How much milk does your toddler drink?

[Laila619]

How much milk does your toddler drink per day? Does he/she drink whole cow's milk, or something else? Thanks a bunch!

 

[Jennifer W]

None. She doesn't really care for it, although she'll occasionally ask for some and take a few sips. It is obviously a great source of calcium, but it certainly isn't the only source (and I think it's revolting). I don't think it's necessary or even a particularly a good idea for toddlers to drink cow's milk, but lots of people swear by it.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

My son's milk intake has really dropped. I bet he drinks no more than 5 or 6 oz a day (whole milk). He's allergic to tree nuts/peanuts so we can't do the alternatives, like almond milk, though I also agree with Jennifer that cow's milk (or any animal's milk) is kind of gross. He's also a very skinny boy and the lazy part of me likes that he can get fat easily through milk. We also are vegetarian, but not vegan, so he does eat other milk-based products, which makes it seem silly to not give him cow's milk when he eats it in other ways.

 

[Puppmom]

My little guy is 17 mos and loves cow's milk and soy milk. He drinks about 18 ounces per day (whole) and about 10 ounces or so of water. He just loves to drink in general. He doesn't eat very well so I'm happy for the caloric intake.

 

[Sha]

My 2 year old drinks 18 oz a day (6 oz 3 times a day). She gets mostly formula and whole cow's milk. We introduced cow's milk when she was 1.

 

[TravelingGal]

My girls is 3 years, 8 months old and drinks 16-24 oz a day of whole milk.

 

[Lottie]

Mine are 17 months and nearly 4 and both drink roughly 7oz of whole milk each morning and evening.

 

[Laila619]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. Hmm, my one year old will barely drink 4 oz. of whole milk a day. I think he does like it, but he just isn't a big drinker.

 

[qtiekiki]

My 3.5 years old doesn't drink any milk unless it's chocolate milk, and my 22.5 months old drink ~ 6oz in the morning.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

B has 8 oz of Baby's Only formula in the morning. That's it. He doesn't like regular milk and I think it's gross too He eats lots of yogurt and cheese and fish plus lots of fruits and veggies and takes a multi-vitamin.

 

[lucy.lucy.80]

my 16 month old daughter will drink about 8-10oz of cows milk a day & 6oz of yogurt a day. Her ped said no more than 24oz of milk a day after 1 year old or it could ruin their appetite

what was he drinking before?
...my daughter was allergic to cows milk until a year old so when she outgrew the allergy we mixed cows milk with her formula for the first month or so until she aquired the taste for cows milk- you may want to try that if you have not already...if not maybe try yogurt (like "Yo Baby" or "Yo Toddler"?)

 

[TravelingGal]

My girls is 3 years, 8 months old and drinks 16-24 oz a day of whole milk.

I just realized that that should have said 16-20, not 24. This kid wouldn't eat if she drank 3 cups of milk a day!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Hunter is a milk fiend and has been since he started drinking it at 12 months. I would say he pretty consistenly drinks 2 cups per day? Maybe even more? He also eats a tonne, but looks slim to me.

 

[nfowife]

My DD turned 1 just a few days after your baby (b.12/15) and she consistently drinks 10-12 oz/day which my pediatrician was super happy about. I am pleased as well, considering she's only been drinking milk for about 3 weeks. It took my older 2 kids quite a bit longer- maybe 2-3 months- to work up to the around 12-16oz that I believe is recommended for most toddlers. I introduced milk when I started weaning her from nursing.
So long as your baby is eating other dairy stuff (yogurt, cheese), and eating and drinking water and growing, I wouldn't worry.
My older 2, now 4 and 6, really toned down their milk intake around 3 years old and now don't drink much at all (if we go out to eat they will have chocolate milk as a treat but otherwise we're a water family).

 

[noelwr]

I was told not more than 10 oz of low fat milk per day after they turn 1. Keep in mind, milk is processed differently here and not pumped full of stuff. It took Skye only a week to convert from formula to cow's milk.

 

[beesha77]

None. She doesn't really care for it, although she'll occasionally ask for some and take a few sips. It is obviously a great source of calcium, but it certainly isn't the only source (and I think it's revolting). I don't think it's necessary or even a particularly a good idea for toddlers to drink cow's milk, but lots of people swear by it.

Same here. My kids have never been fond of milk really. They pretty much went from breastmilk to water. We tried soy milk for a while but they didn't really like that either. I don't really think it's necessary.

 

[LALove]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. Hmm, my one year old will barely drink 4 oz. of whole milk a day. I think he does like it, but he just isn't a big drinker.

My nearly 3 yr old would prefer to never eat food and only drink whole organic cows milk if I let him. It's like crack to him I guess. He probably drinks 10oz a day (but would probably drink 50oz if allowed!) When he turned 1 he totally shunned the bottle and wanted nothing to do with milk in a cup. So, stupid me, I kept offering it (as part of his bedtime routine) until he wanted it again. Now, at almost 3, he still has a "baba" before naps and bed and still refuses milk out of a cup. At least he was potty trained in only 2 days including wearing big boy underwear at night and not 1 accident so far! Now to get him off bottles...

Here are some good ideas on ways to make sure your DS is getting enough calcium:
http://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler-nutrition/calcium-for-toddlers.aspx

(oh and don't forget vitamin D to promote calcium absorption - DS goes outside every day for a small dose of sun/vit D as well as a multi vit)

 

[Mara]

My kiddo also doesn't drink much milk and hasn't since around 13-14mo. We never gave him milk in sippies or anything, just in bottles, we only gave him water otherwise...so he wasn't that into drinking a ton of milk from the sippy. Once his last bottle weaned, at about 13mo, he only got milk in the mornings in a cup. I think from around 13mo+ he only drank about 4-6oz of milk per day, but he loves yogurt, cheese and other calcium rich dairy so we just make sure he gets enough of that every day. Also I've been giving him daily vitamins since around 8mo. Anyway our pedi was never really worried and he's thriving (he's 23mo now) so I didn't worry. Now he'll drink more liquids from cups than he would have even 4-5mo ago, but he still won't drink say 8oz in a morning or anything of ANY liquid.

 

[Pandora II]

None, I don't think it's a good thing to give kids. It's full of sugar, the calcium it contains is mainly unavailable to the human body (you get more from broccoli) and we are not designed to consume it.

I do give Daisy cheese and yoghurts and I use cream and milk for cooking, so I'm not anti-dairy, I'm just anti giving glasses of milk to children.

On the other hand, D is still firmly hooked on human milk and I wouldn't like to guess how much of that she gets a day - but a lot...

 

[drk]

I'd bet K is lucky if she drinks 6oz in a day. She's really not a fan - she chugged it back no problem in her bottle till almost 18mo, then when we got rid of the bottle, it became a huge struggle to get any milk into her. Now she gets some with her cereal in the morning and I think her nanny gets her to drink a small glass somehow during the day. In the evening, I can occasionally get her to drink 2-3oz via a straw cup. She loves cheese and yogurt, and will eat pretty much anything else (other than fruit), so I'm not too concerned.
On the other hand, K really can't get enough water. And she loves things like mango lassi, which I'm sure are chock full of sugar, so she doesn't get them too often.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Aidan has been drinking organic WCM since he was 14 mos. He drinks 16-24oz/day and the rest of the time he drinks water or very diluted cranberry juice (his favorite). I'd say he drinks a total of 36-40 oz of fluid/day. He's relatively low on the growth charts for height and weight (25th for both), so my doctor isn't concerned about him drinking too much whole milk and TBH, he's not the best eater, so I like knowing that he's getting the extra calories from the milk.

 

[drk]

K doesn't drink much milk, but she eats like a horse. And she's great at trying new things too, which I attribute to us giving her all sorts of stuff off our plates from about 9 months on, and making our own baby foods for the most part early on, so that she got used to different textures from the start. Last night we went to get take out sushi, and the place gives you a free hand roll while you ate. She split it with me, and then tried to refuse to go home, saying "more sushi" (in German) very loudly. She drinks water like there's no tomorrow. I'd like it if she'd drink a little more milk, but I'm not too worried.

 

[Laila619]

Thanks for all the replies, everyone!

My son still nurses 2x per day, but I really want to try to get him to drink a bit more whole milk. I'll keep at it.

 

[Pandora II]

Thanks for all the replies, everyone!

My son still nurses 2x per day, but I really want to try to get him to drink a bit more whole milk. I'll keep at it.

If you are still nursing then I really wouldn't worry - cow's milk contains more calcium, but the calcium in breastmilk is much more available to the human body and so the breastmilk is far more beneficial to your son than anything a cow might provide.

It's also worth bearing in mind that around 50% of people have a lactose intolerance (rises to 95% of Asians, 80% of Africans and pretty much 100% of Native Americans) and so pushing milk may be a bad idea and suggestive of an intolerance.

I never liked milk as a child and still have recollections of being forced to sit for hours over a glass of milk at school and at my grandparents that I would not drink. In my family (3 siblings), I am the only one without a lactose intolerance and the only one who didn't consume milk as a child - the others drank it like it was going out of fashion.

Please don't feel you need to force your son to drink milk if he doesn't wish to.

 

[Laila619]

Pandora, I'm mainly worried not about calcium, but about fat intake--he is not a good eater. He mainly eats yogurt, crackers, waffles, and fruit. That is not enough fat! He needs fat for his growing brain, so that's why I would like him to drink more whole milk, for the milk fat. He won't nurse any more than 2x per day unfortunately, he's just not interested.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Pandora, I'm mainly worried not about calcium, but about fat intake--he is not a good eater. He mainly eats yogurt, crackers, waffles, and fruit. That is not enough fat! He needs fat for his growing brain, so that's why I would like him to drink more whole milk, for the milk fat. He won't nurse any more than 2x per day unfortunately, he's just not interested.

Laila, I'm not sure how much fat toddlers need in their diet (though I'd love to learn more about that! I just don't know anything about it myself so can't comment), but wondering if he would eat pancakes (in which case you could sneak whole milk cottage cheese or shredded cheese into them!) Not sure if you could do the same with waffles in a waffle iron, as I have never tried it, but S loves her cheesy pancakes! Just a thought. Will he eat eggs?