L.L. asks from Austin, MN on July 19, 2011
Goat's Milk Is Disgusting! Should I Give up on Her Ever Drinking Any Milk?
So, we finally tried goat's milk as a last resort for our daughter, who can't do cow dairy and WON'T drink soy, rice, coconut, almond, etc. She's 15 months old, and I'd like her to START drinking something (besides water) at some point, so I can think about eventually weaning her. You know, whenever she decides...
But I think it tastes disgusting. Rancid. I bought Meyenbergs, in a quart, which expires in six days...so I don't THINK it's bad...but it tastes bad. Rancid. AWFUL. I gave some to my brave niece, who will try anything, and she agreed. She thought it tasted sour and off.
So, is it just a bad batch? Is this what commercial goat milk tastes like?
(EDIT - I have tried every brand and every flavor of everything. She won't drink any of it. And I don't give up easily...I offer it daily. Nope.) :)
Should I give up on milk for this child, start giving her vitamin supplements, and just have a child who never drinks milk? (Besides nursing, of course...) but that seems so weird to me, because my six year old has ALWAYS been a milk drinker (of course, she's not allergic) and drinks at least 16 oz. a day. Does anyone just not give their children milk or milk substitutes?
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B.D. answers from Pittsburgh on July 20, 2011
Neither of my breastfed children ever took to milk. My oldest will drink it on occasion and my youngest will occasionally drink rice milk (allergic to dairy) but they both prefer water. I don't believe milk is a necessity.
2 moms found this helpful
B.. answers from Dallas on July 19, 2011
I don't know, I think goat's milk is incredibly disgusting. It probably wasn't bad. That's what it tasted like to me.
I can't have milk. (Which is why I tried goat's milk.) We don't even buy it. I have never had cows milk, or any other milk in my life. I'm very healthy. So are thousands of others who don't drink milk. My son doesn't drink milk. He only drinks water, and the very infrequent watered down juice. He does not take a bunch of vitamin supplements! He eats a great, well balanced diet. He has never been sick (He's 26 months) and has great vitamin levels. Look, we don't need milk. There is actually not very much nutrition in milk. The vitamin D in milk, is mostly synthetic. We don't really absorb synthetic vitamins. If you are really concerned, get him a whole foods supplement. Children (in my opinion) should be getting their vitamins from foods and not liquids, anyway.
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L. answers from Minneapolis on July 20, 2011
From one who milked goats at one time, yes the flavor is bad. You could add a little chocolate to it...
1 mom found this helpful
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M.M. answers from Tampa on July 20, 2011
1) Goat's milk IS a very strong flavor. You mentioned *you* don't like it but you don't say whether you had your daughter try it or not...
2) People do not NEED dairy for calcium and vit D - that can very easily be acquired by other veggies. My family is not milk drinking - we use milk for cereal, recipes and the occasional chocolate milk. We do like organic yogurt, ice cream/frozen yogurt and cheeses.
3) If you are still nursing - nurse as long as you can... your breastmilk is better for her than any other species's milk or the alternatives.
4 moms found this helpful
J.L. answers from San Diego on July 19, 2011
I have a daughter who has never had milk of any kind. She just doesn't like it. There are so many ways for your daughter to get calcium aside from milk. Broccoli, spinach, cheese, salmon, oatmeal, nuts, tofu, etc.
I thought mine would be a milk drinker, too. But we don't do suppliments and she's the healthiest kid I know: )
3 moms found this helpful
L.G. answers from Eugene on July 20, 2011
You got a bad batch. I used to keep two goats to have milk, yogurt et al for my children who had cow milk allergies. It's so much easier to buy it. I've bought Meyerberg Goat Milk without finding any difference in taste. Maybe your carton was left out of the cooler for too long.
2 moms found this helpful
C.L. answers from Minneapolis on July 20, 2011
Wow. I'm surprised at the number of people who think goat's milk tastes bad. My oldest son drank it for years. He also couldn't tolerate cow's milk, was allergic to soy and wouldn't drink any of the other alternatives. I tried the goat's milk and found it a little richer and nutty, but definitely not rancid. I was going to suggest you got a bad batch. I did find that it spoiled much more quickly than typical cow's milk from the grocery store and that was frustrating because it is so expensive. Since it moves off the shelves more slowly too you need to be very careful about checking the expiration date, which it sounds like you did. Please be VERY careful about the suggestion you got to try raw milk. That can be dangerous. A dairy in MN was linked to a food poisoning outbreak from raw milk. It can be fatal to young children. I know my comments will cause controversy from raw milk fans, but just be careful and do your research before you try that suggestion. All of that said, a lot of people don't drink milk at all and get their calcium from other sources. I find it an easy way to get calcium and both of my kids now handle it well. My chiropractor won't drink milk and won't let anyone in his family drink milk. I personally love dairy products and wouldn't give them up unless I had to because of a health condition. Good luck.
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M.G. answers from Portland on July 19, 2011
There has been a lot of research that milk is NOT good for you anyway. We drink soy milk, of course, that is contraversial too. But it's not like we are drinking gallons of it. Calcium fortified OJ is another alternative if you are worried about calcium. But our daughter drinks water for hydration and eats fruits and veggies. She's 4 yrs old and apprarently healthy despite not drinking milk. She does eat cheese and yogurt occasionally, but not that often either.
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K.L. answers from Medford on July 19, 2011
My sister was raised on goat milk 60 years ago. Our family drank it now and then when there was extra left over. She grew up to raise a few goats for food and continued to have their milk because it was cheaper since she had the mama goat while waiting for the babies to get big enough. I drank it at her house many times. My kids drank it when there too. Not one time did it ever taste different than cows milk, which we were all very used to. I admit it wasnt my favorite when it was fresh, and still warm, but once chilled, it was very good.
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L.M. answers from Minneapolis on July 20, 2011
I have 3 kids, 2 of whom will drink cow's milk, and 1 who will not. When she weaned herself around 10-11 months, I couldn't get her to drink any sort of milk (formula, soy milk, whole milk), so finally gave up. She is now 7, healthy, and thriving. She loves yogurt, cheese, and ice cream, so I don't worry about her calcium intake. My advice is to let your child drink water and don't worry that she doesn't drink milk. She'll be fine!
2 moms found this helpful
B.D. answers from Pittsburgh on July 20, 2011
Neither of my breastfed children ever took to milk. My oldest will drink it on occasion and my youngest will occasionally drink rice milk (allergic to dairy) but they both prefer water. I don't believe milk is a necessity.
2 moms found this helpful
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