Help! My 2 year old is addicted to milk!

[Momof3Girlz]

I really could use some suggestions. My 2 year old dd wants nothing to do with food and only wants milk with Ovaltine powder and sugar mixed into it. She used to love oatmeal, but now she doesn't want anything to do with it much. My DD is a junk food junkie! She wants crackers, cookies, chips...she like fruit cups with syrup :

I'm at my wits end here, because this milk habit is quite expensive and it's really interfering with her getting a well rounded diet. I've even taken to giving her a multi vit everyday as a precaution.

Has anyone ever gone through this? So far today she's eaten: A bite of cheerios/milk, bugels, a pear, milk, milk,....that's it! I've been trying to feed her (more like force her) pasta babyshells with sauce and cheese. She doesn't want it!

Should I quit cold turkey with the milk? I shudder at the thought of all the steroids and yucky stuff she's ingested over the last year since going on whole milk! I really don't know what to do!

[mom3]

I don't know how forceful your dd is about getting what she wants, but most kids will eat anything when they get hungry enough. If possible, I would buy organic milk which seems to taste better without adding stuff to it and slowly decrease the amount of Ovaltine and sugar you put into it. Once the extras are gone she may not want it as much. If she still only wants milk I would try limiting the amount she gets each day. Maybe you could have a special "milk cup" and when she drinks it all tell her only water for the rest of the day and offer a healthy snack like yogurt or a banana, which is naturally sweet. It will take time to adjust her taste buds if she's gotten used to "junk". I try not to even buy the stuff because if it's not here my son can't eat it (helps me eat better too ).

PS My twins were born May 8 2002

[Jish]

My two year old loves milk -- and I mean just the plain old stuff, nothing added. I had to be the mean mommy and tell him that milk is for meals only. He gets a cup (actually less than a true cup, maybe 4 or 5 ounces) for each meal -- that's it. When it is gone it is water for him and water only between meals. He didn't like it at first, but now he will occasionally ask for water at a meal also. I guess he decided that it wasn't so bad.

My son is also a junk food lover, and would eat it all the time if I would let him. There are times that we simply have to "run out" (if you get my drift) of things. I have tossed things that we have issues with in the trash just so I could tell him that we don't have anymore. Yes, he pitches a fit for a while, but that's the way it is, and he gets used to it. Then I offer an alternative snack or drink. Eventually he takes it and I simply don't buy (or let him see:sinister) the offending item.

Maybe I'm a big meany, but I can handle a day or two of tantrums for a good outcome. It's not like I'm being mean, I'm doing it because I love him.

It must work if my 4 1/2 year old is any indication. He is now very understanding of things like this and will self regulate. For example, I had on Dr. Phil yesterday when he got up from his nap. It was the show on the morbidly obese toddlers. He asked why they were so fat, and I explained the many reasons someone could get that overweight. I focused heavily on poor food choices, and too much tv and video games (a heavy issue in our house now.) He told me that he didn't want to play video games as much anymore and that I should set the timer for him when he plays so he will know when to stop.

I hope my two year old turns out to be so agreeable. :

[kaje62]

First of all I would do 1/2 the ovaltine and 1/2 the sugar for about a week or so and then cut that in half and eventually do none.