2.5yo and his milk

[InMediasRes]

Let me just first say that I have no qualms with cow's milk. I would prefer not to have any advice saying that we should just stop giving milk.

I give my son milk when he asks for it. For the past week (and he has been miserably irritable otherwise as well) I give him his milk, he drinks a few sips, and says he wants more. I tell him he has more in his glass and he needs to finish it before I give him more. I'm not withholding, I am perfectly willing to give him more milk, but I don't get why he has to have it in 1/4 glass increments! The whole thing almost ALWAYS ends in a total meltdown, and the only way to fix it is to give pour in a little more when he asks until it is full. If it isn't touching the rim, it's not enough milk.

Is this normal? Why is he so obsessed with this? I like to honor his requests when I can, but this just seems ridiculous to me. Is it one of those things where when I stop fighting it, he'll let it go? It's driving me batty!

[TinyMama]

Sounds like a little obsession to me.

What about a teeny tiny glass until the need goes away? Like a shot glass or something?

Or what about giving him a small pitcher of milk (a/b the amount he usually drinks) along with his glass, and letting him fill it however he wants? But when the pitcher is empty, then that's all the milk he gets.

[mandica]

The only thing I can think of is maybe its easier for him to drink from a full glass than need to tip the glass up. I agree with PP who said to try a smaller cup.

[dachshundqueen]

The milk also isn't super cold when given in larger increments and maybe he prefers it "chilled."

Liz

[Right of Passage]

I was also thinking maybe he just likes it cold, you could try adding some ice cubes. Not only would it fill his cup back up it would cool it down too.

[JL83]

We went through this a few months ago with food. She'd eat the first 1/4 of what was on her plate and demand more.

We tried obliging but that grew old very quickly. We finally just help firm and told her she'd get more when she finished what she had. Then we modeled doing the same. So for supper for 2 weeks DH and I would take a small amount (like 1/4 of what we knew we wanted to eat) and then finish it and tell each other "wow, I finished what I took and now I'm going to have seconds". That was probably what helped more than anything else.

[lonegirl]

How about little 2 or 4oz glasses. If he has to have it super cold (the best way )then store the glasses in the freezer.

[newmoon2000]

At the age of almost 3-1/2, my twins actually still enjoy drinking almond milk out of a bottle (deep sigh). Around 2-1/2 or 3yo, one of them started doing something similar to your DS. He'd ask for a bottle, we'd give him one, he'd take a sip and say "I don't want this one, I want a better one". Sometimes it would take 3 or 4 attempts to find the "better" milk. We were never able to figure out what exactly constituted a “better” milk. We tried swapping out the nipples, we tried rinsing the bottle very thoroughly (thinking maybe it tasted like soap). We've spent many hours pondering what could possibly be the problem and never quite figured it out. It went on for a few months and eventually it stopped. (Mostly -- every once in a while, he'll still reject one.)

I finally decided that it probably has little to do with the milk. I think it's more about him trying to exercise his control (definitely a 2/3yo activity). As a parenting strategy, DH and I try to let our children feel empowered in as many situations as possible, which tends to eliminate power struggles in more non-negotiable circumstances. This milk rejection issue seemed like one of those "battles" we were willing to let him "win". So, while it was going on, we simply kept the door of the refrigerator stocked with several filled bottles so that, when he rejected one, we had another waiting to offer.

Was it frustrating and annoying? Yes! Did it go on WAY longer than I thought it would? Yes! But, when it was all said and done, it was not such a big deal to go get him another milk (or two, or three, or ten). And, by empowering him whenever possible, I can already see that, compared to many other children his age, we have significantly less tantrums/power struggles over other issues.

[dollyanna]

My 16 month old has been doing something similar with food. She wants what's on MY plate. Even though it's the same as what she's eating.

Sometimes I give her my food, sometimes not. I should probably stick to something