To wonder why anyone buys that 'Growing Up' milk stuff?

[bubbleymummy]

No one expects to get their iron content from milk - you get it from the food you eat alongside it (although you shouldn't really drink milk alongside a meal anyway because calcium inhibits iron absorption) so why would you spend money on this product? Does anyone on MN buy it? If so - why?

Bubbly, yes you are talking about growing up milk, which is different from follow-on milk, but follow-on milk has been dismissed in the same fashion as growing up milk several times on this thread.

Ds is 10 months so Spatone is unsuitable, he only drinks milk, and struggles with eating (hence involvement of paeds and dietician).

I shouldn't really have got involved in this discussion, because I'm just a huge sensitive wreck atm as regards ds. I just wanted to point out that people may have a very good reason to give their dcs growing up milk(which ds may move on to later, i don't know) or follow on milk.

That's a very sweeping statement belgo.

I care very much about DD's diet and she has cow's milk as her main milk. All her food is home cooked and she ha plenty of fruit and veg every day but I have chosen not to give her growing up milk because my HV told me it isn't necessary.

I agree with you belgo - that is probably often the case. Which makes it all the more unnecessary! :)

Thats not the way I took it pinktoes. I don't think that if you don't use growing up milk you aren't conscientious about food - just that those who DO use growing up milk are more than likely going to be conscientious about food.

hazey - follow on milk and growing up milk are v different. At your son's age you don't have much other choice whereas by the time you would be introducing GU milk there are plenty of other options.

I wouldn't stress too much about not eating at that age - most of their diet is milk then anyway. DS2 was slow to take on eating as well. If he eats porridge in the morning you could give him readybrek which, as someone mentioned earlier, is fortified with lots of things. Just give him what he'll eat and a few extras to try and try not to stress too much - most of us have been at that stage at some point and once they click with it you'll wonder why you were ever worried! :)

I see that now bubbley. I guess that's why I was feeling that I would/may have to give it to DD before I checked with the HV.

DD has 5oz in a bottle before bed. She eats really well most days and is no longer bf (22 months). She likes it. I don't give it to her as part of her diet. I give it to her because she likes lying there twiddling my hair and day-dreaming. She doesn't like cows milk so much and yes, I could say "tough my darling" but you know, I quite like her, and I want her to be happy and I don't really care if the man from Aptimil is rubbing his hands with glee. I don't care if it's a scam. It's just really not important in the great scheme of things.

Surely there are many many other things to worry about?

Belgo- Hmmm I always breast fed and my son and fully care about his diet hence he never drank this stuff!! All his food is home cooked and he eats lots of fruit and veg! Your comment was a little bit harsh and I was also told by the health visitor that this growing up milk was not required!

cuteboots - which comment was harsh?

TO make it clear, I've never given my children growing up milk.

Way too many smileys on this thread.

My eyes hurt.

Because it smells and tastes nicer and my DS likes it

Belgo-The parents I know who use it have are the ones who are extra vigilant in making sure their children get a good diet.

The parents who don't care about their children's diet are probably also the ones who won't care what sort of milk they drink.

Sorry if it took this the wrong way but Im having a bit of a bad day!

"I'm glad you are happy with your choices cloudyday. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I am pretty sure there is some parenting choices out there that you look down your nose about - whether it be coke in a bottle, smacking a child or how a baby is put down to sleep - we all judge about something - it's human nature"

It's human to have opinions, yes, and it's natural and indeed important to make judgements and take action when it comes to abuse, neglect, or potentially dangerous practices.

Choosing to give 'Growing Up Milk' does not fall into any of those categories.

To answer your question (or more accurately, to challenge your assumption), no, I don't actually look down my nose at anyone who parents their children in a way that is loving, caring, and well-intentioned, but different to my own way. Nor do I start threads about what I view as their poor judgement / susceptibility to marketing for the purpose of inflating my fragile ego demonstrating my superiority as a parent.

It might be in your nature, but that doesn't make it human nature for the rest of us.

Yes cuteboots I think you did take it the wrong way. I didn't make any judgement on parents who, like you (and me), give their children a healthy diet without giving them growing up milk.

Belgo- Once again huge appologies I should have stayed at home today

don't worry about it

Wow cloudydays - put that halo away - you're blinding me! Although I have to say, you sound a bit judgy about my judginess. :)

I'm not sure how not giving GU milk makes me a superior parent. In fact, those who think it is important would probably argue the opposite.

I would also add 'misinformation' as a reason to judge and challenge and I believe this does fall into that category. Some parents may choose it for convenience/because their child like the taste and not give a toss about what is in it while others may actually think that is is essential to their child's diet and may be giving it or planning to give it to their DC. They may reconsider when they realise that many health conscious parents choose not to give it and could save themselves a bit of money in the process. It's all about sharing information and experience and if that sometimes comes across as criticising someone's way of doing something then that's just the way it is. I don't judge a parent for trying to do the best they can, I would judge their reasons for giving it and I judge the manufacturers for trying to scare parents into thinking they need it.

No halo here. You went out on a limb to tell me what I'm really like, and I told you that you're wrong. That's all.

Enjoy the judginess :)

"BIL works for a pharma company in the marketing of this stuff. He doesn't feed it to his kids, despite getting plenty of it free from work. (Amongst other reasons, says its too sweet; doesn't want them developing such a sweet tooth.) Its a complete marketing gimmick, in his words, and the direct marketing they do to medical professionals is why so many people on this thread have been recommended it."

So, Checkmate, BIL won't feed it to his kids because he thinks it's shit, but will happily make a living out of marketing it to other people for their kids. Nice.

I'd rather be gullible than complicit.

But is it organic? Can you get organic follow on feed?

You may have found a hole in the Market allbie - quick! Get in there! :)

Sorry Bubbleymummy, I know that growing up milk and follow on milk are different, but others on this thread don't seem to.

I made a mistake coming on this thread, because ds is under investigation for developmental delays, which is why he has a problem with eating, and why it may be that his diet will have to be supplemented in future. I have 2 other dcs and remember very well the ups and downs of weaning (dd1 weaned on purees, very fussy, now enjoys pretty much everything, dd2 blw, used to eat everything, now will only eat about 3 meals - neither has follow on milk, in fact they both like 'vanilla milk' which I make with a drop of vanilla extract and honey!)

As I said earlier, I give him follow on milk on the advice of a dietician, not because I am worried that he isn't eating enough. She has looked at what he eats, and assessed that he does need extra iron in his diet (beyond the iron provided in first milk).

I suppose it just seems very easy to look at someone buying some follow on/growing up milk in the supermarket, and think, 'why does anyone buy that stuff?' they must have been 'conned by advertising', but they may have very good reasons, that you are unaware of.

Hipp Organic do a growing up milk

hazeyjane I'm sorry to hear that about your DS. It's very difficult when you have older DC and supposedly know all the tips and tricks which should work with fussy toddlers yet your child still refuses food.

My son is autistic with severe sensory / food issues and his dietician insisted that I should continue to let him have whatever he will accept with regard to milk or he would quickly become malnourished since he eats no other protein-rich food. As I have said, he is still BF but he's four and if I were to do it all myself I'd do nothing else all day and neither would he!

Sometimes I step outside myself when DH and I are loading up thirty-six bottles of it into our trolley and go and I hate the fact that it has all these additives. Then again DS rarely eats anything which isn't home-made bread, fruit or raw vegetables so at least he isn't getting additives from anything else he ingests.

Oh and for what it's worth, DS weaned beautifully. Ate everything and anything all fresh, organic and made at home. The HV asked me to keep a food diary because he was still waking at night (due to his then-unknown SN) and was astounded at how healthy his diet was.

Then he became very ill after MMR and developed the bowel issues common to children with ASD. He couldn't even keep water down for weeks and had he not been BF would have had to be sedated on a drip in hospital.

It's all very well being smug about your BF PFB and assuming that parents who make different choices are stupid or lazy but these things can happen to anyone. I certainly didn't foresee or cause my son's problems with food.