21 month old refusing milk

Erana - posted on 11/14/2010

My daughter is in this faze too. My doctor recommended that I use a sugar free flavoring that has splenda as the substitute. I use sugar free hersheys syrup that is made with splenda.

Kristen - posted on 11/12/2010

Thanks for the links! Along with milk, she wouldnt touch cheese's, yogurts, she wont even eat ice cream. I thought it was weird that she was that way and used to think "why is my kid the only who won't eat mac-n-cheese", but learning she was lactose intolerant years later it made sense, she just wasnt able to verbally tell me it was upsetting her tummy =( She drinks OJ with extra calcium and I make her eat a yogurt cup each day now so I know she is getting most of her daily needs. Now that I see there are other foods that have calcium, some of which she has been eating and I was just clueless the calcium was in there I feel a lot better! Thank you SOOO much again. When she was little she used to eat all veggies and fruits, she still loves any and all fruits, but maaaan she cut her veggie taste's to almost nothing =/

Kristy - posted on 11/12/2010

My daughter did this and i just kept offering her milk 3 times a day and eventually the phase passed, took about 6 weeks and she started to drink it just fine again. Apart from milk though my daughter only got water and occasionally juice so if she wanted the juice i would say no you havent drunk your milk today. sometimes she would have her milk for some juice but otherwise don't stress, it should pass.

Melanie - posted on 11/11/2010

I would try some low sugar chocolate milk mix and make it less than they say to, then use less and less until he will drink only the milk. I also make it consitant that my kids drink milk at Lunch and Dinner, and only get water or juice in between. Hope this helps

Sam - posted on 11/11/2010

I'm having the complete opposite problem with my son. All he ever wants is milk. He's actually never been a great solid food eater. We didn't get him on baby food until he was 8 months, and his diet still was still mainly formula until he was almost a year. I honestly wouldn't worry about it too much.

He did go through a phase where he wouldn't drink it plain though. I added Carnation instant breakfast to it[The no sugar added] because of the nutrients in it.

Christine - posted on 11/11/2010

Since he's nearly 2, I wouldn't stress too badly about it.. as long as he's getting dairy from other places.. cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese.. etc.
Toddlers go through odd eating phases.. my daughter under the age of 2 loved tomatoes and onions.. now almost 4 she doesnt like them now.. weird.. how quickly tastes change.. but they do.

But if you're giving the nutrients he needs in other areas, then it should be fine.

If he uses a cup.. you could also try this if you're really concerned...
but my daughter over the past few months hasn't wanted to drink her milk either.. I dont' really give her juice since it's so high in sugar.. and she doesn't get soda.. all she wants to drink is ICE water.. not cold water.. but ICE Water.. *lol*

Ok.. so weird.. but grateful she likes water so much.. but still.. I do feel better when she gets at least one glass of milk down..
so what I did is I got a jar of marachino cherries.. you know the kind you put on an Icecream Sundae.

And I pour her milk and plop a cherry in her milk. Sometimes I'll pour a drop or two of the cherry juice in there too.. not always.. but sometimes.. it makes the milk pink..

the first time my daughter saw it.. I had told her I was going to give her a glass of milk and that she needed to drink it.. handed her her milk.. and she looked at it.. laughed.. and said "Mama.. it's pink !"..
So I played dumb.. and acted like I was surprised.. she asked if it came from a pink cow? *lol* We joked a bit.. but sure enough.. she drank it.. and when she got to the bottom and found the cherry was thrilled !

Now she always drinks her milk .. and sometimes I put a cherry in.. sometimes I don't.. she never knows.. bu she'll drink her milk to see if there's a cherry.. and on special occasions I'lll make the milk pink again with the cherry juice.

Then the other thing I do too.. is I'll give her chocolaate milke to get the milk into her.. just the quick stuff.. and like 1/3 or 1/2 a spoonful.. relaly not much but enough to change the color of the milk so I can tell her it's chocolate milk with out her getting a sugar overdose.

But change his milk up some.. maybe he's just bored with it... the issue could really be as simple as that.

JoAnn - posted on 11/10/2010

Kristen, There are MANY substitutes for milk. The greatest benefit of milk is the Calcium it provides which help with bone and joint health and growth. Calcium can be found in many food products and vitamins. There are MANY people whom can not or just do not drink milk for many reason whom have health bones and get there daily recommended amount of calcium.

JoAnn - posted on 11/10/2010

First I would ask myself 2 questions. 1. Does drinking milk seam to make him uncomfortable is anyway? Maybe he is getting a tummy ach from it, have you asked him? If it is a medical issue then pushing him to drink it anyways is not a good idea. 2. I would ask myself is this a battle of witts or does he really just not want milk with this meal, Maybe he really wants juice or water or something else to drink, there comes a day for every child when they start making these decisions for them selves. Maybe you tell him he can have the water now with breakfast but for lunch he has to have milk or no juice later. This way he feels like a big boy and that he has some control of the situation and he gets his milk.

September - posted on 11/10/2010

Here's another website specific to children..this one may be more helpful.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/calcium-r...

September - posted on 11/10/2010

Kristen here's a website that you can take a look at. I'm not sure what your kids like to eat but our son is not a picky eater and never has been. So he will eat just about everything that is listed on the website I provided for you. I guess it all depends on what you fed your children when they were smaller which usually determines what they will eat when they are older. We have always offered our son a wide variety of foods which I think is the reason he loves all kinds of foods. Hope the website is helpful :)
http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/nutrition/...

Kristen - posted on 11/10/2010

Go ahead and name them......I'll wait......all kinds you say? Stuff kids will eat im hoping.....

September - posted on 11/09/2010

Kristen milk is not VITAL. Yes it is a great way of meeting a child's calcium needs but it’s by far the only means of doing so. There is calcium in all kinds of foods!

September - posted on 11/09/2010

Don't worry about it too much. Our son has never been a big milk drinker and I like you worried about it as well. At one of our son's well baby check up's I talked about this with our pediatrician. He told us to keep offering the milk to also be sure to offer other foods that contain calcium as well such as yogurt, cheese, white beans, navy beans, tofu, oatmeal, nuts, cabbage, bok choy and so on. You can google more ideas if you would like. IMO I would stay clear of chocolate syrups and powders, they are full of sugar and just not a healthy way of going about meeting a child's calcium needs, but that's just me. Our son has gotten a little better with his milk as he's gotten older but he would still prefer water over milk our son loves all the foods listened above so I know his calcium needs are being meet even though he's a light milk drinker. You could always talk to your pediatrician as well if you're really concerned. Good luck!

Jacquelyn - posted on 11/09/2010

My daughter went through this phase 2 where she wouldnt drink milk at all...So I bought the nesquick powdered mix strawberry flavored they have the 25% less sugar kind my daughter loves it now when I open the fridge & say juice or milk she points 2 the milk

Amber - posted on 11/09/2010

I flavored my sons milk with Nestle Choc the powder kind just one spoon, he loves it. Now we switch it up he will drink it either way @2

Kristen - posted on 11/09/2010

anyone who says milk isnt required must have this sooo awesome substitute for your child's bone and teeth growth? Im sorry, but from MY experience it is VITAL to your children!! My daughter never took milk, she is lactose intolerant (something I didnt know until recently and she is 7 now) I wish I knew how important it was to her growing health! I wish I knew about subsitutes! At the age of 4 she got 4 teeth pulled, and now at 7 she needs 3 more pulled, why? because she didnt drink the milk or a substitute for milk for her growing needs. I never understood why her teeth were so bad, because we took great care with brushings and flossings, but now learning the hard way, I know! If you think its because he has a taste for something else, keep on him, he needs you to keep pushing on him!! I think the flavored idea is awesome!

Vicki - posted on 11/07/2010

I don't think milk (other than human breastmilk obviously) is a requirement for health. Humans are the only animals who drink milk of another species after they have weaned from their mothers.

If your son has a balanced diet otherwise he should be fine without it.

HEATHER - posted on 11/07/2010

If you didn't change brands of milk or % of fat content, then I would believe he's just expressing his opinion. I wouldn't worry too much .. but I'd call your pediatrician if he's still refusing after a week.

If you don't already, try letting him choose what he wants to drink (give a choice between 2 options -- if you really want to push the milk, make him choose between plain milk and flavored milk).

Aicha - posted on 11/07/2010

sounds like he is going through a weird food faze my 2 older children did when they were his age for weeks all they would eat for breakfast lunch and dinner was peanut butter and strawberry jelly on whole wheat I just let them eat the pbjs until the faze passed , You could try flavoring his milk and seeing if that helps