To give my 25 month old semi-skimmed?

[Mosschopz]

The stating-the-bleeding-obvious Fit 4 Life leaflet I got at DS's 2 year check last week says you should give full-fat to the under-twos. I always thought it was full-fat milk for children of all ages. Is this right or does it not really matter past 2? He's a normal weight and height for his age.

Thank you everyone. I didn't know about the sugar content being different to be honest, and the watering down is slight - I make two cups a night and just top up with water so he's getting plenty of milk still. I'll check the sugar content and then consider switching x

mine both had semi skimmed from the age of 2 as that is what I have in my tea. Semi skimmed is ok from age 2 but you should avoid skimmed until the age of 5 as it doesnt have enough fat/calories and fat soluble vitamins in it. We dont use skimmed milk though.

I always thought it was full fat til 5, at the time I think I was told that this is because of the high calories in it? - I don't drink milk and DP only has it in his coffee. I still buy full fat now and my eldest is 9!

I thought the advice was full fat mill until 5...do I have that wrong or has it changed?

www.nhs.uk/livewell/goodfood/pages/milk-dairy-foods.aspx - nhs says this:

Children should drink full-fat milk until they are at least two years old because they may not get the calories or essential vitamins they need from lower-fat milks.

After the age of two, children can gradually move to semi-skimmed milk as a main drink, as long as they are eating a varied and balanced diet and growing well.

Don't give skimmed or 1% fat milk to children as a main drink until they're at least five years old. Skimmed and 1% fat milk don't contain enough vitamin A and skimmed milk doesn't contain enough calories.

It's to do with fat content.

Babies and toddlers needs higher proportion of fat in their diet compared to adults. For brain development.

If she cannot tolerate full fat,you should have made sure she is getting fats elsewhere.

I seem to remember that the reason for giving an under 5 FF milk is also to do with the development of the neural system and the brain, it needs the fat.

Xpost Iggly!

I live in a country where semi is standard. Check the fat percentages between full and semi, barely a whisper in it - but hey, the NHS and sound nutritional advice rarely go hand in hand.

Furthermore, stop getting your knickers in a twist re sugar content. Breastmilk is the sweetest of all milks (or formula), so would you refuse breastmilk? Of course not!

I buy full fat now, but DS had semi skimmed and even shock, horror, skimmed on occasion before he was two (I keep emergency UHT skimmed in the cupboard, and my mum, MIL and nan only buy semi skimmed)

I do wonder if full fat is healthier, in the sense that sugar is better for you than sweetener? You know, your body is expecting the fat/sugar that it doesnt get, so you then crave it? I know that I've lost more weight since we've bought whole milk than I did buying semi or skimmed. (Anecdote=data of course)

full fat has a minimum of 3.5% fat, semi skimmed is 1.7% and skimmed has an average of 0.1% fat

I find skimmed too watery so never use it. I like semi skimmed best

By the way, all milk is skimmed to some extent these days. If you get it straight from the cow it's got a lot creamier. They are skimmed to the minimum value stated and the cream sold separately. And I still stand by watering milk down is not better. If a child has water and milk they will have less milk than if they'd just had semiskimmed and it's the milk that contains the vitamins and minerals. Semi skimmed actually contains more calcium per ml as the calcium is held in the milk not the cream.

Beyond, I dont know about ss versus full fat but there was a study a few years ago showing that those that drank quite a bit of milk a day were slimmer than those that don't. I can't remember how much the quantities were though, I'll look it up....

yes it is fine your toddler is over 2 they can have semi skimmed. DD1 couldn't tolerate full fat milk so she was on semi earlier but the advice is over 2s is fine

The vitamin D content of milk is in the fat and for infant feeding skimmed or semi-skimmmed is unsuitable. Once children are eating a varied diet, so 24 months seems reasonable, they will get sufficient vitamin D from other food, so semi-skimmed is OK then.

It's for the essential fatty acids that are contained in whole milk. Important for the development of brain and normal growth in children. After 2 you can move to semi skimmed though as long as getting a varied diet.