1 year old won't drink cows milk- should I be worried?

[MinisterforCheekyFuckery]

DS is 1yo and although he's happy to have cows milk on his Weetabix in the morning, he won't drink it from an open cup or a sippy cup. He has a yoghurt, a portion of cheese and milk on cereal every day so how much do I need to worry?
He was formula fed and until recently was having one bottle in the morning and one at bedtime but we've knocked the morning one on the head and now he's just having the bedtime one. I'd like to stop the bedtime one too as I don't feel he needs it (he's a good eater and has three meals a day plus one or two snacks) and I know it's not good for their teeth. But that means he won't be drinking any milk, just water.
I mentioned it to the HV and she just said keep offering him the cups of milk and he'll get used to it eventually but surely that's not guaranteed? There must be kids who just don't like the taste.

Why does it matter if he drinks cow's milk? As long as he has a healthy diet he doesn't need to drink it.

Could you try formula in a beaker and then slowly reduce the amount of formula and increase the milk in the mix? Try offering morning, evening and afternoon.

Why does it matter if he drinks cow's milk? As long as he has a healthy diet he doesn't need to drink it.

According to our HV he should be having 300ml a day.

According to our HV he should be having 300ml a day.

That’s utter rubbish, millions of kids don’t drink dairy milk due to allergies/intolerance/lifestyle. A healthy balanced diet is what’s needed

According to our HV he should be having 300ml a day.

Absolute rubbish. Yes, he needs calcium and vitamin d, but he can get those through other foods and other forms of dairy products. My daughter never drank milk and she was/is perfectly healthy. Google "do children need to drink milk" and read about it.

Just use follow on milk in a cup for a bit if you are worried about milk. But if he eats well and especially if he has dairy in other forms (cheese, yogurt etc.) there's really nothing to worry about.

There’s no essential requirement for milk from a different species

We don't actually need cows milk, research other food sources and introduce them instead.

It's actually 350ml that's recommended for that age, but that can also come from yoghurt, cheese, leafy veg etc so if he a a varied diet then you're likely getting enough in (nhs recommends 2 portions of dairy a day) Full fat varieties for the calories too.

Ds is 15 months and has one bottle at night and we brush his teeth after. He likes his one bottle and also wont drink milk from a cup, has no other drinks but water.

Have you tried adding small amounts of cows milk to the bottle of formula and then gradually increasing the proportion of cows milk? I think its 3 portions of dairy to get the calcium required

DD has refused point blank to touch cows milk from weaning onwards. She will eat cheese and a bit of plain yogurt. HV was seriously alarmed, GP less so. GP gave me lots of practical advice on non-dairy calcium rich foods. DD was never interested in plant milks and eats cereal as a dry snack. She is flourishing, it does require a bit of thought but it's okay.

DS was like this. We wanted to keep the bottle at bedtime going as it's part of his routine so we slowly added more and more cows milk and less formula to his bottle. He was stubborn so it took a couple of months! Once he was on cows milk we transitioned to a cup with a spout.

Ah nhs says 2. I'm sure it used to say 3

DD2 refused to drink any form of cows milk from 7 months when she refused to bf. It was a difficult time as she was also having growth issues.

Luckily my experienced Swedish HV encouraged me to relax and told me to try other milk products (it doesn't need to be drunk) - so yoghurts, cheese, butter and I also used to make up baby porridge and cereals with milk - even if it said you could just add water.

We are not a milk loving family. My DDs never drank any milk after around age 10-12 months. DH and I don't drink it either or put it it in drinks. We only buy it for cereal and even then it is used sparingly. We are all healthy adults. There are other ways to get calcium in your diet so give your DS yogurt and cheese and put milk on his cereal. He will be fine.

If he’s ok with yogurt and cheese and limits milk to being alongside other food, rather than refuses it outright, I wouldn’t bother forcing him to have more.

Neither of my children would ever drink cows milk as a drink. They had it on their cereal and eat plenty of cheese/yogurt etc

Its fine, DS only started drinking cows milk as a drink when he was 20m and started having nursery snack time (He was still breastfed in the morning and before bed and just drank water when he was with DM/MIL)

In Italy where I'm from the advice we get is to only let toddlers have one glass of cows milk a day (usually with breakfast) as otherwise they get too full up having it to drink and don't eat enough variety of foods.

My son is exactly the same. As soon as he came off formula he didn't want to drink cows milk on its own but happily has it on cereal and I sometimes make him a banana milkshake with it (plus a little honey) which he loves. I'm happy that he eats cheese, yogurt, butter and has milk for breakfast etc. But I still use full fat milk for him just to make sure he's topped up (he's 2 1/2).
I really wouldn't worry.

I'd be giving a follow on milk, personally.

What about non dairy alternatives?

If he’s having cereal and some cheese and yoghurt I don’t think it matters at all, since he then is getting milk. There’s nothing magical or special about a cup of milk vs a piece of cheese or milk in cereal, or stage three formula for that matter.

Try to give your child at least 350ml (12oz) of milk a day, or 2 servings of foods made from milk, such as cheese, yoghurt or fromage frais.

There you go, that’s what the NHS website says. People, including HVs sometimes clearly, are very quick to misinterpret pretty clear information. No need for 350ml of milk of you’re making up for it in cheese and yoghurt. And still certainly no need for pointless stage 3 formula either.

Unless he's a baby calf I wouldn't worry

Thank you all.

I feel daft for worrying about it now but I (perhaps naively) assumed that the HV knew what she was on about. I told her he was having milk on his cereal/porridge every morning plus a portion of cheese and a yoghurt/fromages frais daily but she said he should still be having 300ml to drink on top of that, not that it was either/or.

I feel much less worried about it all now. I am recovering from PND so get quite anxious and struggle to trust my own instincts.