to ask what the point of 2+ formula milk

[BlissfulMistletoe]

i can understand special milk for children with special needs.

but for an average 2 year old, what is the point

footballmum I can see a use there & in that case it could be on prescription as a special case.

Cows milk & normal healthy diet is all they need after 1yr. The advertisers play on the maternal guilt trip we're all on to make us buy into the idea that our own cooking/food provision isn't enough.

It really bothers me, it's such a huge con & I end up doing shouty woman at the TV!!

I only use it as our firned looks after our child (for Free) his kids are a lot older and drink skimmed milk, she is only there two days a week so I just buy one of those formula packs which sees her through about 3 months.

Tis easier that's all.

I'm sure people have their reasons, entirely up to the individual, as is extended breast feeding.

I think the question is more why do they produce the stuff (answered), people falling for it is more understandable.

The problem is moomin the ads try to trick parents into believing that the child NEEDS this milk in order to get everything they need which is quite frankly bollocks and if you have a reasonably balanced diet then there is no need for top ups via formula.

It's a marketing ploy, it can be damaging long term to give excess vitamins and iron, yet parents think they are doing some good by giving it. It's a very sad state of affairs when parents rely on advertisers and companies to give them their health information.

Makes me laugh how Formula companies would have us believe that toddlers need a special milk taylor-made for their needs rather than plain cows milk. Hmmm - what's a special taylor-made milk that has the added benefit of being free? I know, breast milk! Oh no - breastfeeding is (grudgingly) recommended for the first six months but then please select from our dazzling array of follow-on stage 2, 3, etc etc. All about the money innit.

Women are perfectly capable of researching follow on formulas, we also know how regulated formula is in this country.

Formula also contains vitamin c to help with the absorption of iron

The HV did tell me it was higher in calories than cows milk but to be fair I never checked. I was at my wits end as he'd been so poorly and seemed to be getting worse. He was eating little bits of solid food but the follow on milk seemed like a sensible supplement and I'm sure it worked. Bossy's idea that it should be on prescription is a good one (it's bloody expensive!) However, even though I found it really helped in our situation I would never have considered using it in normal circumstances-a balanced diet should be good enough for most children!

Formula promotion is regulated for bloody good reason. Extended bf has real health benefits, I have yet to see any for this follow on milk. A healthy diet is what is needed, not some artificial substance, if I see real, 3rd party evidence this stuff is worth having I will be more impressed.

BTW dd went onto cows' milk at 16 months, so I am not speaking from an extended bf 'soapbox'.

Shocking that a HV and Paed actually recommended these milks .

If there is concern over vitamin intake (and has already been pointed out an excess can be harmful) - Healthy Start vitamins can de the same thing for a fraction of the cost.

Powdered formulas can contain harmful bacteria - fresh pasteurised cow's milk is much safer.

The Paed and HV are evidence of how insidious formula marketing is and how ignorant some HCPs can be about infant and toddler nutrition

"I'd rather thought, that like all mammals, once we're weaned, we don't need milk at all."

We don't, but you'd never think it, would you. And certainly the forumla companies are very keen that everyone assumes without question Children Must Drink Milk. Milk's a useful source of calcium and other things but it's not necessary , and it's quite devious the way FM sellers have managed to get it generally accepted that it's as obviously necessary as, say, air.

It reminds me of that little trick we use on toddlers: which jumper would you like to wear, the green one or the yellow one? (aim being that the child never thinks to say 'No jumper at all, mate!')

I'm one of the crazies who thinks "cows milk is for baby cows". Breast milk best for as long as possible, but realistically most people have given up by around a year if not before. So the next best thing is a top quality, vitamin enriched formula, surely? If it was dangerous to overload on vitamins in formula milk the FSA or whoever would have banned it or the boxes would come with a health warning, GPs, HVs would be talking to parents about it....

Absolutely nothing wrong with cows milk, but my personal position, backed up by a friend who is a nutritionist, is not to give milk designed for another species when there is an alternative that scientists have developed specifically for human babies. But if it's cheaper (I have never compared costs) to use cow's milk and money is tight, then fair enough. I would like to think I am intelligent enough not to be sucked in to parting with my money for no reason.

I don't buy the "formula companies are always evil!" line spouted so much on here. Who are these scientists who work for them, run them etc? Many of them will be parents themselves. Although some of the ads might be a bit close to the line, agreed.

So Lizzy a man made product is better than a natural alternative?

At what point is using cows milk ok then? Surely if it's only for baby cows we should all be having breastmilk or formula in our coffee?

What I'm saying is that there is added vit c in the formula which helps with absorbtion of the added nonheamaglobin iron that formula also contains.

All the adverts for follow on state that it is for baby's over 6 months, they also state that breast milk is best.

There could be many reasons people use it, two of my babies have been prem and haven't eaten as much as a full term toddler would eat at 18 months.

< not to give milk designed for another species when there is an alternative that scientists have developed specifically for human babies >

It is cow's milk! With a few vitamins lobbed in !!! The toddler stuff is almost identical to the powdered whole milk on the shelf in the next aisle.

What scientists? They don't employ any to do continuous research - why would they need to? They do employ people to maximise profits however

Lizzy, I may be wrong but isn't formula a man-made "milk" based on cows milk?

Sirzy, you've hit the nail on the head there, once weaned humans aren't designed to have milk at all, hence all the lactose problems etc. There are large parts of the world population where to drink milk after babyhood would be considered downright odd, if not dangerous.

Formula isn't artifically-created breast milk , it's based on cow's milk. Yes, it's fortified with other things that are found in breast milk, but it's made from cow's milk. And once a baby is weaned they should be getting all the extra vitamins etc. from food, so formula is redundant in most cases.

Yes, formula milk is derived from cows milk.