3yo afraid of his milk going bad

[erratum]

My 3yo son, who previously loved his raw milk, is now so afraid of it going bad that he will no longer drink it. For a couple of weeks when this fear just started to develop, he would take a few sips of his milk, then put it in the refrigerator. Then it progressed to only taking sips standing in front of the open fridge door. Now refuses to drink it all together opting for water instead and occasionally offers the fun fact: "You know water doesn't go bad, mama?"
This hasn't been going on for that long and I know this sounds like no big deal (yay water!), but
1.) i KNOW he enjoys milk
2.) we're vegetarians and he is a picky eater (ie- normal 3 year old). Milk was the most readily and enthusiastically consumed sources of protein in his diet. I'm reluctant to the idea of narrowing his food choices even more.

To the best of my knowledge, he never had any experiences DRINKING bad milk, but in the past we have stopped him from drinking milk on the nightstand from the night before saying that it has gone bad.
I've tried to describe just how long it takes for milk to go bad. (hours, a time on the clock, by the time night comes). I've tried giving him a "special" (insulated) cup that helps to keep milk cold.
Any ideas on how to calm this fear or do I just wait it out.

[noah's mom]

I'm thinking you should wait it out, he's definitely at an age where fears of many things start to take hold. Just offer him water to drink for now, when he's ready he'll ask for milk again. As far as protein sources, does he like yogurt/cheese? Yogurt in particular has the protein + probiotic properties, so it's a terrific choice for non-milk drinkers.

And if it's the milk on the nightstand that was causing the fear to begin with, I would stick with water on the nightstand even after you reintroduce the milk - I would never leave milk to sit out all night on a nightstand, for 2 reasons: 1) drinking milk at bedtime/throughout the night increases the risk of cavities, and 2) exactly what you said - it could go bad.

HTH!

[D_McG]

I would just let it go. Some kids just go off milk anyway. So I wouldn't think much of it really.

[coop_mom]

you can tell him about this crazy MDC mama that you heard of that has had her raw milk for over a month and it STILL isn't rotten! it is sour, but it didn't go rotten like pasturized milk does, so it's still usable for baking pancakes and stuff

but yeah, waiting it out probably works too

--kristin (new raw milk enthusiast