What Else Besides Milk Can Offer the Calcium a Child Needs

I think the goats milk is a good suggestion.

Soymilk has as much calcium as cow's milk.
Hemp milk could also be added to the list.

Good luck

My son has been drinking soy milk since he was about a year...cows milk made him very gasy. He has developed the same as the rest of his peers and even though he has no problem with otehr forms of dairy, we've continued to give him soy milk becuase we feel it is better for him.

Best of luck!

My son does not drink any milk due to his autism. We give him a calcium supplement. You can buy them at anywhere. M.

I hope you are going to take him to an ear nose and throat specialist if he has recurrent ear infections.
Also I read that it was a myth that cows milk thickens the mucus, so if you were thinking the link was that way to the congestion thats false information. I know they used to say stay away from milk if you have a cold but its not true.
Also milk is needed aswell for the fat it contains for brain development and seeing as your son is 16 months he''s getting closer the age where he doesnt have to have full-fat any more so not sure if changing to lower fat would make any difference.
Personally I've never heard of link between cows milk and ear infections unless you were giving him one at bed/nap time in a bottle. Cows milk allergies usually cause stomach problems first. I would check into other reasons behind the ear infections if they keep recurring. You want to make sure you have all your bases covered so to speak
Good luck

S.,

If he likes orange juice, Minute Maid Kids has just as much or more calcium in it than whole milk does. Our doctor suggested this to us for our daughter. Also, yogurt or cheese is another great way to get added calcium.

I hope it helps!

B.

Yes--check about the almond milk and ask about soy, soy soy! My son loves the vanilla, but he is older. I believe it has as much calcium as cow's. Also ask about a Flintstone every day.

Hi S.,

Here is a link I found for you: <http://pediatrics.about.com/od/calcium/a/06_calcium_food....;

J.

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Yogurt has alot of clacium. You can make it fun by making a yogurt treat. I buy plain vanilla and my niece and nephew love to make a yogurt sundae You can put it in a bowl or a glass and they can add toppings to it. Jimmies, fruit, crushed cookies etc.
B.

Ask your Doctor if Lactaid is Ok. My son loves it! It has calcium. Good Luck

Does your son have the same reaction after eating cheese or yogurt? If not, the issue might not be the cow's milk. I'd definitely suggest you consult with your ped first, since they might have some additional suggestions for you. My son doesn't seem to like the taste of cow's milk, so we've had to turn to other sources while we continue to work on his milk consumption. There are breads out there that are calcium fortified (I think Sara Lee makes one of them). Minute Maid also makes a kids orange juice that's jam packed with calcium. I think it might even have more calcium than milk. It comes in half gallon containers and in juice boxes. Stoneyfield Farms makes Yo-Baby yogurt from whole milk and I've been told that yogurt counts ounce for ounce as milk. I've also started giving my son a few pieces of cheese while I'm making dinner. It gives him a little snack and holds off the hunger monsters until dinner's ready. I've started buying the cool yummy cheese near the deli and he loves trying them all, especially since it's more fun than your standard american cheese.

I used goat's milk. It is more compatible with humans than cow's milk and can be purchased in a health food store. I hope that helps.
N

S.
My nutritionist said that if my daughter eats 2 pieces of cheese and 1 cup of ice cream or yogurt she will have fulfilled her daily requirements for milk. Orange Juice is higher in calcium also 350 mg in 1 cup which is more than soy milk has (300 mg in 1 cup).Or you can go to www.keepkidshealthy.com for more info on calcium requirements.
Hope this helps
S.

S.,

I'm a 35 year old mom to two wonderful girls 6, 4 and my little prince who's 2. I'm going to guess that you're giving your son store bought milk that is both pasteurized and homogenized. You may want to consider raw cow or even goat milk. Goat milk is actually more like breast milk. There are a few farms on the outside of Lackawanna County where you might be able to buy some of either. Try www.realmilk.org to find something local. Be sure to check the very first link given under the Pennsylvania heading for more farms not listed on the main page.

Aside from the milk, remember that regardless of what anyone says (Dr's. included), dairy is NOT a necessary part of our diet. And as it happens, our Maker actually gave us goats for milk and not cows. Theology aside, here's a GREAT list of calcium sources for you to consider...

***

If he has a varied diet, you shouldn't worry. Dairy is probably the worst way to put calcium in your diet since pasteurized milk products have been altered by the process as to render the calcium almost unusable by the human body. Water is still the best way to hydrate. Avoid juice if you can, as it's not necessary for hydration, or nutrition.

Here are some options for calcium rich foods to add to his diet if he's not already eating some of them. Keep in mind Dr's suggestions to avoid certain foods until appropriate ages. Also, organic sources are always best if they can be had.

The calcium contained in leafy green vegetables is more easily absorbed than the calcium in milk, and plant proteins do not result in calcium loss (yes, calcium LOSS) the same way as animal proteins do.

Calcium content of foods per 100-gram portion (100 grams equals about 3.5 ounces):

01. Human Breast Milk 33 mg (shown for comparison)

02. Almonds 234 mg
03. Amaranth 267 mg
04. Apricots (dried) 67 mg
05. Artichokes 51 mg
06. Beans (can: pinto, black) 135 mg
07. Beet greens (cooked) 99 mg
08. Blackeye Peas 55 mg
09. Bran 70 mg
10. Broccoli (raw) 48 mg
11. Brussel Sprouts 36 mg
12. Buckwheat 114 mg
13. Cabbage (raw) 49 mg
14. Carrot (raw) 37 mg
15. Cashew nuts 38 mg
16. Cauliflower (cooked) 42 mg
17. Swiss Chard (raw) 88 mg
18. Chickpeas (garbanzos) 150 mg
19. Collards (raw leaves) 250 mg
20. Cress (raw) 81 mg
21. Dandelion Greens 187 mg
22. Endive 81 mg
23. Escarole 81 mg
24. Figs (dried) 126 mg
25. Filberts (Hazelnuts) 209 mg
26. Kale (raw leaves) 249 mg
27. Kale (cooked leaves) 187 mg
28. Leeks 52 mg
29. Lettuce (lt. green) 35 mg
30. Lettuce (dark green) 68 mg
31. Molasses (dark-213 cal.) 684 mg
32. Mustard Greens (raw) 183 mg
33. Mustard Greens (cooked) 138 mg
34. Okra (raw or cooked) 92 mg
35. Olives 61 mg
36. Oranges (Florida) 43 mg
37. Parsley 203 mg
38. Peanuts (roasted & salted) 74 mg
39. Peas (boiled) 56 mg
40. Pistachio Nuts 131 mg
41. Potato Chips 40 mg
42. Raisins 62 mg
43. Rhubarb (cooked) 78 mg
44. Sauerkraut 36 mg
45. Sesame Seeds 1160 mg
46. Squash (Butternut) 40 mg
47. Soybeans 60 mg
48. Sugar (brown) 85 mg
49. Tofu 128 mg
50. Spinach (raw) 93 mg
51. Sunflower Seeds 120 mg
52. Sweet Potatoes (baked) 40 mg
53. Turnips (cooked) 35 mg
54. Turnip Greens (raw) 246 mg
55. Turnip Greens (boiled) 184 mg
56. Water Cress 151 mg

Best of luck,

Rolinda
Wife, Mother, Friend

Check out raw milk if you can get it. Most "milk allergies" are actually allergies to the homogenized process milk goes through. A lot of people find they can eat all the dairy they want if it's raw. You won't find it in the store you'll have to find a dairy or farmers market kind of thing. Sometimes organic stores will sell pasteurized milk that hasn't been homogenized. Read up on it and they'll explain how the homogenization creates histamines. Stay away from soy, the 2nd-3rd ingredient is sugar or cane juice - not good for a 16 mo old.

I would transition to soy milk- the vanilla Silk Soy is good and so is the 8th Continent Light Vanilla and Light Chocolate. These offer many health benefits and all the same nutrition of regular milk. It can get pricey, but if you go to Sam's, you can get a case of 3 for around $8 (they carry the Silk vanilla). Other sources of calcium are fortified orange juice, bread, cereal.

I think Rolinda offered the best response. I took my one year old off milk for two months because of ear infections, and was suprised to learn, as she indicated, how little you really need milk. We saw no difference in him, so he's back on dairy.

I would just want to caution about using soy and soy products. They are very popular right now, but unless it is organic and not the by-product, I would hesitate before giving young children lots of it, particularly boys. The by product of soy has very high levels of plant estrogen in it. There are no studies that indicate definitively that this causes any sort of developmental problems, so feel free to make up your own mind, but I don't think I really need a study to tell me that it would be bad to give small people products that mimic very high levels of estrogen. I was very unhappy to learn, for instance, "Infants exclusively fed soy-based formula have 13,000 to 22,000 times more estrogen compounds in their blood than babies fed milk-based formula, the estrogenic equivalent of at least five birth control pills per day." That bothered me. Anyway, a true organic soy bean or organiclly produced does not have all these compounds, so I felt ok using soy based Yo Baby yogurt, but I didn't give it to him very often.

Do you really feel the chiropractor works? I went once, and thought it was pretty quacky for the treatment of an ear infection. The only studies done on its effectiveness have been done by chiropractors, who have an obvious bias. Not persuasive to me. My little boy has been on antibiotics nine times since last september, with tubes put in last December, and just finished another round of meds this past week. I have tried everything, and nothing much has helped.

I would not give your child any type of nut product until speaking with your doctor. Most doctors are now saying not to give nut products to children until 3 years old b/c that's when their immune system can handle it. There are plenty of veggies that have calcium - look for a list on the internet. Theyre is also a wonderful product called Juice Plus - it's not a synthetic vitamin, it's a whole food and it gives children and adults their FULL servings of fruits and veggies as recommended. Again, it is not a vitamin, not made w/ anything synthetic. It is the actual fruits and veggies in their whole form - it comes in tasty gummies for kids and capsules for adults. Go to www.juiceplus.com for more info and to see the numerous studies done - Dr Sears fully endorses it.

yogurt is a great sourse of calcium and I have always given my girls the "custard" style since they started on baby food. A container of yoplait is a great breakfast for a child. You can also serve cottage cheese, string cheese, soy milks, or an ensure like product.

You might want to have his tonsils and adnoids checked as well. That might be the real cause behind his conjestion...espically if he snores at night.

sesame seeds, and tahini (sesame seed butter) have heaps of calcium - blended together with stewed apple or applesauce this tastes great. Green leafy veg, especially swiss chard. Tofu. You can get calcium enriched soy, or rice milk. Almond and rice milks are easy on little tummies. I think almonds have a bit of natural calcium as well.

My 1 year old is also allergic to cows milk. I give him soy milk. It has all the same nutritional benefits as cows milk PLUS some. It's great and comes in plain, vanilla, and chocolate. I give my son the plain. I also give him soy yogurt (Yo Baby brand). You should try it ;-)

you can also try goats milk, I personally would stay away from soy because it seems to be leaden with hormones not added just part of the plants natural composition. It is estrogen so not something your son needs. You can research it online as well.
As far as nuts go as long as you don't have any nut allergies in your family than he should be fine.

My son is allergic to cow's milk so when he turned 1, we started him on Rice Dream Enriched millk. He loved the taste and it has extra vitamins in it. We've just switched him to Silk Soymilk a few months ago when we had him tested and found out he's no longer allergic to soy. As for calcium, our pediatrician said that if you can feed your child green veggies along with whatever milk they prefer, that's good. Also, don't forget about a vitamin supplement which will help as well. Best wishes!

I know that Silk soy milk had vitamin d and calcium added. The have dietary supplements available also. Vicative might be to hard for him to handle at his age, but I belive that there are also chews if you look in the vitamin aisle. i would talk to your doctor to get a full specrtum view of what the problem is and maybe a referal to a dietian who can help discuss what foods to combine with each other to get his calcium intake to where it should be :)

Cheese and Yogurt. Some juices have calcium added. Check the soy milks. I believe some of them add calcium as well. I know there are other things as well. If you check the labels, I'm sure you will find a few more. It has been hyped lately and added to a lot of foods so keep an eye out for it.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

You might check with your ped first about the almond milk because of potential allergies. My children just simply refused cows milk when they weaned. My son is addicted to soymilk. He drinks the light vanilla flavor (light has less sugar). I try to pick the brand that is on sale but he can identify them by taste - his favorite is 8th Continent.

Have you tried cheese and yogurt? Also broccoli is a good source of calcium. Good luck.

Have you thought of trying goat's milk? I have raised two of four children on that and it is wonderful. It is more beneficial than cow's milk. Of course you are going to have a hard time getting a doctor to say go to it but the specialist I went to in Pittsburgh said that they are starting to recommend it. Sometimes you have to go with your gut feelings and I strongly recommend it. We milk our own goat's but I know that some Walmarts carry it and some natural food stores do as well. If you have anymore questions on it just ask as I am willing to answer.