for me not to give in and give them what I know they like, but for their health sometimes you have to be strong and keep trying. I'm not a doctor or an expert, but I don't think that giving kids caffiene is good and juice has a ton of sugar(natural, but it is sugar. My kids' doctor stresses to give no more than 4 oz. of juice a day.).....Keep trying and I bet he will start drinking it. As for the water, keep a full cup available at all times. Maybe try different cups too......with handles or cartoons on them. Good luck!

Wow! This seems incredible, all this discussion, time and energy to get a 4 year old to drink? I feel compelled to add my thoughts...

My first reaction is that we have much more important things we need to focus on as mothers. These early struggles will in fact set the tone for later and bigger struggles.

May I suggest a few "radical", ideas? Get ready, this is going to be super-counter-culture/media! How about we are the parents and it is our job to feed our child in a healthy, well-balanced, responsible manner. It is also our job to teach them what the rules are. It is their job to obey our rules. Children under age can not determine their food plans (most adults can't even do it, look how many overweight unhealthy people are walking around) in fact it would be dangerous to allow them to do that.

How about no nothing till she drinks the water? If she takes a fit or acts inappropriately then off to her room. Guaranteed you'll have one or two intense/unpleasant days and your problem will be over. The underlying truth about this "picky" concept is actually just a simple power struggle. The fact is that if a human being is hungry or thirsty, they will eat or drink what is placed in front of them. I can guarantee you that the survival mechanism will win out and they will eat/drink the well-balanced meal you put in front of them.

Logically, what is the incentive for these kids to do what you say? All they have to do is pretend they don't like it, take a fit or hold out and they get those yummy sweet or fat things! If you really think about it, what species on the face of the earth allows their young ones to eat at will, whatever they want, even if what they are eating will eventually cause illness/death?

Take no prisoners with this nutrition thing. It is when they are kids they will be developing their lifelong behavior and eating patterns. What you teach them how much, variety, type, etc will be their basis. We are one of the most overweight yet malnourished, sick countries in the world. It starts with you. Take back your roles, you have long-term job/project with each of your children - I'd venture to say good health and a strong immune system is CRITICAL for all of our kids. I find strength during the tough times to keep my eye on my long term goal of raising a healthy, contributing, well-balanced adult (physically, emotionally and spiritually).

Good luck!
L. - mother of 3 (8 yr old who's favorite vegetable is kale!, yuk)

A lot of people just don't like milk. She may be one of them. But you must insist that she drinks water. When I realized my kids weren't drinking enough, I started to offer only water with meals. Then the dentist told me that juice and milk should not be offered between meals. You could give her water in the morning and tell her that when that is gone then she can have a cup of juice. Eventually she won't have a problem. She won't like it at first, but she'll get thirsty sooner or later. Good luck!

I wanted my son to understand how important water and milk were to his diet. So I only gave him juice or milk with meals. If he was thristy outside of meals water was the only option and I explained it to him and made sure to tell him why. It took a little while but not long and now he asks for water even with meals. Good luck.

PS kool aid is soooo bad for kids...it's loaded with dye and sugar. Just my health nut opinion...

I don't know if your daughter will like it, but my son does. My son really likes sour things, so to get him to drink water I just add lemon juice or lime juice. This is nice because it does not have as much sugar as drink juice. Just a few drops is usually enough to change the flavor. We just call it lime juice or lemon juice and he loves it. Does she like tomatoes? Try V8 as another juice option to get the veggies in. I often sneek the milk into a smoothie for my son. He loves smoothies, so this is a nice option. Hope these help.

C.,

My 4 1/2 yr old daughter is the same way (except she does drink water). She does not like the taste of milk, but will eat cheese and LOVES yogurt. I buy the calcium fortified juices and I have talked with her pediatrician and they have told me that as long as she is eating the cheeses and yogurts, not to worry about forcing the milk. Not all kids like the same thing, so I say - as long as she has a well balanced diet otherwise, no need to stress over the milk thing!

I have read thru some of the other posts and I agree with the "you are the parent, you set the rules" to a certain point. I remember being forced to eat food that I did not like as a child - I was not allowed up from the table until I finished - I hated it and swore I would not do the same thing to my children. The rule in our house is that you MUST taste new things, if my kids truly do not like the taste, they do not have to eat/drink it. Because of this rule, they try new things and are honest about whether they don't like it or just don't want to eat it at that time.

Good-Luck!
~ B.

You could try lightly flavoring the milk (w/ Nesquick), and water (2 parts water, 1 part juice). My friend's boys refused to drink plain milk for a long time so she gave them strawberry, they outgrew it eventually.

C.,

Instead of cows milk, have you tried rice, almond, or soy milk? You still get the benefits of cows milk, but it tastes better. My son is 18 months old now and when I tried introducing milk to him, he got diarrhea, so I gave him rice milk and now that's all he drinks. My daughter likes soy best. I like rice milk as it as good way to keep cholesterol down and it's better for my heart than cows milk. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Have you tried the flavored waters? My boys would finally drink water after I allowed them to choose the flavor they wanted. Good luck.

A. T.

Dear mom~
Since you have older children, you certainly have lots of experience. Any chance your 4 yr. old has a slight cow-milk intolerance? Hve you tried soy or almond milk? Try it on a favorite cereal. As for the water, it works for us that there are certain times in the day (for all younger kids and the caretaker) when water is all that's available...that is, we don't drink soda, juice, etc between meals. I've also heard of watering down juice, little by little until it's at least 50% water. Keep trying and good luck.

Well, I'm a mom to 5 daughters, all exclusively breastfed, and none of them would drink cow's milk until they were about 3. They would eat cheese and yogurt, so the pediatrician said not to worry about it. As long as they were getting a balanced diet, and eating the yogurt and cheese, they were getting adequate nutrition. Our little one will drink water out of a little water bottle, but not if I put it into her sippy cup. Go figure! :-) Hope this helps.

anne

try chocolate milk, that is what I do 99 percent of the time. Also, mix juice wiht water. I mix EVERYTHING wiht water unless it is milk or sprite

I used to dilute my son's juice with water, by half. So he was drinking half water and half juice. He isn't fond of water today either. But I tell him he has to drink a certain amount of water before he gets his gaterade now...it takes time but he will.
Good luck!

Every morning I give my daughter a yogurt smoothie. It has all the calcium and things that milk have, plus the fruit. Her Dr. said it was a great idea since she doesn't like milk. Also the occasional glass of chocolate milk.

Hi C.,

Here are some resources that might help.

La Leche League: www.lllusa.org/VA/WebTidewaterVA

Parent support group: http://attachmentparenting.meetup.com

Picky eaters: www.westonaprice.org/children/picky-eaters.html

Hope this helps. Good luck. D.

C.,
We went through this problem with both of my oldest children. We do not force milk on them. They get their vitamins & calcium from other sources, so if they only want milk in their cereal, we're fine with that. Water, however, is a completely different story. Our bodies require a certain amount of water daily to survive. If you don't keep your body filled with water, medical problems will arise. So, to get our kids to start drinking water we made a rule that before they could have juice, they must drink water. I give them a half glass of water, and when they drink it, they can get a half glass of juice. I found it more motivating for them if it was by the half glass versus the whole glass. It was very difficult at first (when I started, I was giving them a whole glass of water, and they'd get half way & get tired of water, & just stop drinking for the rest of the day, that's why I do the half glasses now & it's much more productive). It took some time, but remember, if they get thirsty enough, they'll drink. Now my kids know, once they finish their water, they get juice. I no longer have an issue with getting them to drink water. Also remember that if you do not give your body plain water, your body has to work harder to separate the additives from the water. So make sure that you give plain water each day. Good luck & God bless!

Well...Cows drink cows milk from their mothers, goats do the same, humans?? they're a little weird and drink animal milk. Don't worry about the milk thing...it's not healthy anyway! to many hormones and stuff added to it. Think about it...when you buy milk nowadays it last for up to 2 weeks????? Doesn't that sound alittle weird? Without all the chemicals in it, it only last a day or so before it sours. Ok, OK enough about milk! LOL

So try adding some natural flavoring to water, lemon, orange, etc. Just enough to flavor it, too much juice can cause the teeth to rot and the sugar although natural can be an issue. We keep a blender on the counter and make smoothies, you can find all kinds of recipes online and come up with your own too! Make it fun and have your daughter join in too!

Hear are some things that worked for us. My 3 year old can be picky.
Water with lemon
milk with ovaltine
warm milk with a spoonful of buckwheat honey (wards off a runny nose too)
watered down juice
apple sauce no sugar added
fruit
home made popsicles with juice and water...I think the juice is ok if you water it down and limit sweets in other areas.

Since she is four - you might ask her what she doesn't like about the milk. Is the taste or is it too thick? Good luck.

Milk doesn't supply much calcium if that is your concern...because it's pasteurized.
Dentist say only one glass of juice a day for the health of teeth.
Stay far away from diet drinks of all kinds and perhaps you could use a natural sweetner like Stevia or granulated honey for decaf-tea or another herbal tea. Drinking is very important, so maybe a natrual popsycle?
Lemon water would be something else you could try or water down any juice making "aides", orangeaide, lemonaide, limeade, grape-aide... Doesn't she drink distilled water ok?
that would be good for her!!

To get her to drink milk you can try several things. Try flavored plain milk, vanilla soy milk, or even make her a smoothie so that the milk has some other flavor that she likes. My son is not a big milk drinker so I do supplement him with yogurt and cheese to get a filler for some of that calcium.

Water I was much harder on him about, because that is a must for your body. I put water in his cup and everytime he got thirsty he got that cup. Eventually he understood that until that water was gone he was getting nothing else to drink. I started much earlier so it will be tougher you just have to be firm. Good luck!!

Don't give her anything but. She's had the choice of any child just given to her. Juice rots her teeth and adds unnecessary calories. You could buy organic chocolate or soy, but then you'll be back where you started. Water is what humans require most!

I have a 4-year old and an infant. In our house, juice is a special treat, for a sore throat or a special meal. Even then, the juice is cut with 50-75% water. We just never have juice in the house. Milk or water are the only options (and at restaurants I say, do you want milk or water - I never say juice is a choice).

I suggest telling your daughter that you have a new policy, similar to this. Explain to her why you want her to cut back on juice and increase milk/water (health) and ask her what would help (what does she think she should do?). Show her how much sugar she is drinking - let her measure it into a bowl. You could introduce gradually and tell her okay, today you are going to have two juices, then the next day one, etc. Or buy low sugar juice boxes for the week (like a 6 pack) amd tell her that she can have them whenever she wants - but when they are gone, they are gone, no more! So she can have six in one day, but she will be out of luck for the rest of the week.

Personally, I oould go cold turkey. She will drink when she is thirsty. She needs the milk. And if she is drinking all her liquid in juice, then that is very unhealthy in terms of sugars. In the meantime, offer her lots of water foods, like cucumbers, fresh fruit, low sodium soup, etc. I assume you already offer lots of dairy, etc. When she asks for juice, give her a comparable peice of fruit. Stay strong and let her know you are serious. Also, introduce her to smoothies. You can have fun making these together. Use whatever milk you like and fat free yogurt, fresh fruit, and ice (no juice) in a blender.

If you do decide to lay down the law, however, I wouldn't recommend taking her out in the heat if she refuses to drink. And this could be a bargaining chip - if you want to go the playground, you need to drink this much water before we go and then bring water with you.

As I said, I would draw a hard line on this, but you can still try to make it fun for her. Let her do a "taste test" for you and select her facvorite drink. Give her seltzer water in different flavors (she might think they are like juice because you can get berry and lemon flavors) and different types of milk (skim, 2%, soy, almond, etc.). Tell ehr she can drink whichever one she picks. Let her pick out some swirly straws and tell her they are only for milk/water. Give her a pretty pitcher and tell her to pour her own drinks.

PS - I just wanted to add that I clearly agree with the other moms who say this juice thing is ridiculous and the juice should be gone quick!! And by the way, chocolate milk is worse than juice because it is not even natural sugars - its fructose or corn syrup or cane sugar. However, I do think it is important to make this a good experience for her and not a punishment. It is not her fault and she doesn't know better than she has been exposed to. This is a hsbit, a comfort, and maybe somewhat of a physical addiction. To cut out all that suger will make her feel lousy for a few days. It HAS TO be done but it will be tough for her. So do it gradually and lovingly.

Good luck - I think it si great that you are trying to make a change for the better.

What I did to transition my kids from breast milk to cows was to add just a little organic maple syrup to slightly warmed milk. It makes it a bit sweet like breast milk. Once they went to that I just gradually tapered off the amount of syrup till there was none. I hope this is a help to you. Good luck.

I did not give my daughter juice when she was little. I gave her the flavored water instead. Now that she is 3 she will drink water plain too. Also with the milk, I used to have to make choco milk to get her drink it. I bought the reduced sugar power for her milk. Again, now she will drink milk plain.

You can try the flavored waters by Nestle. My young ones like it. You can mix your juice with half water so she is at least getting some of the floride needed. You can try Silk Vanilla soy milk. It is very healthy or Very Vanilla. IT actually tastes pretty good. My kids love it. I hope this little bit of info. helps.
Thanks
S.

Have you tried adding Ovaltine to her milk? Not the most delicious chocolate milk in the world, but one glass allegedly contains the RDA for vitamins (or close to that).

On a side note -- and I truly don't mean this question to sound judgemental, because I'm genuinely curious -- why would anyone give a child caffeine? I understand the occasional impulse to sedate the little suckers, but why would you want to get a toddler hopped up on speed? It's not that I believe caffeine will hurt the child, but why torture your own nerves?

In any case, best luck! I'm all too familiar with picky kids...

Does she eat yogurt or cheese? this may be a better alternative, if she won't drink milk at all. Try chocolate milk. You can do as someone else said and mix it with regular, or add half as much chocolate syrup (or even less) to regular milk.

at our house, the rule is that we only get juice or milk at meal times, if they are thirsty between meals, it's water.

My children like to drink flavored water, I tell them that its Koolaid, ha! Whenever I give them juice i water it down heavily, probably 1/4 juice with the rest water. They don't realize the difference and its better for them. I know that it isn't the healthiest thing to do but have you offered her chocolate milk? My kids will onyl drink chocolate milk so I buy the Nesquick with less sugar and only put a very little bit in. I figure its better to have the chocolate in there then no milk at all. Also there is Ovaltine that you can mix in milk. Oh also try Gatorade (G2) watered down a lot, that is something my kids drink when my hubby has Gatorade. They think its a special treat. If she still won't take anything new you could just gradually water doen whatever you can get her to drink now. When you buy juice go for the low sugar stuff and try to buy straight juice not the juice cocktails.

My son will only drink milk from a bottle at naptime and bedtime. Ive tried in a cup several times as well and even took the chill off of it (he doesnt like anything cold, jello, pudding, icecream, yogurt). He is almost 2!!!
Now my daughter prefers not to drink milk but I do get her to do so if I make it chocolate milk. I dont buy it premade becuz it seems way too chocolatey. YOu can try flavoring it for her, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla are available. Only add enough to taste. Also I get milk into my daughter by putting plenty in her cereal and I give her a straw to sip it w/. The novelty of that is enough to get her to drink it. She gets dairy thru her cheese and yogurt.
But I too would like to know if anyone has any other tricks to try. I am done w/ the bottle thing but my son cant give it up. And I also would like my child to drink something other than watered down juice and the occasional cup of iced tea.

To reassure you Mom, kids don't need milk. Cow milk is full of hormones and other chemicals. That is one reason that it is the number one food allergy. Try soy milk. And what is wrong with juice and tea? Try watering it down a little. Your daughter will be fine. AF

We had success with putting a little chocolate milk in with the milk (enough to sweeten it some) and put less in each time.

I agree that it's not needed though, and it's fairly easy to find alternatives to the nutrients gained from milk.

Water is a must for us. I make it available constantly, always iced, which adds fun. If they are older, like 4, maybe you can do fun ice cubes, different colors, or with hidden toys in them to make it more fun.

When I switched my son to milk he did not like it at all. He was nursed also. As a last resort I gave him strawberry milk. He loved it! I bought the powder mix so I could slowly decrease the amount of strawberry flavor. It wasn't long before he got used to the taste of milk. Now he drinks white milk almost exclusively. Pink milk is more of a treat now.

As for water....Have you seen those small water bottles for kids? I bought those and my son loved drinking out of them. Perhaps you could start your daughter with that and then when she gets a taste for water you could just fill her cup. I also have the water and ice on the outside of my fridge and I leave a cup out for my son to get water when he needs/wants. Another thought is to dilute juice with water and keep changing the ratio. At least that way you'll get some water in her.

Hope this helps!:)

If she likes sweet stuff, try getting her to drink milk mixed with a Dannimal drinkable yogurt. My 4 yr old son wouldn't take to straight milk, but he would do milk and plain or vanilla yogurt. As he got older, it was only the sweet yogurt. We call it Milkie. I pour one dannimal into a large sippy cup and add milk to the top.
A.

I put a little Danimal yogert in my girls milk and they loved it. They were about 2 at the time and it helped a lot. Also, for water, I bought the little sport bottles with the pop up top and my daughter will drink 2 or 3 during the day. My twin are now 3 1/2 and drink plain milk without anything added, but it helped get over that hump. Good luck.

D. Faulkner

I was a child who didn't like to drink water, either, and other drinks in our house were limited due to the tight grocery budget. I was chronically dehydrated most of my life (I found out as an adult who had blood work and tests done for heatlh concerns). You are right to be concerned.
The reason I hated water was that it tasted terrible and made my stomach feel upset. We didn't have filters then, so it may have been because it was tap water. I would suggest making sure, first of all, it is filtered. Then add just a drop or two of flavor. I like fresh lemon in my water. Maybe if you put a little lemon and just a tad of sugar (just a tiny bit, so it is less sugar than in the juice) she would drink it. You can prepare this ahead and keep it in the refrigerator for convenience. If this doesn't work, TAKE JUICE AWAY completely! Don't give in. She'll get thirsty enough, she'll drink something else, and she'll eventually get used to drinking something less sweet. The problem is that she wants only sweet stuff. Break her of that early.

I would stop offering her anything else. My mom always told me meal time you drink milk. I taught my daughter the same thing. At 4yrs old she understands somethings are good for you and somethings aren't. Teach her about sugar and caffeine and how juice and tea and soda have them so she shouldn't drink much of them. It will make her teeth fall out. That's what i taught my daughter. At this age they are very concerned about how they look and if they will fit in. Also their body is important to them. But when push comes to shove just take out what you don't want. If you don't want her drinking tea or juice so much don't offer it. offer Water or milk. Please don't offer chocolate milk. I am not a big fan of offering a sugar filled substitute. You want her to drink milk not sugar milk. I'm not apposed to chocolate milk just drinking it instead of white milk. If there has to be a sub. i would offer yogurt of make a smoothie from yogurt and fruits.

Please don't offer the iced tea any more -- I'm assuming it's sweetened and who needs extra sugar or, worse, artificial sweeteners? Plus, kids do not need caffeine! I'd cut out the juice except perhaps calcium-fortified OJ once daily, and not "grazing" on juices all day if that's what's happening. She can get calcium from plenty of yogurt (not the super-sugared kinds, and be sure they're organic if possible)and cheese in its many forms. Our pediatrician told us years ago: "Just water, milk, and calcium-fortified OJ because parents give way too much other juice since kids love the sweet taste, and apple juice has little nutritional value despite what the labels say." I like the idea below: Water only between meals, orange juice once a day (if she eats citrus fruit, fantastic, our child won't but does drink OJ), and milk. I would not go the route of chocolate milk; that teaches them to load up the thing they don't like with sugar and flavoring. I'd go with regular milk or yogurt, cheese etc. rather than get her hooked on chocolate milk. Also, for water -- try serving her homemade popsicles (you can get popsicle makers very cheaply in lots of places like Linens 'n' Things in the spring/summer) that are about 90 percent water and the rest a taste of juice (in this case, apple or whatever juice she'll take). That's how we got our niece, who hated to drink anything, to take in a little more water. Good luck!

what about kool-aid? Its water with flavor. If you don't tell her, she wont know. For milk, try a milkshake or adding flavors like Hershey's chocolate or strawberry.
M.

My daughter was the same way. Finally I gave up on trying to get her to drink regular milk and gave her chocolate milk. But not straight chocolate milk--I would buy a premixed bottle like Nestle Quik low fat chocolate milk, then mix it half and half with regular milk. She didn't feel like she was drinking milk so she took it. She still drinks it that way at almost 10 years old. I figure she is getting a little extra sugar, but at least she's getting the benefits of the milk. One other rule I put into effect is no soft drinks except for special occasions. She doesn't even miss them. Good luck!