Toddler Not Drinking Milk

i would not worry about it too much. my 2 never drank milk after they got off the bottle much. as long as she gets it in yagart, cottage cheese, cheese. my boys are 18 and 24 and to this day they still do not drink much milk and neither do I.

As long as she is getting 500mg of calcium a day--which she can get through other sources--yogurt, cheese, etc then she is fine.
got this from this source:
http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p...

Toddlers are just picky about certain things--especially food and they change their preferences frequently, so keep trying new things, but try things you've tried before too. Keep offering her milk in a sippy--even try different types of sippies-but if she is getting her 2-3 servings of dairy a day via other sources (cheese and yogurt) then don't worry!

"Yummy Bears" vitamins have a calcium supplement. They are sold at Whole Foods.

When I mentioned we aren't a big milk drinking family and my toddler stopped drinking much of it, the doctor wasn't concerned about calcium because he gets it from other foods, but he also said to be sure he's getting the healthy "fats" (omegas I think?) He said Flax would help. I made the mistake of buying the powdered variety and it makes a texture to his drinks he doesn't like, so I think I'll just try to hide it in his food and when it runs out I'll buy the oil to hide in his drink (he drinks a lot of orange juice and water)

Other than calcium issues, I wouldn't be concerned about her not drinking milk. To ensure she is getting her calcium though, provide a varied diet. Believe it or not, spinach is a good source of calcium, and even though it sounds like something you'd expect all kids to turn up their noses at... my kids love it. But not cooked. They like fresh washed RAW baby spinach. Like for a salad. It is a little crunchy and they can dip it in ranch dressing if you want. Here are some other ideas:

low fat plain yogurt: 300-450mg per serving (1 cup)
american cheese: 350mg per serving (2 oz)
calcium fortified soy milk, rice milk, or goat's milk: 300mg per serving (1 cup)
calcium fortified orange juice: 300mg per serving (1 cup)
cheddar cheese: 300mg per serving (1.5 oz)
cooked dried white beans: 161mg per serving (1 oz)
dried figs: 169mg per serving (10 figs)
spinach: 120mg per serving (1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked)
soft serve ice cream: 118mg per serving (1/2 cup)
oranges: 50mg per serving (1 medium orange)
instant oatmeal: 100mg (1 packet)
sweet potatoes: 44mg per serving (1/2 cup mashed)
broccoli: 35mg per serving (1 1/2 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked)

I believe that the recommended amount of calcium for her age is around 500 mg per day.
Check with your doctor, though, to be sure what they recommend.

Good Morning,

When my son was younger, he refused to drink milk so I gave him Silk (the one in the blue container has a slight vanilla taste), this was the only one he liked. Plus he would eat mozzarella cheese only and lots of yogurt. I figured that he liked the taste better. To this day, he will only eat mozzarella cheese for me, creamer I guess.

The little girl that I care for occasionally loves silk verses milk, but she drinks it due to food allergies. Milk makes her stomach hurt and causes her skin to break out.

www.notmilk.com
great website, loads of information.
Americans are one of the highest consumers of dairy products with equally high rates of osteoperosis.....
In Peace.

Hi B.,

I'm not a great fan of milk but do think organic milk is okay if a child just craves it. (It is a comfort food for me...) The regular milk at the grocery store does not have enough calcium in it to do ANY good unless it is whole milk and organic. There are green leafy vegetables that can supply more calcium and yogurt, with the active cultures, is a good milk product for anyone.

An almost perfect food, and a great source of good fat, is avocado. I have never seen a little one turn it down either.

Don't worry about the milk. If she was turning her nose up to other foods you might need to worry but there are plenty of other sources of what milk gives that are better for her.

Hope I helped!

M.
www.squidoo.com/ifyourbabycouldtalk

B.~

I don’t know what it is about milk but my 16 month old won’t drink it either, when we switched from formula to milk he was just under 11 months old and he LOVED the cold milk. Then the week he turned 1 everything he liked went out the window and he would eat and drink next to nothing…that went on for a month then at about 13 months old as per suggested by our ped. I tried the organic yogurt drinks like yo baby and stoneyfield Farms and since then he will gladly drink 2 of them a day with no problems. I don’t know if you have tried them yet but it could be worth a try. Best of Luck and I hope this helps!!!

My son weaned himself off of breastmillk and would not drink regular milk. At his 12 month dr visit I told the doctor my concern and she said as long as he is getting dairy elsewhere, such as yogurt and cheese, that he would be ok and take to it when he wanted to. I went with that for a bit but was desperate to get him to drink milk. I tried a little bit of chocolate syrup, I tried vanilla soy milk, he hated them both. I found a winner with strawberry milk. I don't put too much of the Nesquik in there and he drinks it like a champ.

B.,

As a mother to 3 boys and one of them refuses to drink milk I understand your concern. There is no harm in her only wanting to drink just the one glass a day. As long as she is getting her calcium other places she will be okay. As for her fat intake if she is eating things like cheese, meats, fruits, things of that nature she will be fine. Kids at that age are naturally picky eaters anyway. I would not worry about it too much. As long as she is eating she is fine. Does she drink other things, juice, water, pediasure; things of that nature? As longs as she is growing and gaining weight you have nothing to worry about.

Good luck.

S.
35 y/o SAHM of 3 boys
14, 6 and 3

Hi B.,
She can easily get calcium form other sources, but it is the fat in milk that is essential to toddlers for proper brain development. If she is not drinking milk, just make sure she is getting plenty of healthy fats from other sources like avocado, coconut meat and or milk, flaxseed, to name a few. Try adding a tablespoon of flaxseed oil to the morning smoothie. I just took my 23 month old off the bottle (and thusly reduced his milk intake) and at the same time started giving him a tablespoon a day of flax oil for healthy fat.

My daughter did the same thing when I switched her from formula to regular milk. Every time I gave her the cup she would taste it and then throw it on the floor!! After a while, she wouldn't even taste it anymore!! I was very concerned, but when I went to the doctor, she told me to just make certain that she was having things like cheese and yogurt.

So, I didn't even offer her any milk for about a month, and then I tried again and she drank it with no problem! Ever since then, she loves it! I think she just had to "forget" about the formula. Maybe your daughter just needs to "forget" about always drinking milk in a bottle, and will accept it after a few weeks.

Hi B.,

Luckily at this age they only need 16 ounces of milk a day anyway, more than that can interfear with their diet. My daughter has always refused plain milk so I give her Ovaltine (with the orange label and lid). She gets her "choco choco milk" along with tons of nutrition. Since my daughter is autistic and has a limited diet this really helps and it tastes much better than pediasure, not to mention much easier on the wallet. All of her doctors think it's great. Good luck.

J.