3 year old refuses to drink any milk.

[Rachionmn]

Hi All,

My 3 year old refuses to drink any milk. We have tried all sorts of things like a reward system, added flavours to the milk..nothing seems to work.

Please help.

Thanks
R

Its not a big deal, calcium is in plenty of foods, yoghurts, cheese, etc

Milk based puddings occasionally too, rice pudding, tapioca, semolina.

As long as he gets calcium in other ways I don't think its a problem. My youngest is 2 1/2, I stopped bf him when he was 22mths old, and he never drank milk in any shape or form. He does love cheese & yoghurt and will have milk with cereal, just wont drink it. I also make sure he gets green leafy veg as often as possible. I used to stress about it, but he really is the healthiest out of all 3 of my monsters, so I have relaxed a bit!

And he likes dairy icecream, and occasionally custard or home made rice pud!
Also macaroni cheese!

He doesn't need to drink milk. Most of the world's population is lactose intolerant from the age of around four (Western European populations are unusual in that respect) and manage just fine. Make sure he has plenty of calcium in his diet; give him a supplement if you are particularly concerned, but don't worry about the milk.

Almonds, tofu, figs, tahini (sesame paste), soy yoghurts, and of course leafy greens and broccoli are high in calcium. Dairy is great for you anyway!

Oh and why not make ready break (fortified with loads of vits and minerals) with some soymilk? That'll have loads of calcium in it.

Chickpeas and baked beans also high in calcium and iron.