Milk - Woodbridge,VA

My DD could live on grape juice, but she fills up on drink and won't eat. What we do is give her a half glass to start the meal (I had a babysitter that wouldn't give you a drink til you ate the snack, no matter how dry, and I hated it) and if she finishes that, she has to eat some of her food before she gets more to drink. And sometimes I say, "You've had plenty of juice today. Do you want milk or water?" With my DD, milk is often flavored with a little strawberry Quik and water gets ice cubes, which she thinks is fun. If I give her another choice that is "fun" she fusses less about the juice. So I'd keep him hydrated (it is HOT HOT HOT here) but try to balance it with snacks or meals so it's not just milk.

Hmmm, I know that there are days and even weeks when I could eat one item all day, every day -- be it grapes or m&ms or chips -- I'm not sure a simple craving means his body needs it. I would probably cap it at 16 oz. as well, because there's only so much the body can process and use, even during a growth spurt. But the best idea is to check with the pediatrician.

i know alot of people say juice isnt good to give kids but my cousins son was a huge milk drinker around that age and she would tell him no more milk for right now and give him a small cup of waterd down apple juice or any kind of juice really just so he would be drinking something other than milk all day and actually eat his lunch and not just pick at it.. on another note my fiance was like that as a kid and still he will drink milk with anyyyything i mean anything.. chinese food pizza tacos whatever it might be that hes eating for dinner he drinks milk, sometimes i find it totally gross, also when he takes his morning break at work he buys one of those small bottles of milk to drink with whatever hes eating and then always pours himself a huge glass before bed and sometimes refills it 2 or 3 times before he ends up falling asleep.. its a running joke between my mom and his that one of these days theyre just going to buy him a cow it would be cheaper,.. if your son is anything like him id try to limit him now before you end up wanting to buy your own cow too

I had one child that absolutely loved milk. He would drink as much milk as my other 7 combined.

We finally restricted him to one quart per day. He still drinks a lot of milk, but economics forces him to drink less.

Your son needs good food besides just milk. Use common sense and let him have the proper amount for his age.

Good luck to you and yours.

I have never heard of limiting milk to 16 oz a day. Where does that come from?

We drink more than that in our family. My kids get a full glass, more than 8 oz with each meal. So 3x a day at 8 is at least 24 ozs.

It sounds like your son needs something to sip on, whether to sooth a sore throat, or ticklish ears, or hayfever, or itchy something or other....

I am from the generation that still gave honey water. Today it's replaced by watered down juices. BTW, the honey was always boiled with the water, cooled down and then given to a baby. This would of course avoid any issues now stated on all honey jars. Natural, organic honey is actually quite healthy for a developing immune system.

GL!

Worried about the milk? I wouldn't be.

Worried about his diet? I would be.

Milk is a superfood (proteins, fats, sugars, vitamins, minerals).

Unilt the age of 5 (or even older, it seems like every study is pushing the age longer), children need high fat diets for myelinization of the nerves... Yet many if not most are Ning given health ADULT diets (low fat). They also need dense minerals (bones), and significantly higher protein (muscle growth) than we do.

Pediatric nutrition is VASTLY different than adult nutritional needs.

We need low fat.... They need high fat
We need high fiber... They need low fiber
Too many minerals (calcium, usually) give us kidney stones, etc... They're growing bones
We need high iron (usually)... Too much iron messes with their systems
Etc.
We need low salt... They (typically) need high salt (sweat replacement)

To ME it sounds as if he's about to either hit a growth spurt and is trying to get needs met, or has been on a diet missing something his body is finding in milk.

You CAN have a completely dairy free healthy kid, but those that do REALLY put a lot into their kids diets that they keep out of their own. Milk is 'easy', dairy free takes a lot of conscious study and effort.

Could it have more to do with the heat and just not wanting to eat?

My boys are not eating much. They simply aren't that hungry. I absolutely refuse to turn on the oven, so we've been eating a lot of sandwiches, cereal and pasta (oh, and ordering food!).

I wouldn't worry too much. If his appetite doesn't return when the weather cools off, you might mention it to his ped. Or call now. I often call about things like this. Always makes me feel better to hear what she has to say.

Also, kids go through phases, eating a ton just before a growth spurt and practically surviving on air when they've just had one.

I'm sure he's perfectly fine, but a phone call to the ped never hurt anyone.

When mine were around that age and asking for more milk I would buy the 1% for them.

Yes, you should definetly limit to to 16 oz a day max. My son could live or pototo chips and gummies if I let him. Milk is certainly more nutrtious but you have to limit most things (except maybe water), milk included. I would make it very clear to him when milk is offered. That will help him learn very quickly that complaining and crying will not work.

Is he drinking water?