My Son Doesn't like Anything Dairy!

Hi Alexis,

You hit on something important: he loves veggies! Lots of veggies actually have good calcium content- if you're worried about protein and fat maybe you could try nut or seed butters: almond butter is AWESOME (and has good calcium content) and if he has any allergies to nuts or peanuts sunflower seed butter is very tasty.

Hi Alexis,

Go to a health food/vitamin store and ask about a vitamin or an additive to go in his juice to help. My son was totally allergic to milk products and his pediatrician told me of an additive add to his juice. Good luck.

D.

I find it very interesting that your son doesn't drink/eat dairy no matter the flavor, consistancy & texture. Perhaps it's more than a dislike. Maybe intolerance or an allergy. My son was diagnosed with food allergies at 16 months (not dairy) and at that time due to his age I was instructed if he didn't like something don't give it to him. He wasn't verbal enough to tell me what was going on - tongue burning, tummy ache, etc. I would demand that you see an Allergist. T.

Much of the rest of the world doesn't drink milk, and this hasn't created any health problems. Many African and Asian people are allergic to milk. Others simply wouldn't think of drinking it, because it's not part of their usual diet. If your son is eating well otherwise, as it sounds like he is, then let him be. He's doing fine.

Sounds like you are trying and doing all of the right things, Keep offering milk and dairy products, and if you are worried you can give him a Tablespoon of liquid calcium citrate to ensure he is getting enough calcium. I like the lifetime brand of liquid calcium, it tastes good and is easy to swallow, you could mix it into yogurt or a yogurt fruit smoothie or the orange or lemon flavor would mix into juice just fine too. You can find the calcium supplement at most health food store supplement departments
good luck

Hi! Please don't make your son take diary until you've gotten him properly tested for milk allergies. Getting gassy after milk is a sign of milk allergy. He could also have delayed food allergy. Babies are very smart. If something makes them sick, they will stop taking it. My son was the same way with milk and egg. I worked really hard to reintroduce them into his diet and succeeded. But when I took him for his 3 year check up, he had fallen off the growth chart in terms of height from 75% (18 months) to under 0%. (Note: He was in the 5% at birth, so he must have been eating something right that made him grow to 75% by 18 months). His last checkup prior to the 3 year check up was at 24 months. The pediatrician kept reassuring me nothing was wrong with him that falling to the 50% was normal at 24 months and he will just continue on that path. I finally got him allergy tested (ELISA test) at 3 years of age and found that he is in fact extremely allergic to egg and moderately allergic to milk (not just lactose but also casein). Now, 4 months later on the restricted diet (I also took out wheat), he's grown 1.5" - as much as he's grown during the entire 12 months from age 2 to 3. The calcium gummies work pretty well as supplementation.

Most conventional doctors don't believe in delayed allergies and may scoff at the ELISA or ALCAT tests. However, having personally taken those tests as well as having gone on elimination diets, I believe these tests are extremely effective in identifying food allergies. Eating allergic foods can affect not only physical growth but also other areas of development. I suffered a lot of anguish wondering what was ailing my son. I hope you can avoid all that. Best wishes!

Does he show signs that are concerning? Don't worry, he will be alright. It seems he simply doesn't like it, and dairy in and of itself can cause more problems than it is worth. You can get his calcium other ways through vegetables and nuts, etx. Have you tried rice milk? It tasted much better than dairy milk. Do some research on the internet about other whole food sources of calcium and you will probably find plenty of information. Doctors get less than 8 hours of nutrition in medical school, so don't look to him for advice on nutrition because that is not what they are trained for. The are trained to look for disease and illness. Good luck, and know that your boy will be fine.

Hello Alexis: Just accept that he doesn't like the taste of it in his mouth. I have never liked plain milk unless itis VERY COLD & yogart with lots of fruit or as a dip for fruit. So I add flavoring, or ice just so I can drink it.
If he likes ral mac and cheese not the Kraft from the box powdered cheese then let him take his dairy in forms of milkshakes, cheese sticks,mac and cheese. He must be getting what he needs since he is good in other areas. Most likely he will as a teen surprize you and drink milk by the galleons. You can be sure that he will get the nutrition he needs and it is great he likes his veggie's most people can't get their children to eat those!!!
Good Luck and I hope that you find something you are comfortable with doing. Nana G

I would not worry. If your child loves veggies he is getting calcium from the leafy greens. I removed most dairy from both my kids diets years ago. They are 7 and 14 and very healthy. If you really do your homework and read up about dairy, it's not all it's cracked up to be. My kids have been taking a whole food supplement for years called Juice Plus+. Some of the veggies in the veggie capsule are broccoli, spinach, kale, cabbage. These leafy greens are full of calcium + having this in your system day in and day out is excellent for our immune systems. Go to www.StudiesOnJuicePlus.com and check out the 10 minute video that explains the importance of getting your nutrition in whole food form.

Good luck!

L.

Make sure he is getting dark green leafy vegetables; blend cooked kale or spinach in with his meatballs, etc. and you should not have to worry. Read about Asians diets low in diary yet still high in the protein and calcium and other vitamins we try to use diary to get. Diary is the scorage of the obese industrialized world.

My daughter drank strawberry milk with nestles strawberry mix or you might try ovsltine. If he like a big glass let him use it. If the dr says nothing but milk dor two days he knows he will be ok and you have to trust that and stick to it no juice. Neither of my kids would drink juice.

Maybe it bothers him.

My daughter drank milk easily. We took her off all dairy at the suggestion of the dr. when trying to figure out some focus issues. When she went back to dairy, she complained of a stomach ache. She loved milk before and now won't go near it. She will eat a little bit of cheese, but that is it.

Get him some vitamins.

Will he eat pudding? We hide the vitamins in vanilla pudding.
(She will eat 1 spoon of it a day.)

Stephanie

Since your son is so crazy about vegetables, one part of your answer might be to find out the vegetables, nuts and seeds that are particularly high in calcium, and what kinds of things need to be eaten in accompaniment to maximize calcium uptake. One thing I'm aware of is taking in a source of vitamin C and not coupling calcium consumption with iron intake, because they can compete with each other. Good luck!

Sounds like you already have some great ideas. You didn't mention ice cream, or butter. If you put butter on things will he eat it? You said you were concerned about the fat content he needs, and that would be an easy way to get dairy fat...on noodles/bread/pancakes, vegetables.

Dont worry about the milk! Broccoli is high in calcium. So is spinach, and many other foods. My son does NOT like milk (and neither do his parents) and it took a long time (like 3-4 years) before he would consent to drinking flavored milk.

Don't take this to mean that dairy is bad, it is NOT. I definitely think it is overrated tho, and the expectation that every baby needs to drink 8 bottles of milk a day and drink it growing up is probably *causing* so much milk/dairy/lactose intolerance/allergies. Go easy on it and only give him as much as he wants - if that means backing off totally on offering milk bottles, so be it. It is FINE and he is not going to be ruined for not drinking milk. Eating veggies is more important than that, so keep that up! Encourage a variety of foods in a balanced diet.

Things that worked for me since my son also did not like any milk at all when young (and now only chocolate milk a few times a week, preferably hot chocolate!) was getting him "hooked" on yogurt. We also enjoy cheese sticks and when buying OJ, I bought the one with extra calcium. Make smoothies and such with milk in them. Add a bit of dry powdered milk when making pancakes or other homemade goodies.

Hi Alexis
I wouldn't stress too much, it's a myth that we NEED milk.. Not true, we need calcium, but that can be gained via other sources, one of which is leafy greens..... I just wish the dairy associations and those in conjunction with it, would stop pushing the idea that we need cow's milk... if you go online , you can read up on alternatives to milk and other types of nutrition that give children and adults for that matter, all the vitamins they need..

best of luck