When to Stop Whole Milk

I started about 2 yrs old.I noticed one day that she had a little santa tummy. She drinks tons of milk and I knew then it was time to switch to skim. Whole milk is just so high in fat. Her little milk paunch went away after that.

Never! I'm 31 and I still drink whole milk. ;-)

I have heard the *recommendation* is that children under 2 years of age should have whole milk, after that, you can give him whatever your family is drinking.

They say 2 yrs old to stop with the whole milk and do 2%. I did that with my first 2 kids but my 3rd will be 2 in February and for the last 6 months she drinks whatever is in the house (never whole) so either 2%, 1% or skim. She doesn't care and she's 31.5 lbs and not 2 yet. I think she's just fine

I never did whole milk for either of our 2 kids.

I also did daycare for 5 years and most of my daycare kids also went from formula (or breastmilk) to 2%. A few did whole milk at 1 for a month or two but then switched over too. Most of the parents didn't want to have to have 2 kinds of milk in the fridge.

As long as your child is not BELOW the charts, I'd switch him.

I started giving my daughter 2% when she turned two.

At my daughter's 2 year well checkup the doctor said we could have my daughter drink the same milk as us even if it was 1% or skim. Of course that is as long as your child is average or above otherwise the doctor may suggest keeping a child who is "below" average weigh/size stay on whole milk.

So my daughter started drinking 2% (what we have always stocked for yourselves) at age 2 years old.

When our son turned 1 our doctor said that we didn't have to do the whole milk thing because the difference between whole and Skim is a difference between 4% and 0% fat. As long as our son was steady on the growth chart he didn't see a reason why he had to be on whole milk. So I think it is safe to put your son on whatever the rest of the family drinks.

The nutrition recommendation is to switch to skim or low-fat milk starting @ 2 years old. The old recommendation was to go down in fat content per year of age until they were drinking skim (i.e. 2% @ 2, 1% @ 3, skim @ 4) but they discovered that many kids are reluctant to switch to skim by 4. There are so many sources of fat I doubt it would be a problem; and as such we went to skim for our boys at 2. Contraindications would be a child who isn't growing well, of course.

Keep in mind with whatever milk you choose, the kind they drink most often between now and 4 is likely going to be the kind of milk they will choose to drink as adults.

:)

I do home childcare and am on a Food Program....we are required to serve whole milk to children age 12-24 months, once they are weaned from breastmilk or Iron-fortified Infant Formula (there are specific standards on this). After the exact date of their second birthday, we can serve whichever milk we want. For me, I try to do what the parents want or the Dr recommends (if they are a slight child, likely they will ask to continue the whole milk, etc). But when between that first and second year, the studies show the children need the additional fat for brain development and other health reasons.

For my own family, skim is the milk of choice,so to avoid having several types of milk filling my refrigerator, this is what I try to get them accustomed to after the second birthday (unless otherwise requested by a parent)..and up till them I serve organic whole milk.......

Sounds like you are right on track to switch!

My son turned 2 in October and we started giving him skim milk (what we drink) a few months before. I knew he was not needing the calories and is a good eater so we switched. His doctor was perfectly fine with this.

They say once your kids turns 2, he can have what the rest of the family has for milk. Or you can judge it by his weight.

My daughter will be 3 in March and she still drinks whole milk per recommendation of my doctor. She is on the small side, but he said that the fat in whole milk is the best fat they can get for brain development. I plan to leave her on whole milk until 3 and then switch to one or two percent.

in all reality, milk isnt good for us in any amount. however,
you can put him right on whatever the family drinks at any time. in my houes, we drink skim, as the most dangerous part of milk is the fats, so using as low fat dairy as possible is helpful.

as long as hes getting enough fruits, veggies, legumes (beans) and whole grains, hes getting a balanced enough diet withOUT dairy. however, i drink dairy too so i understand that even if its unhealthy, its a part of our lives. just be aware that it causes health problems, no solves them. but like i said, its only about being aware of this, and drinking milk perhaps ONLY at meals, and in small amounts, any "seconds" can be water. water water water is HIGHLY underestimated - drink more of that.

Our pediatrician recommended skim milk once our kids turned a year old.