3 year old stopped drinking milk

[Fionn]

After months and months of trying to persuade my son to drink milk from a cup and not a bottle I've finally bitten the bullet and taken the bottles away (buying him a nice present as promised). He hasn't made too much fuss but when I give him milk in a cup (of his choice) he half-heartedly drinks a couple of oz then no more. He used to drink around a pint a day from the bottle and now I'm lucky if I can get him to drink 4oz in a day. He generally eats very well and will eat cheese sauces, yoghurt and milk with cereal. How much milk do they need at this age (he'll be 4 in September)? Should I persist in trying to get him to drink milk or just increase other milk content foods and assume he'll drink from a cup in his own time? Advice welcomed, thanks!

It is recommended that children drink one pint of milk a day (in whatever shape or form). I really wouldn't worry about your DS, he sounds to be eating very well otherwise and probably makes up for the liquid milk in other ways. My DD is milk intolerant and is supposed to have a pint of soya formula every day but she is a poor eater anyway and is dependant on the nutrients in the WYSOY to make up for what she lacks elsewhere. My eldest DS stopped drinking milk altogether once I stopped his bottles and he isn't keen on milk of any sort now except as yoghurts.

You could try a special milk mug for him to have at suppertime with hot chocolate or a milk shake but I wouldn't be too concerned if he's not interested. Speak to your Dr or HV if you are worried.

I think that the most important thing that children get from the milk is the calcium for their bones. If your son is eating plenty of cheese and yogurt that can make up for not drinking the milk. Also, the milk that goes with the cereal is the imp. part of the meal, so that should count as part of his pint. You can also give him a vitamin with calcium if you are concerned, but be careful as too much calcium can cause constipation.

Dd will not drink milk from a cup, refuses to have it on cereal (mm, lovely bowl of dry branflakes anyone?), hates cheese and cheese sauces and tolerates yogurt occasionally. She's 2.5. The only milky thing she will drink is cocoa, which I make with half a pint of full fat milk. She gets it in an anyway cup while watching half an hour of video before teeth and story and bed.

Try whizzing some chocolate milkshake powder into it, my DD will down a glass then no probs. R

Rhiannon - ds has never drunk anything except milk and water. He won't try a sip of anything else, even his dad's yummy milkshakes, though he loves fruit and ice cream on their own. I will give it a go though! He's very unlike his younger brother who has already tried tea, lemonade and wine (it just wet his lips, he pulled a face and asked for more!). As long as they don't drink coke, I can't stand the stuff!
Thanks for the replies, it's put my mind at rest, I'll just make sure he has cereal and cheese or yoghurt most days. I think he will come back to milk when the bottle is a distant memory. I loved the stuff as a child, I think it's a lovely drink and hope he doesn't go off it for good.

fionn, I think I will be facing the same problem as you soon - phasing out the bottles and hoping my ds will drink milk from a cup. At present he doesn't like milk in cups at all. However, believe it or not, Mcdonalds have come to my rescue!

They serve milk in small cartons - a drinking straw goes through a small hole. My toddler son guzzles the milk from one of these with no problems! I'm sure you can buy small cartons of milk from some shops - worth trying in your case?

Also, just to repeat the messages, IME (looking at my older son and his friends) from pre-school age onwards, many children don't drink much milk 'straight'. But bring out a box of dairylee cheese triangles and they are all over you.

My three year old ds is not big on milk either, or cheese, though a big yog/fro-frais/Nesquik fan so I don't make a fuss. Dd, who used to be dairy intolerant loves all the above but will only touch straight milk if it is ice cold. I well remember ghastly room-temp school milk (in dinky bottles with a straw) and how utterly different it was from "nice" home milk straight from the fridge. Both mine love playing with ice cubes and fancy straws in drinks so maybe that would help.

Crikey a pint a day PamT? Like Enid my son eats dry cereal. The only milk products I can get him to eat are yoghurt and cheese but I doubt if that would come to a pint. I've filled the gaps by breastfeeding for a long time (that's another story) but I struggle to get him to drink half a cupful at bedtime. He is extremely healthy though (turns 3 next month) - I think milk is only important in the first 2 years when they are growing so fast.

Thanks Rhiannon for the tip, as dd had started refusing ALL dairy products I bought some Choc Nesquik and now she can't get enough b**y milk!!

Glad I could be of assistance! R