Milk and Juice

My Ped told me about 15-17 oz of milk so they are getting enough calcuim, but no more than 20-24 because it can inhibit iron consumption and they can become anemic. I don't give my daughter(15 months)juice because she is not the best eater and the Ped would rather her eat her calories than drink them. Part of the whole learning to eat and what to eat thing. I would say as long as he is eating enough, drinking that amount should be fine. That being said has he always been a good drinker or is it a new change, and does he act thirsty all the time like he can't get enough to drink. If that is the case I might ask you Ped due to some thing metabolic IE diabetes. Just a thought hope it helps.

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Hi C.,

I second the lady who said 16-20 ounces a day. She gave great advice for the entire liquids amount -milk, juice, water. That is what my doctor said told me too.

Blessings,
L.

milk at that age (up until age 8 or so) is only 16 to 20 oz a day. Any more then that and they risk iron deficency and malabsorption of other nutrients and not eating the solid foods they need.

juice should be no more then 4 oz daily until they are 6 at which time it can increase to 6 oz, but never more then 6 oz in a day even for a grown up. I don't give daycare kids juice until they are 2 as it really has no value.

You can add water to both his milk and juice to stretch them further.

Water - he can have all of that he wants - as long as it's not in the 100's of ounces a day.

Every kid is different. My nearly three year old is a heavy drinker (50 + oz./day) whereas my one year takes sippies with meals and snacks and drinks closer to 20 oz./day. Both are healthy and developmentally fine.

All three of my kids are heavy drinkers. I have gotten a lot of comments that they drink "too much", but my husband and I like them to be hydrated and never worry that they are dehydrated (which is great when they are sick and not drinking as much). We have, of course, had to learn to deal with all the resulting leaky diapers, but feel that it is important that they drink so we don't restrict what they are allowed. We give them milk when they request it (the older ones are 4 and 2) and in place of juice we have started giving them watered down kool aide made with splenda. They loved watered down juice, but my daughter has a hard time handling the extra sugars in fruit juice and we needed a sugar free alternative. We encourage drinking plain old water by offering it in "big kid" cups and fun things like that.

My 18 month old gets milk at breakfast and dinner, in a regular sized sippy cup. I offer my kids water all day long, especially in the summer or if they're running around. He always has a cup, and when he's thirsty he drinks from it. If he's not thirsty, he won't. I do mix some juice in at times also.

Our ped. says 16 ounces of milk (or milk substitutes such as cheese) and no juice at all.

he needs more milk and less juice.

if he is always thirsty make sure to talk about this at your next peditrician visit

Babies are just like us! If somebody tells you that they only require a certain amount that someone must live in some pretty regimented life. We are not always the same. Some days it is hot and we drink a lot of things and others we don't. Baby is always going to be your best barometer for his thirst, as well as whether he is cold or hot or if he feels sad and in pain. If he isn't acting like it's uncomfortable don't worry about it. And if he is wetting his diaper it's coming out fine. So happy to hear you love being a mom.

I would say more milk and less juice. BUT you don't want him to fill up on milk because then he won't eat as much "real" food. I think the guideline I heard last was no more than about 24 oz of milk. Then I would switch to water, or heavily watered juice. Make sure you brush his teeth well if he's drinking juice too - this is a recipe for cavities.

If he's really thirsty all the time you might want to have him checked for diabetes or at least mention it to his doctor for an opinion.

As a mother of four kids, i allow my kids to drink as much liquid as they want, and their doctor said it was fine. As long as the child is eating too. Good Luck.

My daughter is the same age, and I follow these guidelines: about 12 oz of milk per day, no more than 4 oz of juice per day (and I dilute it with water), then as much water as she wants.

My son from about 11 months to 3 1/2 years old could and would drink between 70 and 100 oz. of milk, juice and water everyday. He was and is fine. He is now almost 8 and barely drinks anything, I have to make him stop to drink things. Just like when they get into phases of eating only 2 or 3 foods for weeks at a time...thier bodies KNOW what they need. I personally would not worry about it and give him milk at least 3-4 X per day, remember they are growing incredibly fast and need that calcium.

At our house we do milk with every meal and have a sippy full of water available all the time. We don't do any juice as it sets them up for expecting everything to be sweet. We also don't do juice due to empty calories. We do give alot of whole fruit options throughout the day as well as whole veggie options throughout the day. They drink to their fill.

Hi, Im T. a 29yr old mom of 3 boys, I have a 19month old and i give him milk when he wakes up and then sometimes right after that. Juice once in a while. He don't really care for it. I asked the doc yesterday about it and he saids its normal cuz they r cutting teeth right now. He also said if u give them juice make sure u brush thier teeth cuz of the sugar that sits on thier teeth.. I hope this helps, let me know. Thanks T.