1 Yo Won't Drink Milk

My son is 26 months old and has never had milk...he refuses to drink it. He does not like dairy period and refused any other forms of milk as well. With that said, he is a healthy 31 pounds and in the 95% for height. Milk is not necessary. For calcium just start introducing things like broccoli and beans and salmon (I think this has to be w/the bone though), dark leafy greens, etc. Go luck!

Once a human child is weaned, he does not need the milk of a different mammal to survive or thrive. None of my children were ever big milk drinkers. We are a big water drinking family. Talk to his doctor about suggestions for anything else missing in his diet for other food suggestions, like cheese, yogurt, certain fruits and veggies, flax seed, etc

You can also give him full fat yogurt and cheese, broccoli, etc to make up for the decrease in milk. But just keep offering it warm and he'll come around. And this might be the perfect time to ditch the bottle since he's not missing it. I have a friend that actually starts ditching the bottles (because she can not breastfeed) around 9 months old and by the time her kids are 1 they are completely using sippy cups. No bottle fights in her house!

in my personal opinion, we don't need cows milk. its a dairy industry thing... we are a vegan family and none of us drink any milk ever... not even my 17 month old. milk is for baby cows. my kids are all fine and healthy - we give them multivitamins and they get their calcium from other sources. cows milk is also extremely fattening - its healthier to avoid it.

Liza and Ree are correct. Your son doesn't need milk to thrive!
I can attest to this with my 14 yr. old son who has never had dairy products in his life and is 5'10" and still growing like a weed.
Dairy is not the best way to get calcium. Dark green leafy veggies, sesame seeds, molasses, calcium fortified oj, and many other foods are actually abosorbed more efficiently than dairy. You can use rice, almond, hazelnut, hemp milks if you want. Many of those are available with extra Ca. and vit D added too!
Water is fine to give to your son.
We are also a vegan family and use multi vitamins to supplement our whole food organic diet.
You might want to read "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell to find out more about this topic.
Hope this helps.
L. M

He'll drink it when he gets thirsty enough. With my kids, it was the only thing I offered them, and they ended up giving in and drinking it. With my second, he went without drinking almost an entire day, but that night drank a whole cup of milk. The next day he was all about the milk. If you give in and give your child something else, he'll wait out the next time because he knows he has other options.

It's okay he doesnt drink a lot of milk, my husband and son (and I) drink very little milk. My son would never take any milk, formula, etc so once he stopped breastfeeding (or I should say *I* stopped, he never was very interested) he didnt drink milk after that.

I worried for a while until I realized that we as a nation right now place far too much emphasis on little kids having milk all the time. Think about how the pioneers did it - they only had milk to drink when their cow had a calf, and then it had to stretch among cooking needs, all the rest of the family, and of course the calf as well. (I do wonder if this is why there are so much milk allergies/intolerance going on, because we are overdoing it on the milk consumption?? Soy milk is not the answer.)

Calcium and vitamin D is a concern but you get that by eating a variety of foods like green leafy lettuce/spinach (the darker lettuce the better- and yes he'll probably eat it if you let him have salad dressing, esp as a dip), broccoli, yogurt, and even orange juice. As long as your child drinks water (which no body can live without, it really should be our main drink, and it is in our house, each one of us LOVES water!) and some other fluids, it doesn't *have* to be milk.

My son also was more willing to drink milk when it was flavored with chocolate or strawberry Quik, once in a while. (I wouldnt put that in the bottle for all day though, make it a once a day thing? Also, juices and milks he got to drink in the kitchen/at the table with my supervision, no wandering around with anything non-water, only water in sippy cups could "wander".)

One thing I have learned with my family is I cannot force them to eat/drink anything they are resistant to. Sometimes there is a reason for it. (I'm not talking about resisting veggies, I'm talking about foods they have been exposed to often enough to not reject it simply because it's new or an unfamiliar taste to them.) My husband only puts just enough milk on his cereal to barely wet it and doesnt drink it otherwise, because it makes him gassy. He also dislikes seafood. Once he ate some at a friend's the night before we were flying out to be polite (and the salmon was delicious!) and ended up visiting the pot all night long. When someone has a natural aversion to a food, there may be a reason for it, dont force or overdo it.

So I'd simply keep milk available as an option for your son to drink, as he gets used to milk (remember he hasn't had *any* for a year and now we want them to drink milk all the time). Yes, make sure he has a variety of healthy food choices and of course water/other fluids, so that his body can get what it needs.

as he eats more food he will drink less liquid -- as you sub in food for formula he may need to drink more. also, when mine turned one and were offered more milk, it took them a while to get the hang of the sippy cup and also getting used to drinking milk. i offered a coupla different kinds of sippy cup and after a while they got used to drinking milk.

Hi MT,

Try mixing the formula and the milk. First start off with 1/4 milk, 3/4 formula. Do that for about a week. Then do half and half of each until he likes it. Then push it down to 3/4 milk 1/4 formula. After he gets used to that you may have to move a little slower as the formula taste goes away. It should work.......

M.

My son only drinks milk occasionally, and he likes chocolate better than regular. He DOES eat at least 1-2 cheese sticks per day, and a few tablespoons of yogurt. Try other calcium sources.

Hi there. I breastfed my daughter for a year, and once we tried to transition to whole milk, she would not. Still at 2.5 will not drink milk, eat cheese, or eat yogurt. UGH.
I would try some cheese and yogurt with your LO. Also try some rice milk. My daughter WILL drink that.
Also, the advice below that says to mix the formula and milk may also work.
Good luck!
~G.
www.bebettertoyourself.blogspot.com

We had the same issue when I weaned my b/f baby. The ONLY way she would take milk was if I put sugar-free chocolate syrup in it. They sell the sugar-free stuff at Walmart. It's probably not the most popular thing to do, but she's so picky that it's basically the only way she'll get calcium. She's
2 1/2 now and is still on the chocolate milk train. She drinks it all day!
Good luck. I know it's hard to transition.