My 14 Month Old Won't Drink Mild

Stop the juice for a few weeks. Give him only water or milk. He has to learn that he can't get only what he wants and eventually thirst will take over and he will at least drink the water.

My daughter put her bottle of milk down right before she turned one and never picked it up again. She would only drink milk from a bottle, water in her cups and did not care for any juices. If we tried to switch it up and put milk in a cup or water in a bottle she refused to drink it. She would actually say "milk in bottle, water in cuppie." I called her DR after she went 2 days refusing milk. The DR suggested giving her only milk in cup or adding a little chocolate, but Maddie still refused. She also suggested giving her the occasional milk shake or ice cream but again Maddie refused. Maddie doesn't eat cheese either and initially refused yogart as well. We just made sure to give Maddie one bowl of cheerios and milk per day. (For some reason she would eat/drink the milk in her cereal, but in no other form.) I also found the "gogarts", Maddie is so fascinated with the tube that she wanted to eat the yogart, so we make sure she has one a day. The DR told me not to worry about it, some babies just decide that's it they don't want to drink milk anymore. In fact one of the DR's five children did the exact same thing when she was a baby. My daughter is now a very healthy three year old. We still make sure she eats one bowl of cheerios and a gogart each day as well as the occasional ice cream or frozen yogart treat.

Give him juice fortified with calcium and lots of cheese and yogurt. You can also try strawberry or vanilla milk.

Your child can drink other kinds of milks besides cow's milk. His body knows what it needs. You can try unsweetened rice milk or almond milk. I'd try for a week or so. You could also try goat's milk which is the closest to human milk. You child could have a dairy or lactose sensitivity or allergy which is just now appearing. Plenty of children are just fine without dairy products.
Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or want more info.
L.

My daughter stopped drinking milk in November when she was 14 months old. We tried everything but no luck. I was very concerned but the doc just said get calcium and fat in other foods so I push yogurt and EVERYTHING I buy for her is calcium fortified. She also just started drinking orange juice with calcium. It stressed me out for awhile, but there is nothing I can do about it if she won't drink it. Good luck!

I had the same problem and my pediatrician said to keep offering it. He said he will get thirsty eventually and have to drink. He did eventually get thirsty, it took about 2 days of offering it and nothing else. I tried mixing his whole milk with vanilla soy milk and now he drinks it up. I've lessened the amount of soy milk I put in there so he's getting used to the flavor, but you could probably just use regular soy milk and get the same result? Also, he said not to be concerned that he's not getting enough fluids through drinks as long as you're offering foods with water content (i.e. fruits, veggies etc.). Hope that helps :)

I agree about not requiring milk...we are the ONLY mammal who drinks another's milk and now it's mainly due to the dairy industry lobbying congress. My son loves yogurt, although I don't like the sugar content, and you can try cheese. The best source of calcium is plants! It is what our body was made to use, and they have other micro nutrients as well. See http://www.citracal.com/Calcium/Foods/Vegetables.aspx for some examples. As info, my son has stopped doing things and I lay off for a month and then go back to it and he's happy, so you can give that a try if allergies are ruled out. Good luck! D.

i totally disagree that this toddler is testing. they DO test with rules, but this sounds like a very natural aversion. there are things you do need to insist upon, but this isn't one of them. he can get what he needs through yogurt, smoothies, healthy shakes, and there are so many alternatives to cows' milk. try coconut milk, almond or rice milk for cereal and maybe he'll also prefer them for drinking. at some point he may start liking milk again, and if he doesn't, don't sweat it.
khairete
S.

He's testing you and so far he is winning. Don't offer him anything else but water and milk. He will eventually take it. I would not add chocolate (or any other flavoring) to the milk and I would cut back on juice. (In fact, my pediatrician recommends no juice at all. It's really not good for them. As he says, it's better to eat the actual fruit, than drink the sugary juice.) Good luck! Toddlers are testers.

Children don't need cows milk to be healthy.

I would offer him other foods that are high in calcium (yogurt, cheese, many cereals, spinach, smoothies, etc) and possibly a good kids vitamin (which he should likely be taking anyway)and just relax. If he decides he wants some later on fine, but this is definitely not something I would push.

I agree with the others- who needs cow's milk!? There are so many other healthy options available now. At any regular grocery store you can find Soy Milk in the refriderated aisle, and rice and soy in the "health" aisle You can go to a store like Whole Foods for other options and brands. My son is 6 and perfectly healthy and prefers soy over cow every day of the week. The few weeks he drank cows milk a year or so back- he got nasty ear infections in BOTH ears. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I dont think so. Good luck and go with the natural signs/clues from your child.