Daughter Who Won't Drink Milk

Nobody NEEDS milk. Plenty of cultures don't drink cow's milk at all. There are other ways to get nutrients, and there is a question of how well nutrients from milk are actually absorbed. Pasteurization messes it up! Anyway, no worries. It's just milk. No one died from not drinking it yet and no one ever will! =)

Hi- I have two boys, 6 and 4. NEITHER of them drink milk. They love yogurt and cheese. I talked to our pediatrician about it and he said as long as they eat the yogurt and cheese and get out in the sun, there's nothing to worry about.

hope ths helps

S.--mom of 2 VERY active boys!! LOL

Hi J.,

My son also does not like to drink milk. He is now 27 months. He was breastfed until about 18 months, so I was not too worried about it then. He has been a great eater since we started with solids at about 5 months. He just does not like the taste of milk.

I put dairy products in his foods everyday, starting with oatmeal in the morning mixed with milk. I also include cheese, yogurt and other dairy products into his diet. I am not worried about him because he has always been healthy.

I think calcium is even more important than dairy products, and you can get calcium from many sources. Every now and then I give him chocolate milk which he will drink. Remember that many people are allergic to all dairy products, and there are lots of options available. We use a lot of soy products as well.

As long as your child is healthy I think you do not have to worry about it too much. I have also heard of kids who only drink a certain brand of milk. If you have the energy, keep on trying to offer her different milk products, but do not force it as this may make her dislike the act even more.

Good luck!
J.

Hi J.,

I exclusively breast fed my son for 16 months, he never had formula at all, when it came time to give him cows milk he wouldn't touch it and at 3.5 he still won't drink milk. I add a bottle of dannimals smoothie to his cup of milk every morning and night and he loves it............you could also try liquidizing fruit with the milk, or adding chocolate powder to make a milkshake............

D..

I had a child who at age one, who also refused to drink milk. I just made sure that he had enough other ways to get vitamin D and calcium throughout his diet (yogurt, cheese,salmon, beef, egges, fortified cereals) and he took a prescibed multi-vitamin daily. He is 10 now, and would prefer not to drink any milk(i can usually get him to drink one glass at supper time), but nothing else. Just make sure that you aren't substituting juices for her drinking of milk. Give her water for her drinks and try to compensate her refusal of drinking milk in other ways.
Good Luck!

I worried about this too as my son drinks such a small amount of milk from the sippy cup. But the ped. told me he only requires 12oz a day of milk products total...including yogurt, cheese, etc. which is very doable! Hang in there!

she doesn't need it. Cows milk is great for baby cows. It's is hard for many children to tolerate it. don't push it. Give her water to drink (NOT JUICE), and healthy foods that naturally include calcium like green veggies (she can dip broccoli, carrots, lettuce and the rest into a ranch or other dip), whole grains (have a lot of bone building strength), bananas (have more minerals than anything, especially potassium which helps with growth), and naturally colorful foods. Relax on the milk thing, it's actually fine nutritionally. I wouldn't be surprised if she is sensitive to it and just plain doesn't like it.

My son is 15 months old and has been going through the same thing for over a month now.
I can get him to drink it if all I offer is water all day and at night try and give him strawberry flavored milk. Every night I put less strawberry flavor in and he still drinks it. In about a week hopefully we will be down to no flavor and he'll still drink it....I'm crossing my fingers.
I do give him yogurt everyday and cheese.

I was told not to worry about him not drinking too but I still worry.

Good luck!

Hi J.,
I don't think you should be too worried about your daughter not drinking milk. As long as you make sure she gets her calcium from other sources (cheese, yogurt, etc.). You may also want to try other types of milk like soy or rice or even chocolate milk. OR (if all else fails...) make milk a little fun by adding a drop of food coloring (I know my son can't stop drinking a green colored milk.. especially with St. Patrick's day fast approaching).
Good Luck!

hello J.,
My son has never really cared for Milk either, I have always given him cheese & yogourt; which he LOVES! Pedi says that's enough vit C intake. However, I have discored, he'll drink milk with cereal---warm milk! so we give it to him at least once a day! he's 2.5yo & doing great!
Good luck!

Neither one of my children liked milk at that age, and my pediatrician said not to worry as long as they were eating yogurt and cheese. My 3yo finally likes milk, so maybe my 14mo will someday...

she does not NEED cow's milk at all. she does need calcium/D and that can be gotten thru many foods. do a little research and experiment with foods she likes. neither of my children were milk drinkers and they are now 27 and 24 and extremely healthy.

My sister had the same problem with her son. She made up for it with yogurt, cheese, etc.. The pediatrician always said don't worry as long as you get the calcium and Vitamin D into him in a different way. Once he grew older and could verbalize better, they came to suspect that he was maybe allergic to milk and that's why he was avoiding it. Made a lot of sense.

I was told with a well balance diet it's okay (by our pedi). My son is almost 21 months and doesn't drink milk often. We tried at 1 year, but he wasn't ready to stop breastfeeding. No longer breastfeeding he still is not intrested. We tried flavoring & the only thing that worked for a little while was 50/50 with a drinkable yogurt. He eats a variety of food & we offer yogurt & cheese at most meals. I wouldn't stress over if your concerned about the amount of calcium ask about supplements. I understand why my son doesn't like milk because my husband I don't drink it either.

I also want to add I know soy is a choice, but a friend of mine whom is a scientist (w/phd) told me to avoid soymilk.

Hi J., My now 3 1/2 year old has never drank milk. She just didn't like it! She's healthy as can be. No one really needs milk. A diet rich in vitamins and nutrients from fruits, veggies, whole grains is much more important. No need to force your daughter to drink milk. My daughter does not eat cheese either, but will eat yogurt. I also freeze yogurt pops and she loves those. It's really not a problem, so don't worry!!

My breast fed daughter( till 1.4 yrs) didnt love milk either. Still doesn't! But she loves silk soymilk. I buy the "Silk soy milk PLUS omega-3"in the blue quart - ( NOT the purple vanilla one for kids- OMG it's SOOOO sweet!!)
and she loves that. Or I mix half soy and half milk and warm that for her. At over 2 years she stilll likes that combo and only takes it warm... She also likes Stonyfield farm yogurt sticks in the freezer and eats them every am with breakfast. ( no gelatin and magic colors- just real yogurt in them! ) My last trick to get nutrition into my fussy girl is Bolthouse juice next to the apples and pressed juices in the grocery ( demoulas) . I give her Green Goodness and she gets real veggies too and loves it! Have fun..it only gets fussier and fussier as they grow!
R.

She does not need to drink milk to be healthy!
My babes are all healthy, and drink water -
they do eat yogurt when the ask for it,
they do eat cheese when they ask for it,
they do take multivitamins,
and my daughter who is allergic to milk
also takes a calcium supplement.
Their hair is glossy, they are growing normally.
People do not need to drink milk to be healthy.

there are many many questions on here with moms with the same problem and many many kids don't like milk. You can go back in the archives for some answers, but pretty much everyone says the same things. If she is eating lots of cheese, oj with calcium, taking a calcium supplement, eating brocolli, eating yogurt, etc, then you will be okay. there are lots of kids who can't drink milk. Have you tried strawberry milk? Ice cold milk and make it a treat? My son won't drink warm milk and for some reason people seem to assume all kids like warm milk. Milk is needed for the added calories and fat and vitamin D and calcium, so as long as her needs are being met through other needs then don't worry too much. You could even try a pedialyte type of shake or smoothie. Just keep trying different things and keep offering her milk. She may change her mind. Try different bottles, cups, nipples and sippy cups. When I was younger there were times I didn't like milk and then there were times I did. She perhaps had milk that was bad and now things all milk will taste bad. who knows. Just keep trying different things. Such as rice crispies and milk. Good luck!!

My daughter was the same way,and I tried chocolate and strawberry mixes even! Our doctor had said not to worry about it if she eats yogurt and cheese. I had read...and then tried...about mixing ovaltine with milk. I tried this and she drank it! To this day (and she is almost 3), she will only drink her milk with Ovaltine (or the carnation instant breakfast mix - I mix with milk, peanut butter and banana for a smoothie in the morning). This way I know that if she is getting chocolate in there she is at least getting protein and other nutrients, too. She loves the smoothie, too! I hope this helps as I know this topic can be stressful! There are step 2 formulas on the market, too, but my daughter never went for those since she was solely breastfed.

Hi J.
Our children's product "Kids Now" was created and developed by the food scientist who made enfamil and prosoybee infant formulas. This is all the nutrition a child needs and is safe and effective. All the stuff they are "throwing" in products these days (ie DHA in OJ??) but ours is in its purest form. We have had it for several years. It tastes great and you can mix it into anything (yogurt, oatmeal pancakes etc)
My solution is not very creative-just safe and effective.
J. H

Check with you ped; she only needs 600mg of calcium a day. If you are giving her orange juice with calcium that's 35% of calcium per serving (tropicana). If she is eating other dairy products then chances are she is getting enough calcium. Run the numbers to make sure. If you think her diet is inadequate nutritionally then try a multi-vitamin. Most multi's don't have enough calcium though. My son never drank milk because of food allergies. He was breastfed until 17 mos. I supplement his food with a calcium powder suggested by a nutritionist.

As my pediatrician says cows milk is for cows she doesn't really need it. She needs Calcium and vitamin D so as long as she's eating cheese and yogurt and fortified juice or cereal everything is fine my youngest is allergic to dairy and he drinks enriched rice milk w/ vitamin D and calcium. There are lots of adults and children out there that can't have dairy and they are just fine so try to relax a little.

My son is 13 months old and he has never had pourable cows milk. Its not necessary. My son does still nurse, but he also eats yogurt and cheese everyday, and I use milk to make his oatmeal in the morning. At their age (12-18 months), our children need 2-3 servings of dairy each day. A serving is 4oz milk, 1/2oz cheese, or 4oz yogurt. My son easily has this without drinking cows milk.
Americans drink far too much milk, in my opinion. Most kids are given milk with each meal, which equals about three 8oz cups of milk per day, which is 2-3 times as much as they need.
Also, calcium prevents iron from being absorbed by the body, which means that when we give our kids cereal with milk, they arent getting the iron they need from the cereal (cereals are all iron fortified and recommended for people with iron-deficient anemia). So milk isnt as healthy as the milk industry would lead us to believe.