One of my 2 1/2 year old twin boys has decided he doesn't like dairy yet my 2 other boys have no problem with it. He will eat some cheese but only so much and won't eat much of any other dairy. So, I'm trying to find a way to get the calcium into him. I was reading a list of good sources of calcium and there doesn't seem to be much there that he would eat. My question is how do you parents get your kids to eat calcium when they won't eat dairy? I know they have orange juice with calcium in it but was reading calcium is not absorbed very well when in orange juice. Oh, and my other issue is that it's really hard to feed one of my kids something different without the others wanting it (eg. if I fed him pudding I know the others would want it but the others eat enough dairy as it is!)
Ovaltine! Fortified with lots of vitamins and minerals. Better than chocolate flavoring, my doc told me to try it because my son won't drink milk. Get the regular kind, they have chocolate as well but that has more sugar in it. Good luck! :)
Veges have calcium in them. Green leafy ones generally have the highest content.
Take a look at this list. It lists lots of veges and the calcium content of each. http://www.citracal.com/Calcium/Foods/Vegetables.aspx
If your son isn't so interested in eating veges either, you can sneak them into other foods. Ex: Mix frozen spinach into pasta sauce
Have you tried various flavors of yogurt? One of my twins eats it like it IS pudding :)
We aren't supposed to eat dairy anyway. Calves are supposed to have dairy milk, not adult humans. There are lots of alternatives that are way healthier. Soymilk, ricemilk, soy cheese, tofu... The best soy cheese I have had is Follow Your Heart brand. The less animal products you give your kids, the healthier they will be, as long as you give them a healthy well balanced diet. One fact about animal protein, is that it actually blocks calcium from absorbing into your blood stream anyway, so you don't get what you need from dairy anyway. Here is a couple websites with some more info on it. www.milksucks.com www.pcrm.org
N.
I have had the same trouble,I was told by a nutriscionist that orange juice has more calcium than milk and 1 piece of cheese is equal to a 8oz glass of milk and I did yogurt and pudding cups (swiss miss).Cereals have calcium in it you can make chicken nuggets dipped in egg with cereal coating and bake.
Now my little one is almost 4 and a picky eater so I give her the Kids Essentials (Boost)in chocolate and call it a "milkshake" and she drinks one everyday!
Good Luck and I know its not easy......
if you need the chicken nugget recipe,I can dig it out somewhere and e-mail it to you!
S.
Have you tried smoothies? My son fell in love around 15mos, and we treat it like a special occasion thing (since he eats dairy pretty well). For a while our son wouldn't eat yogurt, but found out that he liked it without fruit chunks, but with cereal mixed in, haha. Some of the kid yogurts are brightly colored and might be festive for him? Good luck :)
Calcium gummy bears! Lifesaver. Usually two only have 20% calcium so make sure he gets enough.
I thought of two things right away when I read your post:
1. Horizon flavored milk boxes. My son always hated plain milk but LOVES the Horizon Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry.
2. Can you make fruit smoothies with fresh fruit/low fat yogurt and a little ice cream (or frozen yogurt) for thickness?
Try yogurt. the drinkable ones are good. Does he like milk? Try chocolate milk,if he does not like that then try soy milk. Soy milk comes in different flavors. Cheese sticks are good,try the chuck e cheese ones. They sell them at walmart for reasonable.Kids are going to go through phases of what they eat. Beleive me i know, my son is almost two and a half years old.
Hi N.,
I have run into the same problem. My daughter is allergic to milk/dairy. Animal Parade has a chewable calcium vitamin. Two vitamins contain 250 mg. I think that is a lot compared to most vitamins. I also give her a liquid mulitvitamin in her juice called Buried Treasure Childrens complete (1 tbls) and that has 100 mg of calcium. Children ages 1-3 need 500 mg a day. So I try to give her broccoli each day. I am about to try OJ with her also b/c that's full of calcium. Hope this helps :)
See a nutritionist...there are calcium powders you can mix into apple juice.
Since your son is 2 now, he can take 1/2 a Flintstone Complete vitamin to help supplement what he misses during his picky stage. I know parents hate to add flavors to milk but it is an option. Besides chocolate, there is strawberry. You can add just the tiniest bit until he'll drink it, and as time goes on you can slowly wean him from the flavor. I would buy anything with calcium added to it, even if it's just a bit extra he's getting in.
Give your doctor a call and ask for his advice on foods or they may have calcium chewables he can prescribe or get over the counter.
K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
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Besides other foods, you can buy children's vitamins with extra calcium.
