Oh no! Just read about soya milk being bad for babies!

[OhWhatAPalaver]

I feel terrible right now... have been giving my dd alpro soya plus1 on cereal since she was 6mo and as a bed time drink since 13mo and she is now 24mo and now I find out it's bad for kids due to its oestrogen content. :( Never questioned giving dd soya milk until someone mentioned in passing that its not necessarily that great. Did a bit a research and lo and behold it isn't good at all. Dd had a suspected cmp allergy when she was first being weaned hence the choice to use soya. We all prefer soya anyway, we are vege and just prefer the taste of soya to cows milk. Now I am not sure what to give her :/ is koko coconut milk any good?

More importantly does anybody know if 18 months of soya intake will have compromised my dd's health in any way?

Who advised you to use soya? I thought it was advised against because it's sugary and children who are sensitive to cows milk can be sensitive to soya as well. You need to go back to whoever advised you to use it and ask them.
IS she totally dairy free? What form did the allergy take - can you safely try her on some dairy because the easiest thing would be to switch to that. A lot of the alternatives are very additive laden and processed. You'd be better with some organic cows milk if she can tolerate it.

Well she was breastfed exclusively until 13mo so it was only a very small part of her diet and still is really. Didn't think it was a big deal so didn't activly seek out advice just mentioned it to dr and hv's who seemed ok with it.
She tolerates all other dairy but I don't really fancy giving her cows milk tbh.

I use oatmilk with added calcium. Almond milk ok as well.
Used to always use rice milk but then there were warnings about that.

Well I would go back to your HV and doctor and ask their opinion about this and why they didn't warn you it was contraindicated. I would give her cows milk tbh. There's no reason not to.

Koko coconut milk is perfectly fine as a main milk drink from 2yo. That's from a Paediatric allergist & an allergy specialist dietician. It also has added calcium & vitamins.

(DS3 severely CMP and soy allergic...)

And for a full fat cows milk drinker, it tastes quite nice - I've used it when out of milk in the past.

Yeah I heard about rice milk not being great as well. I think we will try her with almond milk as well as the koko milk. We already have some koko in already as it was recommended to me for use in tea and coffee. Was a but put off by curdling soya! I really like the koko milk, its no where near as sweet as soya :)

Just hope the use of soya hasn't been detrimental in any way :/

I have a family full of Lactose intolerant DC. There are 8 adults and 5 children that were raised on soya milk long before anyone thought it was a problem. They are all perfectly healthy and intelligent.

My DD's are 4 and 6. We're all veggie and they've had soya milk in cereal since about 1 yo.
I too have had concerns about soya recently. Just the nature of its intense processing mainly.
We've switched to almond milk (just yesterday actually) but I'm thinking surely that is just as processed?

Try not to worry too much. DS was also on soya formula and then soya milk due to cows milk protein allergy. When I raised this issue with his paediatrician allergist (whom I trusted), he reassured me and said that the research that has caused alarm was carried out on rats who were 'overdosed' on soya, and that there was no evidence that it translated to humans. At the time, there were less alternative options so I went with that. Four years later, my DD had the same problems and I went for Koko and Oatly, because however small the risk I would rather avoid it. I am not familiar with recent research, and everyone needs to make their own decision based on the advice they get from trusted people and their own research. However, FWIW DS there are no signs at all that my DS has suffered any negative consequences from his soya. I guess with all these things, it's scary to read new information that makes you worry, but it is all about relative risks, even if there is a clear increased risk from something, it doesn't mean that every child will experience whatever it is, so try not to worry about your little one. As parents we make the best decision we can with the information we have, and that's all you can do. When you get different information, you review and see if you need to change things but try not to beat yourself up about the past. As parents of children with allergies we have to give these things more thought and make more active choices, and some of them are bound to be harder... No food's perfect - Koko for example has too few calories and protein for little ones so I worried about that...

That's why I was advised not to use Koko as a main drink before 2yo. Because by 2yo, they should be eating a varied enough diet that Koko contains all the top up vits & minerals they need.

Enough Calcium for a day can be obtained by one portion of broccoli and an orange for a child aged 2-4.

Thanks everyone that's very reassuring :) she seems like a strong healthy toddler so I won't worry too much!

Maybe I will just use a mixture of koko and almond milk for the time being and see how we go on :)

That sounds wrong... not actually mix them together obviously!

I thought it was just if soya milk was making up the majority of their diet that oestrogen could be a probl. I doubt if a bit

I doubt if a bit on cereal and a cup of soya milk a day would be enough to cause issues. I think the fertility problems were more in boys anyway.

Ds allergy specialist said exactly what maz has written above. Don't worry about this too much.

My dd had the alpro 1+ stuff. Apart from constantly pretending to be animals she's fine

I now use a mix of Koko or hazelnut or almond milk

For what it's worth, I don't use any milk substitute at all,although I do occasionally cook with soya milk. Ds has been tested for blood calcium levels and has
always been fine.

Menopausal women are advised to eat soya rich foods, to boost their hormones, I thought this was common knowledge & I admit is has put me off soya products/beans etc.

Don't panic, you know now and should go back for advice.

Thanks everyone, this thread has been really helpful :) I'm guessing its more of a risk if you consume tons of the stuff rather than just at breakfast and night time. Still, will be using koko from now on I think, so expensive though!

If she doesn't have an allergy why are you doing that? I am not trying to be argumentative, I just don't get it.

I know this is an old post but since I came across it - please know that the research re soy is inherently flawed given who funded it (dairy industry). Research many years later is now showing soy doesn’t cause any issues. Since masses of Asia consume an awful lot of soy; the proof is in the pudding. Anyway, no need for mum guilt here. Soy is fine!!!