My 1 Year Old Hates Milk!!!

No one really needs cows milk anyway. It's for cows! My kids do like milk, but I limit how much they get. If he will drink water that's great or you could try Almond milk. You can find it at Target or Market Street. It's not in the refrigerated section though. You might have to ask where to find it. Also, orange juice mixed with water would be really good for him.

My 2 year old is the same she would see me put vanilla flavor coffee creamer in my coffe and would want some in her milk we put just a little to give it a vanilla flavor and she will drink it. My 16 year old makes a smoothie with milk, banana,and some fruit and thats how he drinks his milk plus he gets the fruit as well. Good luck mom.

I have 5 kiddos under the age of 7. They never liked milk after I stopped breastfeeding....the first year or two. My pedi let me know that as long as they got dairy, not to worry. They eat yogurt, cheese and Vit D fortified fruits and snacks. None of them drink white milk....they drink chocolate, strawberry or vanilla milk --- I add the flavors. But, they do eat white milk with cereal. And, actually the older ones drink white milk at lunch at school or when we go out to eat. So, as long as your child is gaining weight correctly and your pedi. is okay with everything...don't worry about it.

Wow, it is great to read all of these spot on answers from the awesome moms here. I would just like to add there is another milk out there we have had great success with and it stimulates prolactin let down as well, one of our bodies natural antidepression neurotransmitters that work with endorphin sites. So what is it??? Oat Milk. No I didn't forget the g. We use it for lactating moms since it tastes really good and stimulates prolactin without adding mammal proteins. You buy it on the shelf so it doesn't need to be refrigerated until opened and serving it room temperature is often more appealing to the kids who are transitioning from breast. you can mix it with breast milk. It tastes better than rice or soy milk either one. It is harder to find but Sprouts, Whole foods and most health food groceries carry it. You can also use it wonderfully in smoothies or fruit blends.
Hope this is helpful to someone.

Kids actually don't need milk to get their calcium or vitamin D. The calcium in milk is actually poorly absorbed anyways:
http://www.coach-coaching-stars.com/osteoporosis.html

There are lots of other foods that contain calcium - just google non-dairy calcium. The best source of vitamin D is sunshine (so leave off the sunscreen unless you'll be out for extended periods of time). Also, cod liver oil has a natural vitamin D and the essential fatty acids are also really good for the brain. There are liquids that you can give to kids - I mix it into fruit smoothies and my kids can't taste it.

Since your son eats well, I don't think you have anything to worry about at all. It's also possible that he's avoiding milk because it bothers his tummy. Humans actually are not designed to properly digest milk.

Try adding strawberyo or chocalate flavoring to it to see if the will take it.

When my son was 1 he hated milk also. I ended up making milkshakes for him everyday! I put a banana and milk in the blender and mixed it up. It was a hassle, but he liked drinking it. Then when he was 1 1/2 or so I put him back on just plain milk.

Just wondering if he was drinking formula before he turned one. If so, you may try making some formula and slowly "weaning" him onto milk. Start with 3/4 formula and 1/4 milk for a few days and then 1/2 formula, 1/2 milk, and so on. If you need to do it in smaller increments, you can do that as well. This works well for some people. I think we did it, but he's 4 now and I can't remember.

In my family growing up (7 children)none of us ever drank milk. We are all very healthy and none of us have ever had a broken bone. I now have 5 children of my own and none of them ever drank milk. They all went straight from the breast to juice and table food. They do have milk in their cereal and everyone loves cheese. No broken bones and everyone very healthy. BTW - I still only have milk in cereal and an occasional instant breakfast and I have not been to the doctor in over 5 years and that was just to have my 5th child.

I am sure you will get lots of responses, but you can also look back in the thread discussions. There have been many questions on children not drinking milk.

My daughter who is 14 hated milk & tomoatoes when she was a baby. Ends up she is allergic to both! It was a mild enough allergy that it causes mostly tummy issues so I never noticed. We gave her soy milk when she was little so that she would drink it...to this day she drinks soy milk. I started giving her a multivitamin with calcium so that she would get enough calcium. You can ask your pediatrician about it. But, over all this was a great solution and it has worked for her.

A couple of things I wanted to share with you is that my pedi said they only need 20 oz of dairy a day, and it doesn't have to come from milk. You can give them cheese, yogurt, string cheese, and anything else you can think of. Secondly, my son didn't dring regular milk until 18 mo. We switched him to soy milk (bulk from Costco) at it's much cheaper. You could try the vanilla soy milk if you think that would help. The regular soy is not in the refrigerated section ( I know, that seems weird) but it's in a box near some other beverages. We gradually switched hm to whole milk. A friend of mine goes to Whole Foods and gets goat's milk for her son. Just don't stress about the actual milk as long as he's getting dairy, you're doing great!

Wow, moms, thanks! And thanks J. for asking this question! My 20 month old doesn't really drink milk either but since she eats tons of yogurt and cheese I've never worried about it. It's nice to have confirmation that I don't need to be worried. I love mamasource!

You could try the OJ that has added calcium..Mine won't drink cow's milk either.

I have six and so far none of them liked milk until somewhere between 18 months and 2 years. Still, they don't drink lots. They are all crazy about other dairy (cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese). I wouldn't worry about it.

Ask your pedi; however, I think you should just offer your child milk only. Maybe he will just get used to it if that is the only thing offered. We really don't give our 23 month old juice at all; only as a treat (and it is watered down). For meals she only gets milk; and then as much water as she needs throughout the day. She loves water and milk and won't finish her juice ever which is fine with me b/c of the sugar. She gets all of the fruit she needs b/c we give her actual fruit at almost every meal. However, every child is so different. So you may just ask you doctor since there might be something else going on. Good luck!!

You might try Pediasure. They have strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate. It is pretty thick and I use half of that and then dilute it with half milk. They also have different flavored "straws" you can use, like banana and chocolate. I've seen them at Wal-mart. Those are a couple of ideas. I'm sure you will get a ton more from the other mommies!

There is really no reason for him to drink milk, just make sure he gets good calcium. You might try soy milk or rice milk (vanilla &/or chocolate) he might want it a little sweeter as breast milk and formula tend to be a little sweeter.

Remember its the calcium that's important not the milk.

If your child hates milk, so be it. Humans are the only mammals that drink the milk of another mammal and our bodies are not designed to break down the sugars nor proteins of the milk of other mammals.

If he eats yogurt, fine. If he eats cheese, fine. Do a Google search and see what other calcium-rich foods are out there. As an added note --- bones become strong through exercise, not dairy consumption (although, this is what the dairy industry has drilled into our heads).

Good luck!

Of course ask the pedi, but... In my house we all like different kinds of milk. Right now 1/2 of us drink rice milk, and the other half drinks soy (which is sweet). You can get it a lot cheaper in bulk at costco if the baby ends up liking one, and the doc gives the okay.

Did he do formula at all? If so, try half formula & half milk. That is how we got ours on it and she now loves milk. We still give her 1/2 formula & 1/2 milk for breakfast and supper just so she gets more nutrients than what whole milk alone offers. My nephew hated milk (breastfed til 1 then switched), so the doc put him on vitamin d & calcium supplements (he drank no milk from 12months-22months). Now he's 2 and loves it -- he will go to the fridge and get the milk for us to pour for him! So hang in there!!

Milk is an acquired taste to little ones. My kids are 4 and 2 and are just now starting to ask for milk. Prior to this, I made them drink it in a fun and healthy way so that I knew they were getting what they needed and they would learn to like the taste of milk. I would by the Yo Baby Yorgurt drinks and pour half in a sippy cup and fill the rest with milk and shake it up. I did this for a year with each one and slowly started to cut back on adding the yogurt drink. They got what they needed and it was a little flavored for them. My kids pedi was completely OK with this process when I told her what I was doing.

Good Luck!