Daughter Drinks Excessive Amount of Milk

This sounds like me a year ago, when my son was 18 months, he was drinking 9 6oz sipy's a day! I know a lot of people frown on juice for kids, but we replaced it (slowly!) with watered down juice (50/50 or lower) and now we can occasionally get away with giving him a sippy of water.
Are you brushing her teeth? We've never (*knock on wood*) had any issues with my son's teeth, we brush 3 times a day.

Hi. Have you tried to water down the milk. She might like it less and less and drink more water. The other thing, is to switch her from a sippy cup to a regular cup and that she can only have at the table as a big girl. I also usually have lots of water bottles and buy for my kids the "sports top for kids ones" that are just for them (smaller then adult sizes).

Hi B.,
Please consider having your daughter donate all but one of her sip-it cups to little toddlers who need them. The one she saves can be kept in a special closet to sip from when she is sick with a fever, and needs fluids continuously.

The sipping that is very bad for the teeth, as it keeps reintroducing the sugars of milk and juice into the mouth. And many sip-it cups send the fluid to the back of the front teeth, and decay is setting in before you see it.

Drinks should be from open cups in the kitchen or dining area. Children do not need to drink while they are doing other things. In fact, it begins the habit of drinking/snacking while tv viewing, etc., which increases the chances of obesity later.

While this will be a change for her, you are the Mom, and you are doing for her sake, so be strong, be supportive and you can do this!

i'd try to start limiting the milk to meals only - and straight water the rest of the day... my daughter has milk at her meals only and she has to be sitting in her highchair to get it for a couple of reasons - yes the dentist warning that milk is like juice - you should have it at a meal - not sipping it on and off all day - and also having it all day - it warms up and i'm always afraid of bacteria or the milk souring if she doesn't drink it in time.

maybe start cutting back by letting her have it in the morning - but after lunch it's water only until dinner - give that a few weeks and then try to start elminiating the extra milk in the morning. not sure if you let her have a sippy outside of the house (in the car running errands) maybe start w/ that first - to water only - esp. if you're going ot be outside more w/ the nice weather.

How about watering down the milk? Not the ones she drinks at a meal, but the others. Maybe start out with 1/2 milk and 1/2 water and go from there? Or you could just cut it out cold turkey and only offer water.

Hi B., I'm only pregnant with my first but can tell you that when my sister was little whe would drink that much milk too. I've never heard of it being bad for your teeth so that is a first for me, but she gained lots of..we'll just call it baby fat! Don't know if skim milk woud be better?? Personally, I would definitly try and give her water instead. She will probably get upset at first but will hopefully get over it. I would definitly say you should cut it down big time though. I wouldn't cut it out completely of course. good luck!

Hi,
WE have just gone through this with our 20 month old daughter. Our Dr. reccomended 3 glasses of milk a day and the rest of the day to water down the milk until it was all water or 90% water. We began by doing a glass of half milk and half water and she did not mind that at all.
I think it was more habit than anything else.
C.

Hi,
My little one is almost 2 and she used to drink alot of milk. I switched her to 2% earlier and I limited the milk...I think she got one sippy cup at each meal or close to it...NO more than 3 sippy cups a day(24 oz total)... Can you offer her water instead or even watered down juice?? My daughter filled up on the milk, so she wasnt real hungry when it was time to eat.

Remember, you're the mom, and making sure your child eats well is your department. Don't feel guilty taking away something she likes if you feel it's not the healthiest choice available. She'll thank you when she's older and realizes the wonderful healthy foundation you gave her early on.
Watering down the milk is one option, and so is simply setting a limit and sticking to it. A combination of the two ought to achieve the result you want without a big fight from your child.
Maybe when you're nursing your baby, you can offer your toddler a story or some cuddling to replace the comfort of sucking the sippy cup with some good old fashioned mommy attention. Distraction is a wonderful technique!

Hi, B.!
My almost-2-year-old son loves milk, too. And if it were up to him, he would drink it all day as well. We implemented a rule that he gets one sippy cup full at each meal and then he can have some before bed (totaling 4- 6 oz. cups - which is what the pediatricians recommend). During the day, when he asks for milk, I say "You can have water". Sometimes he responds "No! Milk". And I say "You can have milk when we eat supper." And I would just take his sippy cup of water out of the fridge and set it somewhere that he can grab it, and I leave it at that. Almost every time within 3 minutes, he is over there grabbing the sippy cup of water and drinking it. It took a little bit to get him to that point, but if you stick to it, I'm sure it will work. I also switched him to 2% milk. Hope this helps!

Hi B.,

My 4 year old was like this, too, and would even continue it today if given half a chance. She also began drinking milk to the exclusion of other foods. Our pediatrician advised us to only give her 16-20 ounces of milk per day. So, she has two 9-ounce sippy cups that I fill per day. She knows that she can only have those and then she is done with milk--however she wants to have them--which is usually first thing in the morning and then she is done with milk for the day.

I see a dietician/exercise physiologist and I bring my children with me. A wonderful thing! Because when I have issues like this, I can ask her about it. She recommended that rather than giving her straight water or juice for the remainder of the day, to combine them. About 2-3 ounces of juice to 32 ounces of water. She said that the body also uses the water more effectively when a slight amount of sugar (like from the juice) is added to the water.

I don't remember the exact issues, but I did some research at the time and there are health issues that can occur when a child (and maybe anyone, in fact) consumes too much milk/dairy. You might be interested in googling excessive milk intake to find out. When I saw it at the time it was enough for me to completely follow the 16-20 ounce guideline immediately. She also started eating solid food more regularly afterwards.

P.S.--My second child drinks 1-2 ounces of milk per day on a good day. Amazing how they can be so different!

My son also loves milk. He is now 4 but when he was about 2 we also had to cut back on the milk. We did milk only with meals. Water was allowed anytime. We have one of those water filters connected to our faucet that can flavor the water. He loves to have flavored water. It was intriguing to him and served as a healthier choice.

Hi B.,

it's a tough spot to be in, but I think ultimately, just refuse to give it to her at certain times. She'll probably refuse to drink anything else, but eventually she'll get thirsty and drink something. She won't be dehydrating if she doesn't get it. My daughter struggled with GI issues and got hooked first on PediaSure, then on Carnation instant breakfast and it was a tough road to get her off those. Still, she wants chocolate milk and when I tell her no and offer something else, she stands her ground. Fine by me. But inevitably, she comes back and asks for water or juice.

Set in your mind how many cups is enough (3 maybe?) and stick to that. Another thing I try is to be somewhat random so as to break her habit. So sometimes, I won't let her have milk in the morning and sometimes I do, and she never really knows and so I think it's a little easier to let go of the disappointment since it hasn't been built up by the routine. Granted, she's a little older, but I still like that idea.

Remind yourself that you know what's best for her, so even if she's upset, you still need to do your job.

Good luck!
~Liza
30yo, full-time working, single mom to 4.5 year old girl.

Hi B.,
Cutting back on the milk cups is actually relatively easy. You only need to start cutting them with water. I always began with the cup they had before bed. I'd water down the milk each day a little more until it was just water they were getting.
During the day, pick a serving and do the same. I forget now the recommended dosage but I do recall giving my children water with lunch, milk with breakfast and dinner.
Good luck!

my son only drinks milk and his doctoer said that was okay as long as his iron level was okay
i watered his milk down t 1/3 water 2/3 milk and that helped alittle especially during the summer and warmer weather
how's her appetite at other times?
i also only fill the cup up halfway or 2/ 3 and that seemed to help

The browning might not be from the milk itself, somtimes if your H20 is high in Iron (well water) it can build calcium along the gumline. It is easy to remove when she goes for her first check up. I would try to dilute it???
Both of my girls (3 & 5years old) are big fans of milk, I don't allow it after bedtime brushing. Our dentist emphasised that that was the most important time to withhold it.

Your daughter could be sensitive/allergic to milk as well. My son is will crave gluten if you let him get it and he is a celiac (gluten sensitivity/allergy). Some people rather than trying to avoid the given food will crave it. Might be something to check out.

Hello,
Just tell her she can't have milk! She is old enough that she can understand what no means. Offer her water and if she doesn't want it- that's fine. Tell her she can only have milk for meals and that water is for between meals. You can always blame it on the dentist. Show her the brown starting on her teeth and tell her that too much milk is going to turn all of her teeth brown.
The bottom line is that she is 2 1/2 and you are her mom. She doesn't know what is best for her- you do. Just tell her she can't have milk.
Good luck!
-S.