Full fat milk - how long should kids drink it?

[mermaidgirl]

How long do you have to give kids full fat milk? Mine are 7 and 5. I heard that full fat has more nutrients in it and is better for growing bones etc.

Mine have never had it. I bf'd for over a year, but started giving cows milk in a cup from 10/11 months, and started them on semi skimmed then.
They are all fine, and now 9,7,5 and 3. They eat a lot of cheese and yogurt too, so never worried about getting separate milk for them.

i thought it was 2yrs

You can change to semi from 2 yrs if you want. Full fate milk is still relatively low in fat though, around 4% IIRC.

I kept DD on full fat for a while because she was a tiny scrawny thing. She isn't any more, so when DS is 2 (blimey thats next month ) we will have semi for everyone.

you can switch to semi-skimmed from age 2 which is what both mine drink at age 4 and 7. Semi skimmed has the same calcium but less fat.

The guidelines say full fat until they're two, then semi-skimmed. Don't give skimmed until they're at least five.

DS has just turned two and we get semi-skimmed occasionally, but mostly get full fat still as he seems to have a fairly skinny waist!

Children can have semi-skimmed milk from 2 and skimmed from 5, so you certainly don't need to still be giving them fullfat milk any more. There is the same amount of calcium in skimmed or semiskimmed as there is in fullfat, so it makes no difference to bone growth.

There are more of some vitamins in full-fat, which is why they say children should have it till 2. But if your children have a reasonably varied diet then they won't need those extra vitamins any more as they'll be getting plenty from all kinds of food.

At least two years. Therafter it depends on whether you want to buy differetn sort of milk for the family or not.

I thought i probably was a bit early on the semi skimmed - oh well!

My ds is 2 in acouple of weeks and he has never had full cream milk. I tried him on it when he was 1 and after 2 days he was in hopital with severe constipation so he has always had semi skimmed.

The hospital told me a child doesn't need full fat milk. the only difference in nilks is the calories

I think it depends on the child. My DD is 7, veeery active and skinny so she still has whole milk...so do i . Although I don't need it

They are both of average weight although my DD is a little skinny. Think I will switch to semi-skimmed then! Thanks for all the advice!

I think it's just down to preference these days... we tend to all eat enough dairy and a fairly wide range of foods which provides enough calories and nutrients generally. So really, the only difference is the fat and calories and the taste. I personally have always had full fat and so do the rest of the family, we're all rather slim, active and like the taste better. And we don't eat much processed food so I think it's pretty ok to have it.

We gave DDs full fat till they were 2 then semi-skimmed.

If they are not fat I would let them drink full fat milk all the time, until they are at least 40. By all means semi-skimmed in Tea, or possibly on cereal, but if drinking it, it is the only milk with any taste. Skimmed is like dishwater, just cruel to give that to any child to drink until they are old enough to make up their own mind IMHO.

DD(8) has full fat as she is skinny and not that interested in food. DS has been on green milk since he was about 4 as he has always had a good appetite and doesn't need it.

Lol, I grew up drinking skimmed (don't remember at what age I got put on it), and to me, that's what milk tastes like. Don't like the thicker stuff at all, yuck.

I drink it in tea and with cereal cos we can't afford to keep several different types of milk going in the house, but I really look forward to when DS is on proper skimmed milk :)

DS1 never drank cows' milk at all til he was over 2 (he was BF til 20 months and always refused cows' milk), so straight onto semi-skimmed. DS2 went to semi-skimmed from about 14mo iirc, he is a chubby little fellow so seemed daft to buy separate milk to give him extra fat he doesn't seem to need. Both eat cheese and yoghurt by the bucketload.

why would anyone give a child skimmed or semi-skimmed milk?

I've only just started having semi-skimmed myself and I'm 54. The difference in fat content hardly seems worth bothering about.

..meaning I agree with Edgar.

I don't really like full fat milk myself. DS had it until he turned 2 but I'm afraid DD turns 2 at Christmas and has only ever had semi - I would qualify that by saying that she doesn't have v much of it, and is still having plenty of breastmilk.

We also all have full fat yogurts etc. And butter...

I give them semi-skimmed because that's what we have as a family, is that so hard to fathom

DS had full fat til he was 2, DD til she was about 18 months as I was fed up of chucking it out. We all have semi now.

:) i suppose i think of skimmed milk = diet food rather than matter of taste.

it makes me think back to my gramps having skimmed milk with their tea & chocolate biscuits when they were 'on a diet'....