DR. said DS drinks too much milk?

[smacky1]

I brought my ds to the dr for his 15 month check up yesterday. He is a healthy boy and is normal height and weight. The Dr. said he drinks too much milk and should only consume around 16oz of milk a day. I wasnt suprised by this amount as a remember reading that was the average amount for a child his age. He drinks 24-30 oz a day. I didnt think to ask why at that moment, but once I came home, I started to wonder.....Why is it a problem if they consume to much milk or dairy????? I would understand if he was obese, but his weight is normal. Anyone know problems that occur with too much milk consumption ?? Thanks!

 

[720L]

I swear I read something about diabetes? My son drinks a lot of milk also. His ped. said he was probably drinking too much milk when I complained of his poor appetite. She said he was probably filling up on milk. He is now 6 and is fine and still drinking tons of milk! Maybe the problem would be not getting enough fruits and veggies if your ds drinks too much milk?

 

[tiggger1]

My ped said they same thing. She told me that if he didnt have alot of milk he would eat more but he was already eating a ton and the milk helped fill him...I have tried to cut down the milk because he still has it in a sippy at night sometimes but he still eats a ton anyway!

 

[smacky1]

Im laughing at your posts b/c my ds eats a ton too. I really have no concerns with his eating or drinking. I will check on the diabetes thing though as it does run in our family...never thought of that.

 

[Frankiesmom]

I just took my DS 3 ( yes, I know! Bad Mom!!!!- but he's my last baby!!) of the bottle; he's a healthy weight and size, if a little small. And he was drinking 24-32 oz of milk a day! And his appetite was awful! So the past 2 nites have been somewhat miserable! I made sure to throw the bottles out on garbage day. But, his appetite has already improved!!!!

 

[annie1995]

I was told at my DS's 18 month old checkup that he should be drinking somewhere between 18-24oz of whole milk a day. If he is not overweight and is otherwise eating fine, I really wouldn't worry about it too much. Just my opinion though


Here is a link I found about it too. It was pretty close to what my sons doctor said also. Its for feeding our 1-2 year olds!!!

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/food/infants/feed12yr.html

 

[MindyLuvsMickey]

I have the opposite problem. My son won't touch milk. he hasn't since we took his bottle. Fortunately for us, he LOVES cheese. he's not a big eater either. Very, VERY picky.

he's on the small side of average.

 

[smacky1]

I was told at my DS's 18 month old checkup that he should be drinking somewhere between 18-24oz of whole milk a day. If he is not overweight and is otherwise eating fine, I really wouldn't worry about it too much. Just my opinion though


Here is a link I found about it too. It was pretty close to what my sons doctor said also. Its for feeding our 1-2 year olds!!!

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/food/infants/feed12yr.html

Thanks for the article. Sounds like iron deficiency could be a problem of drinking too much milk.

 

[tzolkin]

my son only drinks about 6oz (a small cup) of milk per day--and sometimes he doesnt finish it. he's 22 mos. my dr. never even asked how much milk he drinks, just what kind. obviously i wouldnt give him skim milk, but i often just buy 2% instead of whole because he's not the one drinking most of it. i am still breastfeeding, but only once or twice a day. i've never been concerned with his dairy intake though because he eats alot of cheese and yogurt every day.

my sister has a 14mo old. her doctor told her she could have 24oz per day, but she receives WIC so when she went to the appt a few days later the lady told her that she should limit her to 8oz. she said that the baby was too fat bc she was at the 75th percentile. at least my sister was smart enough to comment that she's way over the 100th percentile for her height, so she's actually underweight for her height. the woman hadn't thought of that. she didnt give any other reason for limiting the milk other than to keep her from becoming overweight.

 

[Sheaboys]

Too much milk will also make it difficult for their bodies to absorb iron. DS#2 was anemic due to too much milk. He loves his milk. At dinner time, I get him a glass, but I have to tell him to put it down, or at least eat 1/2 his meal first before taking a drink otherwise he will drink the entire glass and not eat.

 

[smacky1]

Just did a quick search on iron deficiency and milk and here is the answer to a question someone posted about it:

"Milk is usually considered to be very good for you, and it is a good source of protein, fat, and calcium, at least for those children who don't have a milk protein allergy or lactose intolerance. But you can get too much of a good thing.

Infants and toddlers who drink much more than 16-24 ounces of milk each day can have problems with constipation, but the biggest problem is usually all of the extra calories that they are getting from the milk they are drinking. These extra calories usually either cause a child to be full and not want to eat many other nutritious foods and become underweight, or if they are still eating well, then all of the extra calories can lead to their becoming overweight.

Consider that he is drinking 32 to 48 ounces of milk each day, which at 19 calories per ounce, means that he is getting about 600 to 900 calories just from milk. And that is 1/2 to 2/3 of the estimated 1300 calories that a toddler needs each day.

Plus if your child also drinks a lot of juice, he could be getting almost all of the calories he needs from the milk and juice he is drinking, even though that wouldn't provide him with the right mix of fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.

Another big problem is that toddlers who drink too much milk are often at risk for iron deficiency anemia. This is usually because milk doesn't have any iron in it, and because if they fill up on milk, then they don't eat many other foods with iron either.

I recently saw a toddler with severe iron deficiency anemia, who ended up requiring a blood transfusion, and the problem ended up being that he was drinking too much milk and not eating enough healthy foods. The Pediatric Hematologists in our area say that they see it very often too.

On the other hand, if your child doesn't have an iron deficiency (your Pediatrician can do a blood test to check for anemia), eats well, isn't constipated, and is gaining weight normally, even if he is off the charts, then drinking so much milk isn't as concerning.

If you decide that it is necessary, an easy way to cut back on his milk intake is to simply not fill up his sippie cups. Instead of 8 ounces in the cup, just put 5 or 6 ounces. And then maybe stick to just 3-4 cups per day."

 

[Disneychix]

I was told at DS 1yr visit that he shouldn't be drinking more than 16oz per day of milk and less than that if he has yogurt or cheese too. He was still doing about 24oz of formula so that was a hard switch. Fortunately he will drink water and eliminating his last bottle went smoothly so we're down to only 1 cup of milk a day. (plus yogurt)

 

[JeremyGNJ]

Milk is bad for you. There's a REASON that more than 50% of the planet is "lactose intolerant". It's because our bodies arent built to digest it!!!

We're the only mammal on the planet that tries to drink milk after infancy....and from another species no less.

Also because milk is so incredibly hard to digest, you body actually uses a lot of calcium to break it down....almsot as much calcium as you're getting from the milk itself.

You're better off eating broccoli. Dont believe me? research it.

 

[LadyShea]

My ped didn't even ask about his milk intake at the 15mo checkup, and at the time he was drinking TONS of milk and still on the bottle. I even watered it down because we were going through several gallons a week.

You may consider that, watered down whole milk still has full fat content, it just reduces the overall milk intake without reducing the amount of total liquid. Try 1/4 water at first, then increase to 1/2 water until the total milk is about 16oz a day.

His milk consumption drastically reduced when he went off the bottle at 20mo though....so hang in there!

 

[LisaNJ25]

I just took my DS 3 ( yes, I know! Bad Mom!!!!- but he's my last baby!!) of the bottle; he's a healthy weight and size, if a little small. And he was drinking 24-32 oz of milk a day! And his appetite was awful! So the past 2 nites have been somewhat miserable! I made sure to throw the bottles out on garbage day. But, his appetite has already improved!!!!

Not a bad mommy.. my toddlers still take the bottle. I figure they wont get married with one.

 

[wen774]

Milk is bad for you. There's a REASON that more than 50% of the planet is "lactose intolerant". It's because our bodies arent built to digest it!!!

We're the only mammal on the planet that tries to drink milk after infancy....and from another species no less.

Also because milk is so incredibly hard to digest, you body actually uses a lot of calcium to break it down....almsot as much calcium as you're getting from the milk itself.

You're better off eating broccoli. Dont believe me? research it.

Im with you. Neither of my kids ever drank milk. My son on occasion likes glass of chocolate milk when we eat out and it always gives him a belly ache. Cows milk is meant to feed baby cows...that said I will not give up my cheese

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I brought my ds to the dr for his 15 month check up yesterday. He is a healthy boy and is normal height and weight. The Dr. said he drinks too much milk and should only consume around 16oz of milk a day. I wasnt suprised by this amount as a remember reading that was the average amount for a child his age. He drinks 24-30 oz a day. I didnt think to ask why at that moment, but once I came home, I started to wonder.....Why is it a problem if they consume to much milk or dairy????? I would understand if he was obese, but his weight is normal. Anyone know problems that occur with too much milk consumption ?? Thanks!

Ugh! If I hear one more thing about doctors and milk consumption I am going to scream! The doctor used to tell me the same nonsense. I just smiled and nodded and did what I KNEW was best for my child. If your child likes milk and eats well then I wouldn't worry about it. They change the milk guidelines every single time I had a child and they are all roughly only 20 months apart. Don't stress.

 

[Lilolvr]

I like soy milk. The choc taste like Yooho.

 

[DevilDuckie]

The biggest issue at this age is that if he's eating 24-30 oz of *anything* he's not exploring enough other foods. Whether milk itself is good or bad isn't the main issue here, it's that as long as that much of his diet is milk he is not getting the nutritional values and experiences of other foods. Starting him on a variety now will make it easier to have him eat like a normal person later.

 

[Schmeck]

There have also been studies showing the start of clogged arteries/high cholesterol in children - the damage we die from in middle/old age is started in our arteries when we are children. So, another reason to limit dairy is that it can be high in fat and cholesterol. Of course babies need fat and cholesterol, there just has to be a proper balance, as they need other nutrients as well.