18 Month Old Won't Drink Milk from a Cup

My daughter is the EXACT same way!!! Never had a problem getting off the bottle. But once we switched, she stopped drinking milk. We also tried not giving her anything but milk, didn't work. Eventually her pedi gave us vitamins to put in her juice to make up for what she was losing by not drinking milk. My mom says that I, along with my siblings, were the same. We are all healthy and strong. Good luck!

Had the same problem with my daughter. What worked for us-- my daughter doesn't like water, so when she would want her bottle, I would only put water in it. She would start drinking it, then throw it down. I would then give her the cup with milk. Took a couple of days, but it worked. Also, she never took the sippy cups. She took to the cups that have straws.

I would give the bottle back, and down the road when the baby can understand that it is emabarrasing the have a bottle in public, maybe they will grow out of it.

Don't panic. Personally? I would make sure she was getting her calcium other places, (cheeses, yogurts, etc), and cut out the juice. She'll be healthy and happy as can be. Kids do strange things some times!

I had to try different sippies. The NUBY one has a softer sipper.
I would try that... and like most things, as harsh as this might sound, she will drink from it IF it is all you offer.
Good luck!

You already have great advice here and you say you have tried everything, but here's one more thing to try. Have you ever tried the Pediasure? It's liquid vitamins for toddlers. We use the vanilla flavor. I have one child that would not drink milk, but she loves her "teddy-milk." The bottle has a picture of a teddy bear on it, and the girls named it themselves; they call it "teddy-milk." Other than that, I agree with the other posts that perhaps you get her calcium and vitamin D elsewhere. Just be careful about giving too much juice - it can ruin teeth.

My son (4) doesn't drink milk at all. Never has. He's lactose intolerant, and it doesn't seem to have hampered his growth at all. He wears a 7 slim.

That said, you can put milk in her oatmeal, serve cheese, yogurt, broccoli, spinach - I'm guessing you want her to get calcium, and there's lots of food with it in it.

As to the not giving her anything else to drink - I think that's cruel, misinformed, and dangerous. I'd give her water - and her choice of water or milk, if milk is important to you... but no juice or soda or anything else.

S.

Feed her strawberries and brocolli and don't worry about the liquid milk! Those foods have more calcium then the pasturized milk we Americans claim is good for our kids anyway! Growing up I didn't like milk but as I got older I realized it wasn't so much the milk but the plastic glass and the temperature of the milk that I didn't like. So it might just be something she needs to grow through. I have 7 kids and half of them like milk, some are allergic and some can't stand milk (like their dad). All that to say- figure out what you like about her drinking milk, do some research on the benefits and see if you can get those benefits from other sources. I also suggest not doing juice too much or she'll stop drinking plain ol' water too. Yummy sugary tasting stuff always trumps thick white stuff(milk) or clear flavorless stuff(water)!

Have you tried milk alternatives? My almost three year old is the same way- she weaned from breastfeeding at 13 months but has never liked milk. She'll drink everything else from a sippy cup but milk she refuses (most of the time.) I just make sure that she gets sufficient nutrients and fat (like butter) from her food. Does she like yogurt and cheese? What about fruit smoothies? Cottage cheese with peaches? She likes rice milk and I always keep some in the fridge. I've read that she may have a food allergy which is why she refuses it.

Also, non-organic cow milk has pesticides in it. She might not like the flavor. My parents can't stand it. and it's not good for you anyway. try Horizon or other organic milk or even goat milk!

S., mom to four girls under five!

don't worry about it. i have a 28 month old and i had that same problem. i gave him milk in a bottle until he decided that it was time for a change. one day he just quit drinking from a bottle period. he now has been drinking from a cup of all kinds for 1 year and we don't have problems any more. just let her decide.

My little girl was the same way. Eventually I had to go buy those cartoon heads in the juice section of the grocery store. The "super" Walmart and Targets always have them. We poured the juice out (because she won't drink it) and washed them and filled them back up with milk. I think she drank it then because of the heads on the juice bottles. Good Luck!

My daughter never drank any milk once we took her off the bottle - at about 12 months. For about 18 months she would never accept milk - everything else but not milk. We bought her the vitamin D enriched orange juice.

The good news is that she is now a milk-aholic. She drinks milk at least 3 times a day and asks for it. She will eventually come round. Just give it some time.

Have fun,
J.

Take her to the store and let her pick out her new special cup.Whether a sippy cup or a playtex cupw/straw they make them w /characters on them.Tell her it is her milk cup.
also to get some milk in her , have you given her a bowl of cereal and milk. Both of my kids wouldn't drink a glas of milk, but they loved it w/ cereal. NOw at the ages of 11 and 6, they love milk. If your daugther is growing and healthy don't worry abouty milk, but give her calcium in other forms. I did yogurt, cheese, cereal w/milk and their daily vitamins had extra calcium(flintstone vitamins are the only ones that make a Calcium extra one.)
GOod luck

This is so funny I thought I was the only one that has gone through this. When I was a child I did the samething and as it turns out I just don't like milk. One of my daughters she is 14 now also did the same thing and she will not under any circumstances drink milk. Your daughter may not care for milk and you may have to find other ways to provide to get her vitamin D and calcium. I think it is ok, or you onlyofferher milk to force her to drink it, but that is not necassary as youcan provide other food alternatives to ensure sheis eating healthy.

I think your Pediatrician is correct. When she gets thirsty enough, she will drink the milk. Of course there are acceptions to the rule...like an very hot day outside, she 'needs' water. Whatever you choose to do, consistency is the key. Keep up the good work trying!

~K.

Hi-
My son will also not drink milk from a cup. He can skip a bottle and is not the least bit concerned. He doesn't drink alot of water and no juice either so I worried that he wasn't getting enough fluids or milk and definitely won't when we take the last bottle away but our pediatrician said at this age they need about 16 oz of dairy a day. She said yogurt, cheese, milk or calcium added orange juice can all be part of this. We give him 8 oz of yobaby yogurt (which he loves)every day for breakfast to get a chunk of his daily requirement in. We opted to continue at least one bottle for a bit longer. I like your idea about the choc. and strawberry milk. We'll try that in a cup and see how it goes. He loves to drink from a straw so we bought the straw sippy cups but they are a little tricky since you have to bite and suck and he doesn't quite have that down yet. You may have tried them alerady but our son does like the big kid cups which are closer to a regular drinking cup but still have a lid. We have a cabinet full of differnt cups too. Our best bet has been to drink milk and he wants to drink from our cup but of course he doesn't get enough for the day this way. Good luck.

Have you tried a cup with a straw? Tough one! Good luck!

Hi L.
My daughter doesn't drink milk at all-no matter what cup you give her. Just let her drink her milk from a bottle if she wants, she'll eventually move on and start drinking it from the cup or sippy cup. I don't agree with the not giving her anything and she'll eventually drink the milk concept-obviously it didn't work. They are little people and have minds of their own and sometimes just aren't ready to let go of some things when WE want them to. Once she sees other little kids drinking from their big girl cups she will too.

My 20 month old is the same way and my Pedi said not to worry about it at all. As long as she gets 3 servings of dairy some other way ie. Cheese, Yogurt or even ice cream, she is fine. He said his daughter has not had milk since she was little and is now 13 and is very healthy. Some kids are just that way. :)

Don't worry, she will be just fine!

hi L.
I have a 2yo that does the same thing. will drink ANYTHING from a cup except milk. I had a friend tell me not to worry about it but give her yogurt..cheese.. other things that have the calcium that milk has. If you get a answer that works I would love to hear about it!
A.

Kids don't need cow's milk to be healthy. If she'll drink water or other liquids from a cup, you don't have a problem. You don't need dairy to get calcium in your diet (just search "non-dairy" and "calcium" to find details) and there are alot of people that have dairy allergies, but just don't realize it. I thought I was just lactose intolerant but later learned both myself and both sons have a dairy allergy.

Wow - she has a lot of will, which will serve her well in life but doesn't make things any easier for you now! Just two thoughts/ideas - will she drink from a straw? There are cups that have straws built into the lids that she might prefer. Also, there may be something about the sucking that is comforting for her. You might try exploring other ways for her to comfort herself, like a soft blanket or favored plush toy while she drinks her milk. Maybe cuddle her while she drinks with a cup? Just firing off ideas, fwiw.

Is it that important that she drink milk that you're advised to deprive her of liquids and possibly dehydrate her (which leads to consitpation)... There are other liquids she can get calcium in, like fortified OJ, or mix milk in her cereals or other foods.
Seems like a totally pointless battle and not worth fighting or making her suffer over.

My sons have been the same way, won't drink milk from any kind of cup. My Pediatrician said it was okay to let them keep the bottle until 30 months old. I let my almost 3 year old keep the bottle so he would drink milk until he was about 2 1/2. He still didn't start drinking it from anything else so my Pediatrician said as long as he eats foods high in calcium he doesn't have to drink milk. I give him Kraft singles that are high in calcium, yogurt and pudding, he loves them all. He still won't drink milk, we keep trying once in awhile. He will put the cup back in the refrigerator if we put milk in it and leave it there. I also try to give him a Flintstones Gummy Vitamin daily so he gets the other vitamins too, as he is kind of a picky eater too. Some kids just won't drink milk from anything other than a bottle. I hope this helps.

Neither one of my boys (3 and 2) will drink milk...at all. However we did come across Horizon's Vanilla Milk. They love it! We call it special milk and they each get one a day. It's a complete treat for them. It comes in single servings with a straw. Not really a cup, but you can always put it in one. You can get it at HEB, but it's hit or miss. I get a big case at Costco.

Good luck!

S.

Are you giving her whole milk? You could try 2% or 1%. Usually under 2yrs they drink whole, but she just might not like the taste. Mine were drinking 2% at 1yr, now they are on skim milk(4yrs & 2yrs). They love it! I was told that they will find the "fat" they need from the whole milk in other foods, like french fries or ice cream!

I have been having the same problem with my 16 month old, except she never had bottle, she was just BF. Like yours she'd drink anything BUT milk (no matter what I flavored it with) out of a sippy. I finally realized that she probably just doesn't like milk. So, I have bought those drinkable yogurts and added a little of her favorite juice to them....she sucks it down. I call it the yogurt concoction. Maybe you can try something like that, and I also got her a big girl cup w/ her favorite character, Dora.
Good luck! It's so frustrating.

Have you tried giving it to her in a normal cup? My youngest wouldn't drink it out of a sippy cup either, but would drink out of a normal cup so he could be like everyone else in our family. It is sometimes messy, but it worked for us.

This may sound wild, but it is what comes to mind. LOL

Take one bottle, snip the end of the nipple off so it is a small hole rather than the pinhole it would normally have. So she is going to get it pouring rather than trickling into her mouth. Start tiny and work your way up till she is drinking it out of a nipple that is about cut in half.

Maybe she is just equating the sucking with the milk and has to learn that milk can 'pour' into your mouth just like juice can. Worth a try.

Mine drank out of tupperware sippy cups and you have to suck on those to get the drink to come out. They used those till they were around 3-4 so transition was not a big deal. Maybe you could try some of those after you have done the bottle thing.