what's your take on milk (cows!) as a beverage?

[tzs]

so....obviously "they" recommend waiting on cows' milk until a year...so we listened. but now we're coming up on a year and i'm confused as to the role that milk is going to play in a kiddo's life.

i'm not a vegan, not even close, but i've personally never liked milk. i hated it as a kid and the idea of it seems a little weird to me. just a little, not something to get riled up about. i'll eat in in cereal or whatnot but drinking? blah! so that's where i'm coming from.

so far my babe drinks water with her meals. we did blw and she drinks from an open cup. she does get thirsty and does a good job of downing her water and occasionally wanting more. and i like the idea that she's drinking water with meals.

so now that she's going to be a big girl, do i start giving her milk with meals? it seems like the thing that most kids drink with food but i personally think water just seems better, more refreshing. or do they need that nutrition? i could see doing milk with breakfast since it fills you up and acts almost as a side dish (or as part of a snack or something) but as far as a beverage choice after lunch or dinner water just seems better to me and that's what she's been drinking.

what do most moms do? do they switch to milk at one year? or is it that most babes aren;t drinking water before a year anyway and when they start with a cup it's milk????
it's also a question in my mind as she'll be moving up to the toddler room at "school" in a couple weeks and they give milk with meals in there....but i'm more just confused as to child-meal protocol at home!

[carmel23]

Personally, I've never liked milk, either. We don't drink cows milk (gross) and are frequently dairy free, often eat vegan, but I would never say "I'm vegan" cause I sometimes eat animal protein.

I'll consume cultured dairy (yogurt, cheese). But since my daughter was dairy intolerant, we've ditched milk.

We drink some almond milk, some rice milk (from companies that monitor for arsenic), and eat lots of green veggies, etc.

Now I've nursed my kids past 2 years, so it isn't like at one I hand them a cup of almond milk.

With meals we drink water, and they nurse for the "milk" effect. A cup of water should always be given with solid food IMO.

It is totally possible to not consume cow milk. And if we did I'd probably try to get it from a local diary (organic means nothing since the largest dairy produces ultra pasturized "organic" milk, horizon, has a totally gross product, imo.

Mass produced milk is gross to me, though. I might try goat milk, though.

I think day cares in some states by law must offer milk with meals.

hope my rambling helps!

[octobermom]

I'm also not vegggie vegan or any of that we eat a lot of "dairy" around here also but milk as a drink has never been a big thing.. Overall from the time a "beverage" other than breastmilk/formula was introduced it has been mostly water.. 90% of times we drink water with meals we drink water between when thirsty.. I cook with milk when a recipie calls for it, we use milk in cereal and like dozen or so times a year a year my DD asks for a drink of milk and I give it no biggie its jsut not pushed or required in any way.
I also though allow Juice soda ect its jsut rare those oppurnuities come up.

Edit to say.. my oldest is 7.5 years obviously I'd not give soda or really straight juice to a 1 year old. Thought I should make that clear.. LOL
Deanna

[sunnygir1]

We don't drink milk either. When dd was in daycare I had to get a note from a doctor or chiropractor that she shouldn't have milk. When she was 1-2 she had water as a substitute, and at 2-3 she had almond milk -- not because I think the almond milk was better, but more because she liked it and the other children were drinking milk. Now I run a daycare in my home, and she wants milk because I have to serve it to the other children, so the almond milk continues at breakfast and lunch. Other than that we drink water.

I agree with your instinct that water is the healthiest beverage. I really don't think drinking milk is healthy. We eat dairy, and cook with it, but I don't see any need to drink it or have my children do so. We have an excellent and varied diet and my children are very healthy and good eaters (well, ds is just getting going on the eating thing ).

I breastfed dd until she was 27 months, and intend to breastfeed ds until he is at least 2. It is possible that I would think some kind of milk or toddler formula was appropriate if I weaned them by 1 year, but I kind of think I would just work on their diet. I would do goat yogurt smoothies long before a big old glass of cow milk.

Dairy is mucus-forming, and it just drives me nuts to see all those children with colds drinking tons of milk. I know it is nutritious, but it is not good for sick people. When dd gets a cold I cut out all dairy, and if she's really sad about it I might allow her a little goat cheese.

I agree with a pp about mass-produced milk. For a while I was getting raw milk from a local farm and making my own yogurt and kefir, but I got out of the habit when I was on a strict diet during my pregnancy and ds's colic. When I can't get raw milk, I get unhomogenized milk because homogenization creeps me out, as does ultra pasteurization that apparently gives milk a 6 month shelf-life...yuck.

Jeez, I guess I could go on forever with thoughts on milk!

[ann_of_loxley]

Cows milk is nasty. I have never liked it either. I don't like the thought of it. And whilst I am not a vegan either I do not think cows milk (or any other animals milk for that matter) should be consumed. It is not good or healthy really (and research shows that it is actually not needed at all).

My baby can have all the breastmilk they wan't until they self wean. After that, the choice is theirs. We tend to just drink water in our house. Occassionally other drinks. I use a milk alternative for cooking with but any kind of milk is just not drunk as a drink.

Most people I knwo who offer cows milk as a drink (at meals or otherwise) also formula feed and that is just what they move onto once their lo hits a year old.

[CherryBomb]

If baby is still nursing, I don't see any reason for them to drink anything other than water. I don't give my kids milk regularly until they've weaned. QUALITY milk IS good for you. We drink 100% grassfed, organic, non-homogenized milk that's produced locally (and it's HTST pasteurized, which is the minimum you can do and still legally sell). Real milk and the mass produced crap are NOT the same thing, not even close.

[alegna]

As long as the baby/toddler is still nursing, there is no need for another animal's milk. And past toddlerhood, milk is not needed.

We RARELY give the kids milk. It's a treat when we go out for dd to have milk (cartons are fun... ) and once in awhile she asks for it. Ds hates plain cow's milk but once in a blue moon gets chocolate.

-Angela

[mtiger]

My kids drink milk. So do I. Good stuff when it's nice and cold. Great with a turkey sammich at Thanksgiving!

But it's a personal choice, IMO. If kiddo tries it and likes it? There are worse things to drink. If she doesn't like it? No big deal, either.

[russsk]

DS drinks milk. I personally don't really like it, but as a kid I wasn't given a choice - you had to drink a huge glass of milk with meals. I ask DS what he wants to drink. With dinner he usually chooses water, and with breakfast or snack he often asks for milk. Other times it's usually water.

[tzs]

thanks for the input.
i do think milk goes well with some things....cookies being the no-brainer! but like...milk with a meal? i just don't see it. i don't see myself objecting at daycare so we'll see how she likes it and maybe i'll offer it with an appropriate breakfast or snack and we'll keep up with the other dairy.
we also have the added kosher restriction of no dairy for 6 hours after meat so i guess we wouldn't always do milk anyway.
i just always see kids drinking milk at meals so i wasn't sure if they needed it, yk? i do still nurse now but i really don't think my supply is all that great and there are times that she even throws a fit until she gets a bottle of formula after nursing so i'm not sure how long we were going to continue. i think i was going to see how her falling asleep changes after starting more daycare and if she still needed the nursing to sleep part.

[cristeen]

Milk is not really a beverage in our house. It's an ingredient. Which isn't to say i won't have a glass w my cookies, but it's rare.

We're starting to discuss when we want to wean our guy off the formula, but cows milk isnot going to be the alternative.

[sewchris2642]

Recommended doesn't mean that it's necessary. We drink milk for breakfast (well, at least dh and Dylan do; the girls did; I don't) and I cook with it. We eat way more cheese, yogurt, and milk kefir than drink milk. Dairy is an easy way for toddlers to get plenty of protein, calcium, etc. But certainly not the only way. And the dairy industry has a very effective lobby.

[happysmileylady]

I think you will find a lot of different answers on this board. You will find some folks who will say that milk is completely unnecessary, some folks that will say it's not only unnecessary but unhealthy, some folks that will say it is necessary because the milkfat is necessary for developing little ones, some that will say it's healthy but you can get the nutrients from other sources etc etc.

I don't think milk is bad for little ones. I think it's a good source of calcium, so I give it to mine regularly. But I think you can get that calcium into them from other souces if you chose.

But, I would caution you on using YOUR simple dislike of it as a reason to avoid giving it to your child. If you have solid reasons (nutrient levels, organic concerns and costs, whatever) then that's fine, but I try to serve my child all manner of healthy foods and drinks, regardless of whether or not I personally like them. My oldest loves sweet potatos, DH and I hate them. So we don't have them often, but I do make sweet potatos just for her on occasion. The fact that I don't like them shouldn't prevent her from enjoying them.

[ThisCat]

I don't serve milk with meals. I think it would keep my kids from eating well. But once they were well on their way to self-weaning and down to only nursing at nap time and bedtime (around a year and half for my second and shortly after two for my first), I started giving them a cup of milk once a day. I figured at that point a little added milk in their diet wasn't going to encourage weaning any further, and it would provide some nutritional benefit plus I thought they might like it which they both did. My daughter enjoyed a glass first thing in the morning when she dropped that nursing. But now instead she and my son have a cup as part of a mid-afternoon snack. My daughter sometimes asks for a little before bed too which is fine with me.

[staceychev]

There's a big push when we go into well visits for milk (meaning with my older DD, who's just turned 5), but I don't think it's a huge deal, and I don't think the ped nurses do either. We did give her milk when she started daycare at 14 months, but I've come to believe it's what gives her this hacking cough that she has off and on. She's been asking for milk-as-beverage again lately and the cough is back.

In Feeding the Whole Family, Cynthia Laird writes that she considers milk a food, and not a beverage because, although it contains a fair amount of water, it's also loaded with calories, protein and fat, and is therefore better suited as a mini-meal or a snack than as an accompaniment to a meal. She also writes about how both soy milk and cows' milk are notoriously difficult to digest, and therefore you should watch closely for how you child takes it. Finally, she writes that there's a strong correlation between cows' milk sensitivities and congestion and recurrent ear infections. (All on p 49, if you want to reference.)

[greenemami]

I think that recommendation is also assuming that you are no longer nursing and/or formula feeding, so that the cow milk is now replacing the nutrition from breastmilk or formula. I nursed dd unitl she was 2-1/2 and never really gave her milk and plan to do the same for ds. Dsd (stepdaughter) grew up drinking milk with every meal, so she will usually have milk with dinner, but I ask that she drink water at other times because I think water is more important than milk. Dd will ask for milk when dsd gets it so she does occasionally get it as a beverage, but again I just think that water is better for her and am confident that she gets plenty of nutrients from her food. I do cook with milk fairly often and use other dairy frequently otherwise, I just don't see the need to fill up on milk at every meal as a drink.

[Peony]

I do not drink milk, I dislike the taste and the idea. My DH drinks milk frequently. Our kids nurse until they self wean which has been around 3 or so, I never offer milk as a beverage, but eventually they ask for "daddy milk" to drink. My older two do drink a glass almost every day, they ask for it, I have never offered cows milk to them, and they usually use it as a mini-snack instead of along with meals.

[LadyCatherine185]

I love milk, and drink a bit of it. DS drinks half coconut milk/half water throughout the day. When I still had a breastmilk supply he only drank water with meals. My supply dimished when he was around 19/20 months old due to pregnancy. He eats a wide variety of solids though, including yogurt and cheese, fruits, veggies, meats, whole grains, etc. He is not a picky eater at all.

Most people give milk to help "fill in the gaps" because toddlers are notoriously picky eaters. And a lot of research shows that toddlers need full-fat milk until age 2. However, if she is eating a well-balanced diet with lots of good fats/proteins/calcium, there is no need to give cow's milk.

[tzs]

Originally Posted by staceychev

, although it contains a fair amount of water, it's also loaded with calories, protein and fat, and is therefore better suited as a mini-meal or a snack than as an accompaniment to a meal.

this is exactly how i was feeling about it but couldn't really get it into words.

[Ldogg]

This is an interesting topic, and one that I've wondered about a lot too! I'm also not a milk drinker (lactose intolerant) but eat all other dairy--the lactose in milk is the only place it really gets to me, except when I OD on ice cream.

I don't think I'm going to go out of my way to give cow's milk to my DD, but one benefit I can see to milk is the vitamin D. But I think Americans ingest far too much dairy, so I hope to give her vitamin D some other way - probably some combination of sun and supplement.