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?

Ninx, thankyou, and sorry to hear how hard things have been with your ds.

It was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me when the dietician said that I need to just be led by ds on the eating thing, I think I had been so hung up on trying to make him fit into what my dds had done at 10 months, and tying myself in knots about trying to make his food lumpier, give him what we eat etc. But ds mainly has milk (still up twice a night for it), and a little bit of puree. He is a good weight, and it is a relief to know that his nutritional needs are being met with the follow on milk (and yes there is already an organic one!).

I used it for convenience sake sometimes, but for my fussy eater I would rather give him a chewy vitamin gummy thingy than growing up milk as it fills him up less so gives me more of a chance of making him hungry enough to try some proper food. That way I can be sure he's getting all the nutrients he needs without discouraging a bit of normal eating.

For me it's nto about what people choose to feed their children - that's their choice.

For me it's about the outrageousness of the advertising. It preys on the insecurities of parents, making them feel that the are not doing their best by their child if they don;t buy an expensive over processed product that 2 years ago didn;t even exist! It is only there because companies were not allowed to advertise formula milk any more, so some genius thought up this scam.

And don't think that a HCP recommendation makes it OK - they are marketted to as much or even more than parents are!

Well, here's some 'formula' for thought, for anyone who thinks their 12-month + child still needs 'extra' calories or top-up milk:

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1383711/Toddlers-given-milk-bedtime-risk-obesity-research-claims.html

I just knew I shouldn't have opened that DM link. I stopped reading at absurd advice:

'Mothers are advised to gradually wean their babies off either breast milk or formula milk from the age of six months'

Yabvu!!!

we use it, we do a 50/50 of +1 milk and whole milk for her morning and evening milk.

DD (18 months) eats a relatively good diet, but has the odd bit of junk thrown in (typically if we're doing a long journey to see family) we just like to make sure she gets all the bits she needs, just in case her diet is lacking in anything.

DP and I eat fairly healthily but we still take multi vitamins, I view it as teh same thing.

I'm amazed that so many mn buy this stuff!

Amazed.

I wonder if they manage to flog as much of it in France, Spain or Italy. I'd be suprised.

Spudulika - I don't know about France etc, but it is very popular in Belgium, and I've even had professionals recommend I give it to my children.

Remeber that the companies which make this crap would be stupid if they didn;t do viral marketting on a site like mumsnet. Regard with suspicion any new poster who raves about a product.

I really don't care that people are buying it - their choice but I do agree that it's a total scam.

I do care. i don't like people to be exploited by big business. Which is what they are doing.

It doesn't really bother me if people buy it because they think they are doing their best for their children. What does bother me is that I've been told it is better then bfing my child, because of the iron content.

Yes, I buy it and mix it with whole cow's milk while DD gradually gets used to the taste of cow's milk, as formula (and growing up milk) tastes quite different. It was also very useful on holiday when we couldn't get fresh milk easily. Why concern yourself with other people's shopping habits? It's not particularly expensive. Should I also not spend my money on expensive organic granola because that isn't necessary either, I could just eat weetabix.

So it's a new product and not all kids need it therefore it's a scam?
Why?
Surely it's just a new solution to an old problem. Fussy kids 50 years ago used to end up with vitamin deficiencies etc (and a spanking). These days parents can at least top up their levels with either the milk or vitamin tablets/gums/liquids. What's so wrong with that?
Obviously a healthy balanced diet is best, but plenty of kids simply won't cooperate.

What's wrong with just whole milk? Or breastmilk, God forbid?!

Is there any independent evidence that anyone here is aware of it is any better for children than a normal, balanced weaning diet?

I appreciate that if your child has problems with eating (because of asd or physical difficulties) then it must be very handy to have a single product that you can buy off the shelf that you believe meets their nutritional needs fully.

But most children don't need it do they?

I think that helping your child to learn about REAL food and giving them a very varied diet sets them up for a lifetime of healthy eating, which is incredibly important to their long term health and development.

All three of my children (including my youngest who has ASD and is very fixed and forceful) eat a good diet and I have never felt the need to give them fortified products. Not that they were around my mine were tiny (my youngest is 5).

It's exploitative because it tells parents that they are not doing the best for their child if they don't give them this stuff. If it was presented as an alternative then that would be OK - but it's presented as superior.

It's expensive and it tastes sweet, so children like it. So people buy more. It is OUTRAGEOUS!

"it therefore it's a scam?"

Well - if there's no evidence it actually benefits toddlers who already have a balanced diet and it cost many, many times what a parent would pay for unprocessed milk then yes - it is a scam.

"Fussy kids 50 years ago used to end up with vitamin deficiencies etc "

They didn't, you know!

Fussy kids two years ago might, because of the processed crap that's available nowadays.

And anyway, this isn;t marketted at a very few fussy children - the suggestion is that it is the best option for ALL children!

I'm lucky because my two boys have always been good eaters so I stopped formula at 1. Lots of friends buy it because their children eat next to nothing and they want the added iron. Thats a good thing isn't it?

"It's not particularly expensive"

Fresh whole milk costs 37p per litre

Growing up milk costs £2.80 per litre

They did actually - my uncle was a terrible eater and his health suffered as a result for years.
The ads I've seen tend to say things like "if your child's diet isn't enough..." so as far as I'm concerned any parent who falls for that is fair game. I'm is Aus though, so maybe different ads?
It's a supplement like the vitamins many of us take very day - sounds like a better idea the more I type.

Thaigreen - maybe better to give the vitamin supplements so the children don't get too filled up on milk? It's amazing how happy some kids are to rely on milk if you're wiling to let them.

"Thats a good thing isn't it? "

What - that there's no imperative that children learn to eat a balanced diet, because there's an expensive, synthetic product on the market that negates the need for parents to actually address their children's poor eating with any sort of urgency?

I think it's very worrying that so many children in the uk are fussy to the point that they aren't eating well enough to sustain normal good health.

You'd think that children's diets would have improved wouldn't you - given the choices we now have and the fact that (as a nation) we have a higher disposable income compared to our parents generation.