Won't Drink Cows Milk...

I'd give it time and have him try it when he's a little older because there shouldn't be a rush. Especially when there are many milk alternatives that have just as much calcium as milk- rice, almond and soy all have as much if not more calcium. My son (now 23 months) had the same intolerance and has outgrown it, but he was not tolerant to all dairy all at one time. (For example, he was okay with cheese long before drinking milk.) Although now he actually prefers the milk alternatives, which I love! (less mucus & congestion).

Hi - I had this same problem with my oldest son. My sister-in-law told me to use a little bit of strawberry syrup in the milk and it worked! (She had the same problem with 3 of her kids.) Hope this helps!

first of all, as much as they pressure us to drain the milk cartons, milk is NOT a requirement for a healthy diet.

try other kinds of milk if you like, soy, almond is especially good for boys i hear. they have flavored kinds as well.
remember that water is more important than milk, especially if he is eating lots of fruits and vegetables anyway. you know the cultures with the highest intake of animal dairy also has the HIGHEST rates of osteoperosis? so milk cant be the "winner" that the industry tells us that it is.
skim milk is MORE than adequate for any person, even babies. make sure the fats your son gets is from healthy sources, olives, nuts, etc. and again, if you are feeding fruits, veggies, and whole grains (and some legumes - beans and the like) that is a VERY adequate diet.

i dont want you to get the idea that im a complete anti meat vegan. i eat meat, i drink milk. but im aware of the risks and health hazards involved. i just reduced my intake of these products (at first).
my son does drink milk, but not a lot - usually no more than a small cup or 2 a day. one of the things i had to do when he started milk was add chocolate. the doctor said this was a good alternative.

We mixed in some baby bananas. It took about a month or so (maybe more?); and now, at 17 mos, loves his milk:)

He was slow to start -- only had a little banana/milk mixture at a time; but soon was drinking regular amounts of it.

Good luck! My son really hated cows milk at first!

have you tried giving him goat milk?

what about making fruit smoothies with milk?

Have you tried some other alternatives? My children like the SILK soy milk, and most almond milks. To this day, my 6 year old does not like "cows milk" and it turns out he is slightly sensitive to it- he gets colds and congestion, whereas my 8 year old loves cows milk and is not sensitive. Maybe his little body knows something. Good luck!

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Milk isn't necessary. My daughter rarely drinks it. She does like kefir which is a great probiotic.

K.,

Try using a straw or sippy cup without the filter/no spill part in. Milk/Soy milk are thick and it takes a lot for them to be able to suck it out. Sometimes they just get tired and stop trying. My daycare provider pointed this out with my dtr when she started drinking less and less milk. We then found out she has a milk allergy and started giving her soy milk. From day one of using a staw she started to get all her milk servings in. She graduated to using a cup around 15 months because now the staw is tedious and she wants to be able to drink it up. Plus I think she likes anything that is "the next challenge". We're racing to keep up with her!!

Best of luck!
M.

Maybe try a little chocolate in his milk, and then slowly wean him off it. Just keep trying...

Hi, my daughter had the same problem (no allergies, just wouldn't drink milk). What I did was mix chocolate syrup or strawberry mix to it. I wasn't crazy about the added sugar but I felt that the benefit of getting her to drink milk far outweighed the added sugar. She drank chocoate or strawberry milk for about 1 year and now she drinks white milk just fine.

Hi - You could also try adding a little bit of milk to his formula in his bottle or cup. Each day adding a little more milk and a little less formula. Its kind of a way to slowly switch him over. Pretty soon its almost all milk with a tiny bit of formula and then taa daa no more formula! We did it with our kids, and it seemed to work pretty well.

Good Luck!

Hi K.,
I agree with the earlier posts - get his dairy in with yogurt and cheese that he likes. For milk you might try Rice Milk.

K.

Our son was strictly breastfed till 9 months. He wouldn't drink bm from a cup much less regular milk when he turned 1. BUT he would drink lots of water from cups.

So, at meals I would just put small amounts of regular milk in his cup and kept offering it to him. By about 15 months he started drinking about 1/4 cup at each meal. Now he is 20 months and drinks about a 1/2 cup.

I would just stop buying formula and keep offering regular milk. He'll get used to it. Just keep offering. (If you keep buying formula, he'll just keep preferring formula.....) As long as he's eating other dairy products, he'll be fine!

Hi K.,

I remember I as a child could not drink cows milk, and I still can't, yuck. But I could easily drink goat's milk, and my parents were buying goat's milk for me from a farm, still warm, which I drank and I liked it. Once my father gave me cow's milk because we didn't have any other, and I could tell it's cow's milk, it smelled differently. That time I drank it because my father said so, but I got an upset stomach after that for a couple of days. I also like horse's milk.
If your son won't start drinking cow's milk, maybe he just doesn't like it, and he may or may not like it later.

By the way, my daughter is the other way around, she would refuse to drink anything other than milk, not even water. Only recently she started to drink juices and water, and she is 4 now.

Good luck!

I agree with everyone else that you just need to supplement other high calcium foods such as broccoli, cheese, yogurt, etc.

Also, when I asked the doctor about it for my second daughter who was refusing to drink milk. She also suggested the Flintstones vitamins with extra calcium. She said that these are the only kids vitamins with extra calcium. It's still not much but it's better than nothing.

try soy milk...it is fortified. My daughter did the same thing. we had her on soy for over a year then when my son was intolerant to soy we swithced to cows milk and my daughter took it then...at age 2 1/2. My son is on Rice milk becase we soon found out he had a dairy allergy. there are opitions.

My youngest won't drink cows milk either and hasn't since we tried to switch her. She loves cheese and yogurt, but will not drink the milk. We started buying the Silk soy milk for kids and she loves it. She's now 2 1/2 and still prefers the Silk and very healthy. If you still get a reaction to the soy protein for some reason, I agree that you should try to find a rice milk version for kids.(Kids versions are often more tasty)

Hi K.! I can identify with your little one! I HATE milk! :) I never drank it even as a toddler. Just to let you know that your child will not suffer without milk, I am an extremely healthy adult! I eat cheese, yogurt, kefir, beans, broccoli, etc. and occasionally take a calcium supplement.
Soy milk is basically garbage so don't worry about needing that as a supplement. Rice milk is high in sugar but almond and hazelnut milk are pretty good if you really want a milk substitute. My daughter drinks goat's milk which is easier on a human's system anyway.
Good job mom! Keep up the good work!

Are you giving whole milk? Try switching to 2% or even skim, he might like it better.

My friends daughter would not drink milk either, until they started buying the flavored milk boxes (like juice boxes). I can't remember the brand but the are organic and come in strawberry, chocolate and regular.

You can also try the pedisure milk drinks or try making milk shakes or smoothies.

Hi K.,

I'm assuming you are trying to give him whole milk...you might try 2% for awhile and then try to give him whole milk again, if you prefer. Several years ago when our son was only 7 - 8 months old, and was still having trouble with formula out family doctor told us to switch him to 2% milk, so we did...it was the best thing we could have ever done for him and us. I know today they don't approve of this, actually they didn't back then either, but I'm just soooo glad we tried it...what a change...no more spitting up..YEAH!!!!!

C.

Wow. I *just* went through this myself not two weeks ago!! I can help!! Yay!

My son (just turned 1 yr) would not drink any milk but mine, and wouldn't drink any liquid but juice-water (1/2 and 1/2). I tried introducing it to him several times over two weeks, and still no. I went to the doctor (for his 1 year checkup) and asked about it. His suggestion was to use some Nestle Quik in the milk!

So I got some, mixed some in (I put about 1/2 Tablespoon in 4 oz), and he drank it!! Within a couple of days, I was down to 1 teaspoon per 4 oz milk, and by the time 10 days past, he was drinking it straight.

I should also mention that he seemed to prefer 2% at first, and over a few days I transitioned to whole.

Now he drinks a full bottle of plain white whole milk first thing in the morning. :) Mama happy, baby happy! I hope you are successful!

I just had my 22mo son in to see the dr last week, we brought up that he still doesn't drink any milk. We have tried whole, 2%, chocolate, strawberry and banana... we think its the thickness of it that he doesn't like. His ped said to keep up with the cheese, cottage cheese and cooking with it in as many meals as we can and to give him an over the counter vitamin that has a higher calcium and vitamin D in it. Keep up with the broccoli and other veggies that is high in vit. D and calcium. We give him cereal every morning and soak it for a few mins in the milk before giving it him that way he gets the milk also, he will eat the cereal but not the milk, he probally isn't getting very much that way but we figure some is better than none. Good luck!

Your son needs 2-3 servings of "dairy" each day--they don't have to be plain milk. Some people just don't care for milk. It's great he likes cheese!

Whole milk yogurt would be a great option--he would be getting all the benefits of whole milk then. Stoneyfield makes some really great whole milk yogurt. I think it is harder to find in regular grocery stores--you might want to check Whole Foods or a co-op.

You can try to make smoothies with whole milk as the base. Throw in some fruit that he likes and whip it up in the blender.

There are lots of other ways to get your milk besides "straight up": cottage cheese, sour cream, kefir, homemade mac 'n cheese, milk or cream based soups, hot dishes with milk in them, pancakes made with milk.....

IMHO, I think we've overestimated our children's need for straight milk. Kids often drink way more than they need to, anyway. I hear of families of 4 going through a gallon of milk a day--that is WAY too much milk for people to be drinking! The recommendation I've heard for toddlers is no more than 16-20 ounces of milk per day. That's the high end of the range; if they are eating any other dairy, it should be subtracted accordingly.

FWIW, my son is 15 months old, and he drinks around 8-12 ounces of goat's milk (he has issues cow's milk), mostly in the morning with his breakfast and morning snack. After that, it's plain water. He really didn't care for water at first, but we started out by diluting his milk, and slowly increasing the water. He does eat goat's cheese & yogurt.

Good luck!

Milk is not a necessity, dairy yes! I think milk from a cow has more bad side effects for my family than it does good effects. We do drink some milk but we are not big milk drinkers my daughter's eczema get's worse stuff like that. God put the cow on the earth for the momma cow to feed her calfs. God put human mommy's on earth to breastfeed their human babies. I just find it weird that we drink another species milk. It's like me breastfeeding and giving my milk to a cow or dog or something weird. So don't feel like you have to have your son drink milk aslong as he eating other dairy products and such your good to go.