My Son HATES milk...even Choloclate Milk!

Hi H.,
Being a nutritionist, I thought it may help if you understand a couple of things about milk.
For many(most) people cows milk is indigestibe and are considered "lactose intolerant" which means they are unable to digest the protein of milk. Some overcome this by adding lactase, an enzyme to help break down lactose. Others avoid it altogether and look to other more 'user friendly' sources of 'milk' Goats milk is easily digestible and a good replacement. Soymilk, rice milk, almond milk are more alternatives to using cows milk. These milks are delicious on cereal and drinking. The concern with not drinking milk is growing bones (calcium and vitamin D) which are aboundantly available from many vegetarian sources. Vitamin D is obtained from doses of daily sunshine, but may be taken in supplement if deficient in the diet. Fish, spinach and sesame seeds (tahini)are very high in calcium. Since your son is so young, he will adapt to how you feed him of course if you are eating healthy too. Nutrition has life long importance and eating healthy foods will contribute to his health. I hope you find this helpful...

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Hi H.,
I know it's very helpful to get the WIC. I have gotten it for the past 7 years for my children, but honestly he doesn't need it I have slowly weaned my children from it, because I have learned alot in the past few years about meat, milk, and cheese. Milk has no nutritional value. Your son can get the vitamins from other sources. Think about it, cows get their nutrition from the grass, and grains that they eat, that's why those vitamins are in the milk; from the food they eat. Why not just get it first from the source itself like fresh fruits and vegetables, instead of second hand from an animal that's already processed it. For the milk, Almond, Rice, or Soy milk is wonderful and the Almond and Soy milk is an excellent source of protein. I hope this helps!
Also, my youngest son who is 2 would never drink cows milk and he went to soy milk very easily. He likes the Silk Very Vanilla Soymilk.
Take care!
V.

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firt of all: NO NEED for flavoring milk! who needs that sugar??? no one :)

try mixing only one ounce of milk in w/ his formula BOTTLE. no need to go straight to a sippy! you can take this SLOWLY. once he's used to one ounce of milk in with his formula, then go for two ounces of milk and so on until the whole BOTTLE is milk. then, go buy a Nuby brand soft silicone spout sippy. this is pretty much like a bottle. give the milk in that first. then eventually try other sippies. this all takes TIME.
no rush.
just try not to give the bottle to have him fall asleep with- this is TERRIBLE for their teeth!

you can do this. HE can do this :)

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My older daughter wouldn't take milk from a sippy cup or bottle either, so I transitioned her to the NExt Step Formula, after nursing, which is for toddlers. She was on that for a while and then I was able to switch her to Kefir, which is like a drinkable yogurt. My younger daughter did eventually transition to regular milk, but it took a while. Just be persistent and give it to him daily at regular times for a couple of weeks. If you think he has a milk allergy, check with his doctor. You may need to swith to soy or a lactose free kind. And if all else fails, remember that he gets most of his nutrition after the age of 1 from a healthy diet, not from milk. Trying giving him cheese sticks and yogurt instead. Good luck!

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There's a saying : "cow's milk is for baby cows"...
check with your pediatrician about another liquid that is vitamin and mineral and calorie rich...and god bless. Lots of kids do not like milk. I'm one of them. Supplements may be the answer. Can be sprinkled over favorite foods, into a fruit smoothie...any creative idea

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Maybe try making him vanilla milk?

Put a small amount of sugar and a dash of vanilla extract in his milk sippy and shake. My DS#2 hates plain milk but liked this.

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Try soymilk. It is not as thick and much sweeter. There is also rice milk, almond milk and hemp milk but they are pricier and don't have as much protein. Good Luck. My kids are crazy picky eaters as well. Very frustrating but they do survive.

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mix 1oz of milk with 7oz of formula for 3 days. then 2oz of milk and 6oz of formula for 3 more days. continue on this and within a few weeks he will be switched over with no problems. good luck

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Please take a moment to look at all the duscussion and responses this week when 2 other moms asked the same exact question about trying to force milk.... It is not necessary and you don't have to get worried! Just make sure he gets enough calcium in other foods daily.... Milk isn't all that great for you, cows milk anyway. I would continue to nurse him especially through the winter flu season.... Mommy milk is still best, even at age 1. Best wishes!

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Please don't force cow milk on your son. His body is telling you it naturally does not digest cow milk. Despite mainstream media and the American Dairy Association's advertising, the human digestive tract was not designed to digest cow milk. We went through this with WIC and my daughter. They won't change their policy, but you can consume the free milk by the rest of the family. Get your son rice milk or almond milk. Dairy has so many allergy, mucus and conjestion problems, the you son will be much better off with a good chewable calcium supplement and non-dair beverages.

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I wouldn't worry about him drinking milk. My son wouldn't drink milk when I switched him over either. I would look for ways to put milk in what he ate by mixing it in. Otherwise I found other things with calcium in it. He is now 9 and perfectly healthy. Good Luck

Try WestonPriceFoundation- the dairy folks have really pulled a fast one- there are alot of cultures who don't drink milk, alot of Asian countries for instance- and cow's milk the molecule is 20x s the size of human milk and very hard to digest, and homogenised, and pasterized-ugh tough esp for little bodies to digest- and he doesn't need it.
This will be aan adventure for you- best of luck!-k

my kids were never big milk drinkers. and they are ok and now 24 and 18, so unlike others i will tell you it is not that important that they do not drink milk. i never drank it much either and i am 44. do they eat yagart? or cottage cheese? or ear cheese? eat milk in cereal? it will all surfice. good luck it will all be ok.

A LOT of kids hate milk. My son is one of them. He was actually born with an allergy to it, but outgrew it within a few years. The only milk he will drink is rice milk. I'm not sure if wic will cover that, but maybe you can tell them he has an allergy or something.

To answer your second question about how can he stay healthy without it. First, you can give him calcium vitamins. They make them in chewy form that you can cut into peices if you feel they are too big for him (I did that for a while). You can also get different cereals or juices that have calcium and Vitamin D in them. I think Cheereos has these things, which I think is also covered by wic. You can also give him a daily vitamin (chewy again and cut it if necessary). Instead of giving him chocolate milk - try strawberry flavor. My son will stomach the strawberry, but not the chocolate - something about the texture of it. You could also try lower fat milks - They tend to be thinner like formula. And my last thought for you would be to try carnation instant breakfast vanilla flavor. This would add a little sweetness to the milk - just a half a bag per glass or sippy or bottle is plenty to flavor it (and it has good vitamins in it as well).

Good luck and remember that as long as you supplement the vitamins and calcium he is missing from the milk, then he will be just fine. My son is 6 and is doing GREAT!

Good luck!
Sam

I always started giving my kids half milk half formula. The slowly switched them. Good luck

I have always suggested Strawberry milk, or Vanilla milk. You can buy the flavoring for either at the store. It is a lot better than giving chocolate that contains caffeine.
Some kids never do want to drink milk. Give him ice cream, yougurt, cheese. You can get all the dairy you need in other products. Pudding also is a good source of calcium. Also don't give him the milk in a bottle. That is your first mistake. Put it in a glass. He should be drinking out of a glass now and off his bottle anyway.

Hi, H.. It's easy to stay healthy without drinking milk. Very, very easy. First of all, you have to understand that milk is not some magic food that supplies all your needs. What kids and adults need from milk is protein, calcium, and vitamin D. Kids need that little bit of fat they get from it if they are not obese.

It's easy to get protein, calcium and vitamin D from other foods. Nowadays, you can even get orange juice that has calcium and vitamin D in it. It's a little more expensive than ordinary orange juice, but it's a good alternative to milk.

Does your son eat cheese or flavored yogurt? Both have protein & calcium. You can make smoothies with vanilla yogurt and get some mineral-rich fruit into your child, too. Lean meats like chicken, fish and beef have protein and some calcium. Many vegetables such as brocolli have calcium (the dark green ones).

As long as you feed your child a diet that is balanced over the course of a week -- don't always try to get all of the food groups into his stomach every day because you might be trying to force him to eat stuff he doesn't need, and this will stress your relationship with him. As long as he has a balanced diet overall, he should be just fine.

Some researchers have found some kinds of links between juvenile diabetes and milk consumption, but I don't know exactly what this is. You might count your blessings that he doesn't like milk because this may be God's way of keeping him out of danger.

There are lots of websites that give you excellent information on what vitamins and minerals are in which foods. Don't panic. Babies never let themselves go hungry and they do not let themselves become malnourished. It is only the older child who develops issues around food who will do strange things and refuse to eat. Your son is not in danger of this happening at his age as long as he has a decently balanced diet.

I hope that everyone around your table, including you, is well and happy.

Peace,
Syl

Milk is not necessary for health. You and your partner can drink the milk WIC gives you, if you like. Other sources of calcium, if that's your concern for your child, are almonds, almond butter, almond milk, broccoli and other dark leafy greens like kale and collards, sesame seeds, sesame butter. Calcium from these plant sources is often easier to absorb than the dairy source. Dairy is hard to digest and makes kids very mucousy and often sickly. I would not worry about it if I were you. My daughter is four, healthy, and almost never eats cheese and has rarely drank milk. When she does increase dairy intake, here comes the snot and then she tends to either be runny nosed for a few weeks or even catches a cold. Many vegans (people who consume no animal products at all) tell me they never get sick, and i am pretty sure it is because they don't consume cow's milk products. goat milk is a little easier to digest. My daughter does eat goat yogurt occaisionally, or very small amount of cheddar cheese once in a while. That's it. And ice cream at parties sometimes.
You can give your child a chewable multi-vitamin once he gets good at chewing. Also, the almond milk is now sold in many stores, even Publix ( not just health food stores, in the unrefridgerated cartoned milk section. You refrigerate after opening.) Almond butter and tahini (sesame butter) can be found at Publix too, or the health food store. When my daughter was one, I would make a wholegrain toast, put a thin layer of almond butter or tahini on then a thin layer of jam (get an all fruit, no sugar added variety, like Polaner). Because nut butters are sticky and sort of hard to eat at that age. The jam makes it more yummy and easier to eat. Your child wi8ll be more likely to like almond butter than tahini. Tahini is kindof bitter.

My son never drank formula or took a bottle & would only take juice & water from a sippy... it took 3 months of trying pretty much everything... but he now drinks vanilla or strawberry carnation instant breakfast & strawberry Quik in whole milk every morning. He is very small - so the added calories are a plus :) Just keep trying (I even blended it w/ icecream).
If he all-ou refuses try yogurt & cheeses. My friend freezes gogurts & cuts them in 1/2 & lets her daughter eat it as a freeze pop. Haven't tried it yet, but love the idea!

I am in the same boat. I started trying milk at 11.5 months and he would take a sip and spit it out. I tried mixing in one ounce of milk with his formula, he would take a sip, spit it out and hand the bottle back to me. Eventually, I gave in and tried adding chocolate, he would take a couple of sips, but still wouldn't drink it. Same with strawberry. I talked to the doctor and he said that as long as he is getting a slice of cheese and a yogurt, or the equivalent of dairy each day, he doesn't NEED milk. I even tried soy and vanilla soy, whole, 1% and 2%, nothing. I still try, but he won't do it. He is 14.5 months now. I will keep offering it, but if he doesn't take it, I will just keep making sure he gets plenty of other dairy.

I'm going through this now with my 1 year old. She will not drink formula from her cup and milk is going the same way. The whole adding milk to the formula bottle doesn't work if taste is the issue. They will drink it from a bottle no problem. Put it in a cup, different story! They can't taste as much drinking form a bottle. They suck it right past their taste buds, my theory! My son never, and still doesn't at 4.5, drink regular milk. At 1.5 years old I gave in a gave him chocolate. I know everyone freaks about the sugar, but my doctor said 1 cup a day is just fine! I am going to keep trying the regular whole milk with my girl for a couple of months. See is just leaving where she can get to it and not offering anythiing else makes her come around. If not, I will go the chocolate route with her too. However, they do not NEED to drink milk. Your son will be fine without it if he eats dairy, you don't have to worry so much. They also have juices with added calcium now. I haven't introduced juice yet because I'm sure that won't help the milk liking any! Those who have kids that drink milk from the cup and like it are lucky and rare!

My 2 year old doesn't drink milk either and my pediatrician says that is just fine. Cow's milk isn't necessary for humans. (How silly of requirement would that have been???)

Make sure your little one is getting calcium and vit D from other sources...cheese slices, yogurt, cottage cheese, whole milk pudding, etc. Work on getting healthy green veggies into him for calcium...broccoli, spinach, kale. Then, not only are you teaching him great healthy eating habits, but you are getting all the calcium, vit D and OTHER vitamins and minerals into him every day!

doing the transition from formula to milk...mix it 75/25 for a little bit, then more to 50/50 and slowly make it 100% milk. This worked for my daughter perfect. Good Luck!