Skim milk for babies under two?

[kaliki_kila]

A friend of mine is on WIC. She said that today she had to go to a special appointment where they went over a bunch of new guidelines and things that have changed. She said that now WIC no longer gives whole milk to babies under 2. They drink skim milk now just like children over two. She said a lot of the parents were angry about this because their babies are used to drinking the whole milk. What is their reasoning for this? The only thing I can think of is that they are worried about obesity. I can't find anything at all online about it. She even showed me the new pamphlet and it does say skim milk for babies under two (no more whole milk). I thought children under two needed the extra fat for brain development. Can anybody explain this?

[Sativarain1]

I just finished a nutrition class this semester and as of 09' the nutritional guidelines still recommended whole milk for those under age two. I would never give a toddler skim milk. Babies/toddlers need those extra calories.

[mommy2maya]

WIC switches from whole to lowfat at 2yrs old. The only difference now is that it is listed that you must get low fat for kids over 2.

http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/wicw...gGuideFAQs.pdf

[QUOTE]3. Why can’t all participants buy whole milk?
USDA rules only allow whole milk for children 1-2 years old. All other participants will get
lower fat milk choices because these are healthier choices for older children and women.
The checks will be specific to the type of milk allowed./QUOTE]

[Drummer's Wife]

yikes! I hope she's not limited to skim. I agree that whole milk is best for under two, and over two for that matter! I thought some were recommending 2% for one and older, in an attempt to fight childhood obesity. Which, I don't personally agree with, but I think skim milk is even more extreme.

[kaliki_kila]

I will ask her for the pamphlet so I can scan it and show you guys. It definitely says no more whole milk for babies under two, not just over two.

[mommy2maya]

It doesn't say that. I linked to california's WIC FAQs on the new program. It says explicitly that 1-2yrs gets whole milk only.

[kaliki_kila]

Good grief. I wouldn't come on here to lie about this. I saw the link you posted, but that is different from the pamphlet. I read it over ten times in disbelief and scoured the whole pamphlet looking for an explanation as to the research behind the new decision and there was nothing. She said parents were leaving the meeting because they were so angry/confused.

[mommy2maya]

There is no way that california is making wic babies under 2 buy skim milk. Just in case the FAQ was not enough, here is the new food guide.

It does say that only low fat milk is allowed, UNLESS WHOLE MILK is specifically listed.

http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/wicw...urWICFoods.pdf

On this leaflet it specifically says whole milk for children 12-24 months.

I dont' think you are coming here to lie about it, but I am trying to show you that someone is obviously misreading into something. It is absolutely definite that babies 12-24m get whole milk, not skim.

[anomaly13]

We are in NM, and on WIC, so it may be different. Here babies 1-2 can only get whole milk. Toddlers 2-5 and women can only get skim, 1%, or 2%. We don't drink cow's milk but I was schocked too when they told the parents this, to me children need the whole milk for the fat, while WIC is trying to reduce the amount of fat given to paticipants to try and fight childhood obesity. I think there are other things they could have cut or reduced even more to help fight childhood obesity and promote healthy eating. Getting rid of the cereal or juice and only allowing peanut butter with no sugar added. Right now only pregant (and breastfeeding?) women and underweight children get peanut butter and natural is an option but I don't think many people get it. (both cereal and juice have been reduced but honeatly I see nothing healthy in juice even if it is 100% juice, and for cereal I think only cereal offered with no sugar is grape nuts of which we have 4 boxes.)

[Sativarain1]

In an attempt to fight obesity, why doesn't WIC encourage those to not eat fast food or drink soda pop, to me that makes more sense than discouraging whole milk for children.

[anomaly13]

In defense of WIC they do encourage healthy eating habits, like excluding eating fast food/junk food and soda. They could do more though, like offer nutrition classes. Honestly you can't change people's eatting habits very easily so there is only so much educating they can do. Like I said before eliminating things like sugary cereal and juice and keeping whole milk makes the most sense. Most people on WIC will get everything they are offered, I would never dream of buying cereal if I weren't getting it for free from WIC. However I buy my own eggs because I would never eat the ones approved for WIC, but most people do because they need the assistance with food. I agree that taking away whole milk is a big mistake and not the best way to fight obesity in children.