My son just turned 2yo, so I switched from whole milk to 2%. I guess I assumed that there would be a progression down to skim milk one day in his future. However, my SIL gives her twin 2.5yos skim milk already. I think their pediatrician was happy with it, because they are both big boys and "don't need the extra calories." What %milk did you give your kid(s) when they turned 2? If your kids are older now, what % do they drink. Of course, these questions only apply if your kid(s) drink milk. :)
Right now, we buy 2% for my 2yo, 1% for my husband, and skim for me. As my 7mth old will be turning one in 5mths, we'll soon be adding whole milk to the mix. I buy a LOT of milk at the grocery store!!
My pediatrician put my daughter on 1% because of her growth rate at 18 months. My daughter was drinking at least 6-8 glasses of milk daily and eating breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. She will be 2 years old next month and she still does it. She likes to eat, good thing we eat pretty well.
my 8yo and 5yo girls have been drinkiing skim milk for quite a while. I like the Horizon milk with the DHA(?) we call it the happy cow milk.
My 7 year old and 2 year old drink 2%. My 16 month old drinks whole milk. But my husband and I also drink 2%, if we drank skim, I don't know if we would give skim to my kids or not.
In your case I would make him drink one of the percentages that you or your husband drink. Have you tried to give him one of those kinds and see if he notices the difference, if not...just go with it.
We all drink 2% in our house so that is what mine drink.
we went to 2% a while then 1%, which i think is good and healthy for all of us. I don't like skim, plus my kids are pretty little, so I believe 1% is a great way to go!
My girls are on the small side so I give them whole milk. They're 22 months and 3 1/2. I also add ovaltine.
We were told that after age 2, children are free to drink any type of milk, but that family history should be taken into account. If there is a family history of obesity, the child should be given 1% or skim. If not, whole or 2%.
I believe that there are currently some studies suggesting that drinking skim actually is worse than drinking whole milk, as whole milk contains Omega 3 Fatty Acids that the skim milk lacks. These Omega 3s aid in weight loss. (Correct me if I am mistaken--I just overheard this the other day but have not had a chance to check out any research on it.)
The whole family uses 2%. Milk has essential, healthy fats in it that are crucial for healthy development in the little ones.
The only reason I see going all the way down to skim is if it is a taste/texture preference. After all, any milk is better than no milk! =)
I gave my son whole milk till he was 5 yrs old. We all drink 1% milk now. I read somewhere that the fat is necessary for brain / muscle development, and they are growing so fast at that age.
i think 2% is good! it still has some of the fat that is good for them but it isn't as bad as the whole milk. when my oldest turned two she was super skinny mini so we (with our ped's advice) just kept her on whole. i now have an almost 2 yr old so both my almost 2 and almost 5 yr old are drinking whole. i don't think you ever have to go all the way down to skim unless they battle weight and that lack of fat will help in any way. next month, i will make the switch to 2% and keep it there for a while and possibly go down to 1% but no futher.
I was told by a (European) pediatrician to give my girls whole milk until the age of 6 or 7. Why? Because according to him and other pediatricians I talked to here in the US later on, the fat concentrated in whole milk is crucial for their brain development at that age. Specially because some kids won't eat meat. If some pediatricians are recommending low fat milk is because there's the notion that fat translates obesity....
The whole family drink 2% now.
J.
Why not just buy 1% milk for everyone? I used to drink skim milk, my husband drank 2% and my daughter was on whole milk until she turned two. Once she got off whole milk, we started buying 1% for everyone, and it works out great!
We always put ours on skim after they turn 2. Our pediatricians have always said it was fine. We do whole milk from 1 year to 2 years, then switch to skim. My husband and I drink skim as well.
My oldest son went from Breast milk to little or no milk at 12 mos through about age 4, if he wanted milk it was Skim. At 2 he had high colestrol from the cheese and yogurt he ate. At 11 years old he and his younger brother are both in great health - both started on skim milk at 12mos. As long as they got the calcuim I was not concerned.
My kids are very slim build and 1 in paticular is a very picky eater so I still have them drinking whole milk (they are 7 & 4) , and my almost 2 yr old has whole aswell , but I think 2% is fine for a 2 yr old.
I have kept my daughter on whole milk as she's not in danger of being overweight. If the child is overweight, I would then switch to 2%
I bought whole milk until my daughter turned 2. The ped told me she can have any (including skim). Once my 8 month old goes to whole, I'll go back to buying whole for daddy and the kids and skim for me!
We all use 1% milk since my daughter turned 2. Before that, we had 1% for us, and whole milk for her.
I think it depends on the child and if they are over- or under-weight. Also on how much milk they drink. You might ask your pediatrician for his opinion.
At age two I moved my daughter to 2% because she had weight issues. Those issues are settling themselves out and now, at the age of three, I've moved to family to 1%.
Our son has always been in the 90% for weight and our ped told us at age 2 we could change him to skim milk. We currently give him 2%. Its hard for us to keep several milks in the house so when his sister turns 2 we'll probably go to 1%, she's in the 40%. If we are going to have milk its skim or 1%.
We moved both of our kids to 1% milk with the pediatrician's blessing.
Once they hit 2, the major need for fat content in milk is much less than it was prior to that.
Both of my kids drink so much milk, we have to water it down at the end of the day to restrict calories (again with Pediatrician's blessing).
His advice to us: have them drink whatever milk you normally get for yourself. 2% is too fatty for me, and skim is too watered down. We are all a 1% milk family.
We all drink 2% milk - which includes my kids 2 1/2, 4 1/2 & 6 and also myself. Hubby doesn't do well with dairy products, so he doesn't drink them. WIC had told me I can switch at anytime to the 1% if I want to, but I personnaly don't like the taste. I have always drank 2% - even as a kid... so I can't bring myself to drink the other & I only by one kind. I didn't even give my kids whole milk... they went from breastmilk/formula to 2% around a year or a little after.
I have actually been giving my 2 yr old 2% milk just because I cannot fit 3 different gallons on milk in my fridge at once. I add a little water to it for myself (that is what hotels do when they run out of skim milk). I get her the fat she needs for growth from yogurt, cheese and avocado/other foods just as though she cannot drink milk. Otherwise I would give her whole milk until 4 or 5 yrs old unless some problem shows up.
My 3 year old still gets whole milk, he refuses to drink anything else. If you have a Braums in your area check out their milk prices. Where we live in Arkansas I save over 50 cents a gallon on whole milk, 75 cents on chocolate and about 90 cents on orange juice.
My kids are 19 months and 3 1/2 years. They are both really skinny boys. I give them both whole milk or raw milk (when I can find it!). They need every calorie I can get in them!
My 3y old has drunk 2% since 1y old. Her pediatrician said that as long as she's getting other good fats from yogurt and such, that she could even go down to 1% milk.
So I'd check with your ped.
M.
I think 2% is fine and skim may be fine too, just check with the pediatrician. My son will be 2 next month and we'll transition him to 2% since that is what the rest of us drink. I'm really looking forward to not buying all of those different kinds of milk!
I think you can have your son drink the 1% like dad and that should be fine too, just so you can drop one of the kinds for awhile.
Any milk other than whole milk is suggested, mainly to get your child used to the different texture/taste of lesser fat milks before they decide they only like thicker whole milk. There's very little difference nutritionally between skim, 1%, and 2% from what I've read. Skim actually contains some fat, just less than 1% so they can call it "fat-free". I think you are fine no matter what you decide.
I give my very active almost 3yo whole milk. I think its good for her with healthy meals.
I kept my son at 2% for quite a while simply because our diets are heavy in fat and kids needs some fat in their diet for brain development.
1% as per pediatrician
too much saturated fat in whole milk!
My oldest drinks whole bc she is 20 months but she perfers 2% cause she drinks out of my cup. When she turns 2 she will get straight 2% and my youngest will get whole till she turns 2! Why not get the whole family to drink 1% or skim. The taste is not that diffrent... me and my husband moved to 2% and he had no idea it was 2% until I told him lol!
I feed my kids at 8 yrs and 5 yrs Whole milk.
The fat is good for brain development.
I gave my kids Whole Milk up until just recently (they are 2 and 4) b/c they can use the extra calories. However, I switched to Skim when I learned that Whole Milk contains a lot of Saturated Fat. Skim or Fat Free is the recommendation from Pediatricians beyond age 2.
We did whole milk & whole milk products until age 6 going on 7... since in my physiological psych & neurology courses the "timeline" for brain development just kept getting longer (aka, the brain is still growing and adding myelin for longer than they thought). So 4 years ago the latest studies had bumped it to age 4... so we kept up with the high fats for an extra couple of years in case the next round of studies pushed the timeline even further.
I've been thinking about switch back to whole milk (and products) however... since they don't just remove the fats... they replace it with carbs and fillers. AND in the fat removal process, they're also pulling out a good deal of the other nutrients.
I gave my daughter whole milk the entire time she was growing up. I also gave her healthy meals and limited her junk food consumption to occasional treats instead of an everyday thing, and she never had a weight problem. She's now 20, still drinks whole milk, and at 5'7" and 120 lbs, can hardly be considered overweight.
he can drink 1% or skim which ever is easier for you guys, my 1 yr old drinks whole milk and i dont see the point in keeping different types of milk in the house, why not all drink 1% or skim? it will save money and room in the fridge?
I switched to 2% at age two a few months ago. That is what we drink also, so I don't think I will be switching him to skim unless he starts to get chunky. My son has always been small. Not skinny, although he can get skinny if he has a height growth spurt or gets sick. He has never been a chunky baby. I think it just depends on your child. If you eat a lot of other good fats in your diets like avacodo and olive oil and eggs, you could probably do 1% with no problem, or if your son is on the heavier side for his height and weight. If he is too thin, then I would stay with 2% or even whole milk if he is underweight. I don't think I would do skim milk unless the doc says he needs to be on that.
my daughter is 3 and we have had her on 2% for about 8 months. She only drinks 1 or 2 glasses of milk a day and at her 3 year check up her pediatrician said to keep her on 2% because that is what is best for this age. He said unless the child is on the upper end of the weight percentile (which our daughter is around 30% for her age group for weight) then to keep her on 2% for the next year.
I have 2 kids... I kept my daughter (older child) on whole milk until my son turned 2.. I buy skim for me.. and now 2% for them.
But there was a time when my older child was 2 and my younger son was 1 and I refused to buy 3 types of milk..
I would keep the older child on whole milk until the younger child is ready to move to 2% ..
so you are not buying 4 varieties of milk.
eventually you can probably get everyone on 1%
1% is what my husband and I drink, so it is what we gave our son after whole milk. I can't see buying a different variety for everyone, so we all drink the same milk. You can certainly give your 2 year old the same milk you or your husband drink.
My boys drank whole from 1until 2, and than I switched to 2%. If there is not a weight issue you can keep using 2% indefinitely, in fact my hubby still drinks whole milk. I drink skim because I am over weight, but my boys and hubby all say it looks like water with flour in it and tastes about the same, so I have no intentions of moving them below 2%.
