cows milk vs formula at 3 yrs

[topsi]

My DS(3) loves his milk. He can still get through 3 large cups of milk a day. However I do worry about his general diet, it is quite resticted. He eats some fish (the finger variety) and some chicken, likes pasta in cheese sauce, not too bad with fruit and veg.

I have just read what is basically an advert for a certain brand of toddler formula saying that just 2 cups a day provide 50% of the RDA of iron for a toddler. My little boy always looks a little pale though he is usually full of energy.

Is formula worse for children's teeth than cows milk?

Shall I swap from cows milk to formula??

No of course not ! These ads are playing to your insecurities to make the manufacturers money. tbh that sounds like a high proportion of milk/dairy and you may be better cutting one cup out and he being more hungry for other foods. If you are still worried ask your gp if he needs any vitamin supplements, almost certainly a cheaper alternative.

they shouldnt be relying on milk for their iron intake at the age of 3 though so they should be getting their intake through food instead. The advert is a bit misleading and a bit of a con - no way would I swap to formula at this stage.

I wouldnt swap so long as he is full of energy etc. Will he eat spinach? Beans? Wholemeal? Fortified cereals?...

p.s. my 3 year old barely drinks milk but has milk on cereal and dairy products to make up for it. I wouldnt want him filling up on milk at the expense of more nutritious foods.

He does eat wholemeal bread, but no real red meat, have not tried spinach, but goes sometimes eat broccoli.
LIZS I think you are right we need to cut down his milk intake. His poos are often very pale which I think is the milk. He does just pick at his food alot of the time.
The milk thing is often used by both myself and DH as a means of keeping him quiet and still for a few minutes.
Also he will never be dry at night untill we cut out the evening milk.

Dont worry about the no red meat. Ive been vegetarian for almost 20 years (since age 9) and have never been anaemic.

Thank you everyone for your advice. He has had no milk offered to him today except for on cereal, and a small cup just now before bed, which he refused because it was not in his usuall cup. Despite the fact he is suffering from a virus at the moment he has eaten a better tea tonight, than I have seen him eat for ages.
Are green beans good for iron? He ate some tonight plus bit of broccoli.
Gold stars all round x

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how do you make the apricot and choc tower??

look at the bottom left corner of the screen during those adds. It says something like 'follow on milk is not a good source of iron'. My understanding is that it has iron in it but its not in a form that's actually absorbed that well by the body.

Buy the stuff by all means but its got a lot of added unrequired sugar and costs a fortune compared to perfectly adequate cows milk or indeed no milk at all.

We hide frozen spinach in sauces for pasta etc. I don't think dd realises some tomato sauces don't have little green flecks in them

Baked beans are a good source of iron, as are eggs.

Those follow on milks are a total con, IMHO.

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Definitely stick with cows' milk!

My DS(3 in March) isn't keen on meat either, lots of kids his age aren't IMHO. DD wasn't either - I think it's the texture - but she acquired a great taste for it by the time she was around 4.

Excellent sources of iron:
fortified breakfast cereals
liver (max once/week)
kidney (yuk)

Good sources of iron:
wholemeal bread/flour
wheat bisks
beef
lamb
sardines, pilchards
soya beans
chick peas
lentils
spinach
broccoli
spring greens
dried apricots
raisins

And when he is having a meat dish, give him some pure juice (apple, orange) diluted 50:50 with water - this will help with iron absorption.