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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

18 month old will not drink any milk - nothing works

49 replies

AlCookie · 20/09/2013 09:30

my 18 month old has never been fond of milk. he was breastfed and never took the bottle (well i gave up). once we weaned him, i have had a hard time giving him milk. for the past 1 yr its been milk from a spoon n cup, syringe, glass (tried tried n tried).

he drinks other liquids from a regular glass or his straw bottle but he will not drink milk. very casually he says - 'no....'. n thats it. i tried adding flavours to it, i tried sitting n drnking with him. today its been like more than 3 months where i have been giving him milk from a syringe!!!!!!

i cant do it anymore now....its not a long term solution n i will b joining work in another 3 months. he has to learn to drink milk himself. i dont know what to do!!

a toddler wont starve himself - today morning he spilled all the milk because he just didnt want to drink it. i cleaned up the mess, washed his clothes n now i have left him. should i offer breakfast as usual???? if i feed him other things as usual, will he ever drink milk??? n if i dont....i start crying - i cant deal with him roaming around empty stomach for hours!!!

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mineofuselessinformation · 20/09/2013 09:33

Have you tried yoghurt or cheese?

Original poster

AlCookie · 20/09/2013 09:34

also....otherwise he is a good eater. these days he is getting into the independent thing so likes to feed himself. thats all fine but its the milk thats the concern.

i know i can rely on dairy alternates but seriously....they will provide calcium but milk is also imporatnt for the fat it has n my son is in 9th centile. its the easy thing to do n my mom is going to come take care of him when i go to work. she is a little aged n may not be able to do acrobatics to help feed my son. i need him to be a little independent n i have 3 months

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Original poster

AlCookie · 20/09/2013 09:35

yup he is ok with yogurt n cheese. but i justbsee all little ones having milk n milk n milk. i feel so disheartened

OP posts:

Original poster

AlCookie · 20/09/2013 09:36

if he is on no milk at all then how much yogurt n how many cheese slices (he likes slices the best) should i give him in a day?

OP posts:

noblegiraffe · 20/09/2013 09:38

If he doesn't like milk, stop trying to force milk into him. If he needs fat, then look into other ways of getting it into him. Lots of butter in mashed potato, that sort of thing.

Trying to get him to drink milk is clearly not the way forward.

noblegiraffe · 20/09/2013 09:40

Will he have milk in cereal?

Thesebootsweremadeforwalking · 20/09/2013 09:40

DS wasn't keen on cow's milk, but would drink it happily with Nesquik ( though I mostly just relied on yogurt and cheese on a daily basis).

Once he could manage an open cup he'd also drink a babycino from Costa. I'm not suggesting that's a good way to get milk drunk every day, but it helped him to accept milk at home. He called it coffee, which led to some [sceptical] from MIL until I explained

Thesebootsweremadeforwalking · 20/09/2013 09:40

Or even

RedPencils · 20/09/2013 09:41

Perhaps he just doesn't like milk, I don't. I can't think of anything worse than drinking glass of milk.

I'd leave it for a while and make sure he has plenty of yoghurt and cheese.

Original poster

AlCookie · 20/09/2013 09:44

today his milk has nesquik....but he just drained it all onto the floor.

i think he is only getting irritated. i do agree with noblegirrafe....its just bothering him n he is at the exerting independence stage too...so it just doesbnt help to force him.

but please i need some reassurance - are there 18 month olds who just dont have any milk??? i mean no milk at all??? this concept is just so hard to accept with kids drinking loads of milk all around. n my family will also be like - what?? no milk for this yound a baby????

OP posts:

Original poster

AlCookie · 20/09/2013 09:46

what are your views on cheese slices ladies??? he likes cheese slices n they are quite convenient but would that be ok?

OP posts:

PeggyCarter · 20/09/2013 09:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Madamecastafiore · 20/09/2013 09:49

Dd was a very very small child and stopped drinking milk at 1 year.

I made sure she had cheese and yogurt and she is fine, 13 years and the tallest girl in her class.

Just make sure your child has lots of green veg, pulses too are often good sources of calcium.

How about ice cream or custard or rice pudding?

ouryve · 20/09/2013 09:49

At that age, a pot of yoghurt and a portion of cheese is fine, if his diet is otherwise good. Dairy isn't the only source of calcium and for fat, you just need to avoid low fat crap and he'll get plenty of it from elsewhere.

DS2 has never drunk cows' milk. He's made it to 7, OK.

TanteRose · 20/09/2013 09:49

My DD stopped breastfeeding at 17 months, and hasn't really drunk any milk since then (she is now nearly 16 years old, 5'8", gorgeous and healthy!)
she would eat yoghurt and cheese as a baby, and now sometimes has hot chocolate to drink, made with milk.

the fat is a different issue - try avocados, butter, mayo, etc.

Fairylea · 20/09/2013 09:51

Ds hasn't touched milk for a few months now, he is 16 months. He just decided he didn't like it!

I give him cereals with milk, yoghurt, cheese, salmon and broccoli (all good for calcium). As long as they have enough fat and calcium it is really fine. Give a baby / toddler supplement if you are worried.

noblegiraffe · 20/09/2013 09:52

My DS never drank milk as a drink either.

He needs the equivalent of just over half a pint of milk in calcium. Milk in cereal, yoghurt, some cheese would probably cover it. Bread is usually fortified with calcium too.

PeggyCarter · 20/09/2013 09:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TinyTear · 20/09/2013 09:55

CHeese and yoghurt is ok as a replacement. My daughter likes milk (frothed up like a babyccino) but she could gobble up half a block of mild cheddar in one sitting if I let her! and babybels... oh so many babybels... and full fat philadelphia, she could eat it by the spoon if I let her (she is 19/20 months old...

So I say stock up on cheese, cream cheese, yohgurt and that should hopefully be ok... and add milk to porridge, cereal, sauces and so on as well...

Goldmandra · 20/09/2013 09:56

You need to see your GP and ask to be referred to a dietician.

You can then keep a one week food diary for your son and the dietician can analyse it to make sure he is getting all the necessary elements in his diet without milk.

That should reassure you and you won't feel the need to force milk down his neck every day.

noblegiraffe · 20/09/2013 10:03

Babybel is convenient and is actually cheese, unlike cheese slices which are usually full of other stuff.

One babybel has as much calcium as a glass of milk.

SmeeHee · 20/09/2013 10:08

Cows' milk really isn't an essential part of a child's diet, however the milk marketing people have done such a good job on us that most people (particularly health visitors) believe it is!

Give up on trying to get him to drink milk and focus on offering high energy foods if his weight is an issue. (You mention 9th centile as if it's an issue but for some children it is fine as they are naturally smaller than other children due to having smaller parents - it doesn't have to mean a child needs fattening up!)

One of the most important (and difficult to do) things when feeding a toddler is to be relaxed about the food they're eating (or at least pretend you are) and to not turn it into an issue or battle ground - easier said than done I know!

SmeeHee · 20/09/2013 10:09

bloody phone!

tethersend · 20/09/2013 10:10

16mo DD is the same. She hates cheese, too.

Watching with interest for ideas.

HavantGuard · 20/09/2013 10:10

He doesn't need milk. Here

He needs 350mg of calcium (recommended for children up to 3.) If you scroll through the link there's a list of foods and their calcium content. If you add eggs or mushrooms the vitamin D in them will beneficial.

I've randomly picked these cheese slices. You can see from the nutritional info that two slices contains more than his daily calcium requirement.

If you want to boost his fat intake, hummus is great. If you wanted to make your own you could up the tahini content and make it higher in calcium too.

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