Would a toddler get ANY nutrients from semi skimmed milk?

[TracyK]

I like to make a fruit smoothie and a bowl of porridge for me and ds in the mornings. But at the mo I am making 2 lots of each. Full fat milk for him and semiskimmed for me.
If ds was getting his 1 pint of full fat milk during the rest of the day - could I give him s/skimmed in his smoothie/porridge?
Its a pia doing 2 lots of everything and too fattening for me to use full fat for mine.

i always thought semi skimmed was exactly the same as full fat except less fat (ie the same of everything else)

Yes, it's only the fat content that taken out.
After 2 they definitely don't need to have full fat anymore. not sure how old he is but if you're giving him full fat rest of time it certainly isn't a problem.

I'd say as long as the rest of his diet is normal, then go for it. At the end of the day, he is still getting the goodness of the fruit etc - many children don't drink milk (due to allergies or just not liking it) and cope perfectly well, so I'm sure semi won't hurt him for breakfast.

Thanks girls - btw he's 18mo.
Another excuse blown as to why I'm not losing weight!!

they only need a minimum of 350mls (12 ounces) of full fat milk to get the required daily calcium, etc so your lo would be perfectly fine to have a small amount of semi-skimmed along with the amount of full fat milk he already has. (ps dairy products also count in that daily minimum)

p.s. Full fat milk is only about 4% fat so it is not that fattening - a small amount in your brekkie is not going to pile on too many pounds!!

Reduced fat dairy products don't provide enough fat and calories for young toddlers - I would counteract this by adding some more fat to either the smoothie or another meal. E.g. if you have rice or pasta for dinner, add a spoonful of olive oil before you serve his portion. You can get a pleasant tasting oil to add to smoothies and yogurts, called Udo's oil, which contains all the Omega oils. You can get it from health food shops.

If he's getting full fat the rest of the day, s/skimmed in the morning is perfectly fine. And anyone, at least in the usa, they only tell you to do full fat until 2 years old. After that they get enough fat in their diet. I think it's really more important for when they are younger and milk is their primary source of nutrients. Surely at 18mo your ds is eating a well rounded diet (sounds like it if he has a smoothie and porridge in the am), so I wouldn't worry about it.

Or Good Oil - you can get this from Waitrose