14 Mth Wont Drink Milk

Updated on September 30, 2008
A.H. asks from Burleson, TX
30 answers

My 14mth old will not drink milk out of a sippy cup. I have tried about 5 different cups, also tried choc milk. All she does is tries it and then throws it on the floor. I dont know what else to do. She will drink everything else out of a sippy cup except milk. Please help!!

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E.R.

answers from Dallas on

Have you tried warming it up? Mine wouldnt drink it either so I warmed it up and he liked it a lot better. I just slowly warmed it up less and less and now he drinks it cold.

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P.B.

answers from Dallas on

Only offer milk or water in the cup, nothing else. She will drink it if she is thirsty. Also, try giving her drinks of milk in a cup that doesn't have a sippy lid on it. You will find out if she is resistant to the milk or to the sippy cup.

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T.T.

answers from Dallas on

A.,

My doctor advised that a baby will drink when he/she is thirsty and to not give anything else until the baby has met the daily milk requirements. At that age, my doctor recommends around 20 oz/day.

I had some issues with my boys (triplets - now 15 months old) and they seem to like the Nuby 10oz cups the best (Walmart).

Good luck.
T.

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C.E.

answers from Dallas on

My now 3 year old daughter did the same thing. She still doesn't care for milk, but will drink chocolate now on occassion. I figured that she is either allergic or it upsets her tummy, so I didn't push it. The TRUTH is that they don't have to have milk!!! We get calcium from sooooo many sources in our diet. Especially in this part of the country. You can throw in some extra broccolli, spinach and even try some soy milk. As for the vitamin D, they don't get enough through the milk anyway! It is great advertisment on the dairies part that has made us all believe that it is essential in our children's diet. My pediatrician even stated this!!! So put your mind at ease and don't force the issue. She can still be a sweet little healthy girl without the milk.

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B.M.

answers from Dallas on

If she is drinking other things out of the cup, the problem is not the cup. She just may not like milk. That's OK, Don't force it. I have a daughter that would not drink milk until sometime btween 18 months and 2. She would eat cheese or yogurt, so, I wasn't worried about nutrition.

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L.D.

answers from Tyler on

When my oldest son was about 12 months old he would not drink milk. I use to but milk flavoring. I don’t know if they still make this product, I use to buy it at K-Mart. It was on the aisle with the baby products. His favorite was banana. At first I add the recommended amounts and then as he starting drink it I decreased the amount till there was nothing but milk. Now he drinks it like crazy.

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T.V.

answers from Jacksonville on

Hi there!
We struggled to get my daughter to drink milk when I stopped nursing. She did, however love YoBaby yogurt, so we mixed the yogurt with her milk and she loved it! They have banana and vanilla flavors that worked really well -it's the yellow pack. We gradually decreased the amount of yogurt in the mix until it was all milk. It took a few months, but it worked really well. I would try this before trying milk substitutes - they do not contain as many nutrients. I'd also stay away from the chocolate milk. YoBaby yogurt is organic and natural and does not contain things like high fructose corn syrup. And it is made especially for babies.

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S.W.

answers from Dallas on

You can try putting a little bit of sugar in the milk so that it's sweeter like breast milk and formula. I have heard that this work but haven't tried it myself. HTH :)

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M.B.

answers from Dallas on

There's been dozens of past postings on this topic. Kids don't need milk to be healthy or to get calcium. There are lots of other good sources of calcium and the calcium in these foods is far more absorbable than that in milk:
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/common/standard...
tinyurl: http://tinyurl.com/5fevw5

Also, humans actually aren't designed to digest milk, so your daughter likely knows that it is causing digestive grief, so she doesn't want to drink it. If you're determined that she drink something milk-like, rice milk is a good choice (or almond milk, but watch out for allergies) and most of them are fortified with vitamin D, calcium, etc.

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A.N.

answers from Dallas on

My 12 mo old is having same issues. Her dr said take away all liquids and make milk the ONLY option. Sounds mean, but it's been working. He said "if she gets thirsty enough, she'll drink it." And he was right.

He said don't worry about dehydration unless she goes w/o drinking for 3 + days.

Her dr is a "cold turkey" kinda guy but everything he has suggested has worked so far.

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L.S.

answers from Tyler on

Is the milk too cold? You say she is drinking other things, but are they room temperature? My son doesn't really like cold drinks and he refused cold milk for a long time. He now drinks cold milk, but he still wants other drinks at room temperature.

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J.S.

answers from Dallas on

A.,

Some kids are very instinctive about knowing what foods are good for them and which are not. Read the other post today about raw milk. Pasteurized milk is a very unhealthy food, despite the dairy industry's heavy duty lobbying efforts to push it on people. see www.realmilk.com.

Avoid soy milk. Soy as a health food is a huge crock. You can get more specific info on the dangers of soy and the benefits of raw milk if you search the issue at www.mercola.com

Rice milk is pretty yummy.

Other foods like canned sardines have lots of calcium. Prepare it like you would tuna. Great omega 3's and low in mercury as well! My daughter likes them.

I also give my daughter a liquid calcium/mag supplement from www.hearbalhealer.com

Good luck!

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R.C.

answers from Dallas on

Have you tried the cups with the snap on lid and you add the straw through the hole in the lid? To make it like a "big girl" cup?

M.D.

answers from Dallas on

Try the strawberry milk, my sister had the same problem, and it worked. Also, have your 14 month make the chocolate milk, have her pour it in the cup, stir it up, then you take a sip and say how ummy she made it.
Now on a personal note about myself, I love "Ice" cold milk, that's the only way I will drink it. Put 3-4 ice cubes get it cold, and I drink it, before the ice cubes melt.
Good Luck!

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S.W.

answers from Dallas on

Can you give it to her in a bottle?

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C.J.

answers from Dallas on

My daughter was the same way I just started buying Horizon Organic Strawberry milk )comes in a three pack)and let her drink it from the straw. She loves it now!

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M.C.

answers from Dallas on

Maybe she is lactose intolerant and doesn't like how she feels after drinking milk. Have you tried any other alternatives like soy milk? Not every human makes the enzymes needed to digest cow's milk. It's a myth that we should all be drinking it. Check with a good nutritionist for other solutions.

Good luck!

M.
"my son eats all his veggies now. Even the green ones."
Check out my Mamasource profile to see how we did it!

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L.W.

answers from Dallas on

Try Soy Milk... I know I do not like milk for some crazy reason in plastic containters. Wierd uh? Milk in a glass seems to take better.

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Y.R.

answers from Dallas on

Sometimes.. it's not Milk that they won't drink, but the brand. My son will only drink Borden. Good Luck!

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N.H.

answers from Dallas on

Normal i'd say. Most of it has to do with association. She is thinking warm milk and bed/nap etc.... Try shaking up the routine.

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A.D.

answers from Dallas on

My son stopped drinking cow's milk around that time. I think it's that he doesn't like the taste. Since he has bad allergies I prefer him not drink cow's milk, so I switched him to soy milk. He loves the very vanilla Silk soy milk. That is the only type of milk he will drink. You might want to try that, I've read it's healthier than cow's milk.

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K.H.

answers from Dallas on

Hey A.,

Looks like you've gotten a ton of great ideas. My 14 month old has the same problem! We discovered that she would drink organic whole milk (Horizon) the best. It's more expensive, but it works. I'm still trying to wean her off the bottle completely. Don't know if this will help or not, but here's our "schedule" for milk. She gets a bottle in the morning (slightly warmed), Nuby no spill straw cup with grips and cold milk for lunch and dinner, and then a bottle (slightly warmed) before bed.(Of course, I brush her teeth after that). I also give her yogurt or string cheese for lunch/dinner for an extra boost of calcium. I also mix in 1 ml of Poyvisol vitamin drops into her breakfast cereal/fruit. I used to stress so much about her getting off the bottle and not getting enough calcium and vit D, but don't worry, she will get there in time! Private message me if you have any questions; I'd love to help if I can...I totally understand the frustration and concern.

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A.M.

answers from Dallas on

Try one of the straw sippy cups. I know they are not as spill proof as the sippy cups, but maybe she could just drink her milk in her high chair or in the kitchen. Kids love straws, we've had luck with them. Also, maybe try strawberry milk? Good luck, I know it's hard, especially once they taste juice!

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R.S.

answers from Dallas on

She might be associating milk to only a bottle or breast for some reason. You said you tried 5 sippy cups, but in case you didn't try this one, try the Nuby sippy Gripper cup. It's safe and BPA free. It has a soft silcone spout like a nipple. Here's a link to their website. http://www.shop.nubysippycup.com/category.sc;jsessionid=6...
Vanilla Rice Milk might be an option for you because it has a nice sweet taste and it's much "lighter" tasting than the vanilla soy milk. Maybe you could try it to see if she'll drink it. If she does, then start mixing regular milk a little more each day to her cup until she's back to only cow's milk.
Good Luck to you!

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K.C.

answers from Dallas on

If she drinks the milk out of a bottle or some other kind of cup, then I don't think it's a matter of a milk allergy. I think it's a matter of being stubborn. My son tries to do that with me now and then and I calmly put the sippy cup on the counter and say this is your only option to have something to drink, you drink this or nothing. After about 5 minutes it works. I had a hard time getting my son to drink milk or water. I just tell him it's this or nothing, I can promise you they won't go thirsty.

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K.L.

answers from Dallas on

Could there be a lactose intolerance? You can try lactose free milk which tastes VERY similar to regular milk. My husband is lactose intolerant and I am prepared our new son may be also when he goes onto milk.

Does she drink a lot of juices? Make sure you're watering down the juice so it's not so sweet. It's possible she has a strong sweet tooth and only wants the sugar. The chocolate milk may not have hit the right sweet spot.

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A.S.

answers from Dallas on

We had the same problem. My son wouldn't drink it despite all my efforts. We've done vanilla milk, strawberry milk, chocolate, skim, whole... He wouldn't even suck the cup if he suspected there was milk. Come to find out... he was allergic. The doctor said kids are instinctive about their allergies. I did the same thing as a kid so I know this is true. He does eat tons of cheese and sour cream and other dairy products with no problem. I bought him calcium chews to ensure he gets what he needs, but I stopped forcing him to try it and we were all happier. He did rice milk in his cereal for years and now at 7 he has cow's milk in his cereal. We know if he's getting too much because he gets little patches of excema. Good luck!

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T.R.

answers from Dallas on

Maybe she does not liKe milK. My Kids don't drinK milK. Better options would be goats milK, rice milK, almond or organic soy.

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M.C.

answers from Dallas on

I think the previous poster mean that humans are not designed to digest COW'S milk. We are certainly designed to digest human milk.
The first thing I thought of when I read your post is, does she have allergies? My son would eat and liked everything except eggs. I found out later that he has an egg allergy.

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A.D.

answers from Dallas on

I realize she's really little yet but, you might want to try putting it in a glass container like a small jelly jar and giving her a straw. I personally can't stand the way milk tastes in plastic, I can drink anything else from a plastic cup but not milk.

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