15 month old won't drink milk

[Babaraella]

Since stopping bf at 13 months, my 15 month old still won't drink milk. She has milk in her cereal every day and I try to get calcium in through other ways like cheese, but I don't feel like it can be enough for her. She doesn't like yoghurts either.

Does anyone know how much milk she should be having and any other ways to get her to drink it?

[flowerpowergirl]

I'm not in any way an expert but I wouldn't force it. I hated milk as a child even from a young age. My daughter stopped drinking milk quite young too. She is 10 now and perfectly healthy! Have you spoken to your health visitor?

[ExBrightonBell]

The recommendations for milk are more to do with calcium than drinking milk per se. The calcium recommendations are 350mg per day which drinking 300ml of milk will provide. If you are providing that much calcium through other dairy sources etc then don't worry about the lack of milk drinking.

[FreeButtonBee]

my 13 mo twins drink very little milk (maybe 100 mls a day).

They have milky porridge, eat cheese, the occasional yoghurt and bowl of custard.

There is plenty of calcium in green veg and things like chickpeas and other legumes. The obsession with milk in this country is insane...

[TheScience]

Mine was the same! 300mls isn't very much though so I found it fairly easy to get it in his diet - you can easily put 100mls on a weetabix or in porridge for example. Then cheese, yoghurt, cheese sauce on pasta/fish pie etc, rice pudding or custard.

[Babaraella]

Thanks everyone for the replies, that sounds ok then. Re the 300mls, is there a way to work out how much cheese would make up that iyswim? Or am I being too fussy?

[FreeButtonBee]

I think you're being a bit too fussy. But then I am notoriously slap dash and am blessed with great eaters!

Look at the back of the packet I suppose?

[Babaraella]

Back of the packet only gives mgs. I just googled and in a cheese slice there is 140mg which apparently only equates to 14ml. Not a lot! Bugger.

[Babaraella]

Oh hang on that's 14ml of actual calcium. Hmm, so I wonder how much calcium is in 300mls of milk....

Ok I'm definitely overthinking this!

[ExBrightonBell]

Right, ignore the ml measure as that only applies to liquids. Calcium is measured in mg. To make sure your lo is getting enough calcium, aim for 350mg per day, from any source.

So if a cheese slice has 140mg of calcium, then you need about another 210mg of calcium that day from other foods.

[TheScience]

Here - www.milk.co.uk/page.aspx?intPageID=131

1-3 years 350mg calcium - 100ml whole/semi-skimmed milk, 80g yogurt, 15g cheese. These portion sizes in total provide approximately 360mg calcium.

[Babaraella]

Perfect, thanks!

[BotBotticelli]

My DS stopped drinking all formula (or cows milk) at 10mo. Just woke up one day hating it!

After much hand wringing (based largely on having read all the massively milky hysteria on these boards) I just decided to trust him...! I give him lots of dairy in his diet and vitamin drops. He is fine. A boisterous toddler. Just roll with it and be glad you're not having to wean your LO off the bottle when she is 3!

[Trenzalor]

Plant based sources of calcium attached.

[JimmyCorkhill]

My DD1 was the same so she just had lots of yogurt and cheese instead. Around age 3 she started to ask for milk and now enjoys it a lot (I think seeing others drink it at pre school helped).

[BadgerFace]

My DD is the same as well at 14 months. I have given up offering milk as she just spits it out. Ready Brek has enough calcium for their days' RDA so I give her that most mornings although she loves cheese and yoghurt.

Good non-dairy sources of calcium that DD likes are houmous and dried figs as well as Trenzalor's list!

I don't like milk either. I can remember pouring it down the sink every morning for years as a child when my Dad was in the shower and he thought I was drinking it... I have no fillings at 36 so must have got my calcium elsewhere. But then I love cheese and ice cream!