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My 3 yr old is a very poor eater but he is very big on drinking milk, the problem is he drinks from a bottle, he will have juice, water from a lidless glass but milk is always from a bottle just won't use anything else, have tried every kinda cup. i have taken away the bottle because it just looks weird a 3 yr old with a bottle and he is not drinking any milk anymore and like i said he is a poor eater so i am kinda worried he will lose the weight. I m making everything he likes and will eat but the milk is a very important part of his diet. any advice guys:confused:
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I feel your pain. My daughter who is 10 has never drunk milk out of any kind of cup or bottle. She was breastfed til she was about 2 yo because I was concerned that she would not drink milk.
Have you tried adding a little bit of flavoring to it? Like chocolate or strawberry? I admit I did try this with my dd and it she still would not drink it but maybe that would work for your son. Maybe it would just be enough difference in flavor that he would drink it from the cup. Then you could cut down on the flavoring gradually if you don't want that extra sugar in there indefinitely. Or maybe he would drink a milk alternative like soy or almond milk in a cup. I am no expert on those but maybe someone else on here knows more about those alternatives.
I know there are some who don't believe kids need milk, but I grew up with that you need the milk for calcium so it was difficult for me to have my daughter not drink her milk. I am good with it now and I do give her foods that have calcium like yougurt and cheese that she will eat and a calcium/vitamin D supplement. -
You don't need milk. You can get dairy in other forms. Just give him more yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, sour cream, etc., to make up for the lack of milk in his diet. If you look into it further, and plan his diet (more work than I am willing to do) then you can live without dairy all together.
My third child was breastfed until he was 2.5 and never took milk in a cup either. Now, at almost 4yo he's finally upping his intake of milk to a few ounces a day (because I always serve it, he's started to finally take sips).
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Is this your own 3 year old or a daycare child?
If this is your own child, I would simply continue to make healthy nutritious foods and offer them to him at meals and snack times (including milk in a cup). I would NOT, however, make a huge deal of it. Just serve/offer and he will eat/drink when he is ready. Do NOT offer alternatives or something other than milk in a cup to drink.
He is probably sensing that you are stressed about it and are getting frustrated enough that when he wont drink the milk from a cup you are giving him juice or another choice.
Just keep offering the milk in a cup and HE will decide when he is ready to drink it. If he asks for something else, just keep telling him "I'm sorry but your choices are milk or water".
I would also make sure to offer him some alternatives to getting his calcium and Vitamin D while he is adjusting to this change.
Biggest thing though is don't stress.....just keep offering him the cup and leave the rest to him.
I do agree with AnneCordelia though, I dont think a person literally requires milk as part of their diet so the above advice is if you want him to have milk otherwise, I would just give him alternatives instead.Last edited by Blackcat31; 05-10-2012, 06:18 AM.Comment
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Thanks guys i will do that for sure add dairy to his diet, he loves his milk just wants it in the bottle, according to him " mommy milk taste like poop in the sippy cup, i don't want it"
but for sure will try the dairy or flavor the milk and then try the cup. once again thank uComment
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how much milk are you giving this child and why do you think he would lose weight. I don't offer milk here (I was dumping out so much of it) but i offer it in other forms. I will say that I had a 3 yr old who drank milk all day out of a bottle and ate junk. Well, I took away the bottle and after a few days she started to eat normal food. The minute she got home she got her bottle and marshmellows for dinner. Also, all the diarrhea poop was enough to drive you crazy too. And if there is nothing else to drink they will drink from a sippy cup.Comment
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Is this your own 3 year old or a daycare child?
If this is your own child, I would simply continue to make healthy nutritious foods and offer them to him at meals and snack times (including milk in a cup). I would NOT, however, make a huge deal of it. Just serve/offer and he will eat/drink when he is ready. Do NOT offer alternatives or something other than milk in a cup to drink.
He is probably sensing that you are stressed about it and are getting frustrated enough that when he wont drink the milk from a cup you are giving him juice or another choice.
Just keep offering the milk in a cup and HE will decide when he is ready to drink it. If he asks for something else, just keep telling him "I'm sorry but your choices are milk or water".
I would also make sure to offer him some alternatives to getting his calcium and Vitamin D while he is adjusting to this change.
Biggest thing though is don't stress.....just keep offering him the cup and leave the rest to him.
I do agree with AnneCordelia though, I dont think a person literally requires milk as part of their diet so the above advice is if you want him to have milk otherwise, I would just give him alternatives instead.
O yea!!! i has been asking for juice, and i told him the same thing milk or water. he loves all dairy so will start doing that, thank you this really helpsComment
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My son hasn't drank milk since he was 2 years old... he is now 14 and his weight has never been an issue. He gets his dairy/calcium other ways... yogurt, cottage cheese, other cheeses, smoothies etc.... our doctor also suggested supplementing with TUMS, which we do off and on.
Have you tried cups with straws? Sport bottles? I guess I would just keep offering it to him in a cup and eventually he'll want his milk bad enough that he'll be able to move past the bottle??
Good Luck!Comment
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This is my own son, so i am at fault here, he will drink a whole bottle every 2 hours and is a very very poor eater, so i kinda let him have the milk, i find him to be smaller compared to the other 3yr old DCK, that is i stress a lot. I have a no junk food policy at daycare, so my kids only get junk when they visit grandma
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The reason he may be a poor eater is he might be drinking way to much milk if he drinks a bottle (8oz) of milk every 2 hours thats alot of milk in one day usually children have 2-3 glasses of milk a day. I wouldnt give him so much milk and all honesty if you throw all the bottles away he nor you have a choice to give him one. If he wont drink the milk out of the cup then he doesnt have milk simple as that like the other ladies said he can get it other ways.This is my own son, so i am at fault here, he will drink a whole bottle every 2 hours and is a very very poor eater, so i kinda let him have the milk, i find him to be smaller compared to the other 3yr old DCK, that is i stress a lot. I have a no junk food policy at daycare, so my kids only get junk when they visit grandmaComment
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He's only drinking milk (not eating) and from a bottle because you allow itThis is my own son, so i am at fault here, he will drink a whole bottle every 2 hours and is a very very poor eater, so i kinda let him have the milk, i find him to be smaller compared to the other 3yr old DCK, that is i stress a lot. I have a no junk food policy at daycare, so my kids only get junk when they visit grandma
Whoever suggested flavoring - I completely disagree. Milk is already LOADED with sugar, adding flavor syrups will cause more harm than good in the end. Also, kids don't NEED milk... incorporate other SOLID forms of dairy into his diet.
As with daycare kiddos, don't offer alternatives - cook and serve the healthy and nutritious meals you normally would (including milk and water from a CUP, not bottle) and he will eventually get used to it. It could take days or weeks, but honestly, the same actions will always get you the same results - YOU are the adult, YOU need to change what you're doing.
Best of luck! I know having a tough eater as your own child is difficult, but you can change these bad habits before they become serious issues down the road.Comment
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Of course he's a poor eater.You've taught him to drink his calories instead of consume them through the proper way-food. Just start serving him meals,small cup of milk.Place in front of him and walk away. Plan on throwing away alot of food for awhile but he will eventually eat. Don't apologize or make a big deal about it.Ignore his rude responses.Which by the way"milk taste like poopy" is a rude response.
I know you said not to judge,I'm trying,it's hard but I'm trying! It just blows my mind why people have such a hard time feeding themselves and children properly.It's not that hard!
Yes it takes effort but I think it's worth it. It's easier than you think-here's one day of meal planning
Breakfast-scrambled eggs,wheat toast,melon,raspberries,milk.
Snack-Yogurt,banana
Lunch-Turkey/provolone wrap,carrot sticks,apples,milk.
Snack-String cheese/peach
Dinner-Chicken,broccoli,brown rice,milk
If he need a snack before bed offer fresh fruit or vegetable.
No grazing,eating whenver or non stop drinking empty calories all day(juice)
Keep a water bottle ready for him to drink all day.
That menu above has all the daily requirements you need.
Make a list ,make a plan.Take him grocery shopping and explain that we are going to start eating healthy. Stick to it and he will eat.No kid will let themselves starve.Comment
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Yup all the bottles are thrown out, but God its like an addict kicking his addiction
Thank you everyone for the wonderful advice. i am having a slow period at DC these days so now i can focus on the bad habbit my own kid has developed. Sad part is the reason i started DC is too stay home for my kids and i kept pushing this bottle issue because i didn't have the enegry to fight him.
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don't feel too bad, it happens. The more kids of your own you have the easier it becomes, by the time I had my 4th kid I didn't even bat an eyelash, now she was nursed till she almost 3 yrs old, so imagine that, but she was a good eater. With my ds, I blame myself for his poor eating, I fed him baby food too long, but that was because I listened to my mother, I should have listened to my own instincts.Yup all the bottles are thrown out, but God its like an addict kicking his addiction
Thank you everyone for the wonderful advice. i am having a slow period at DC these days so now i can focus on the bad habbit my own kid has developed. Sad part is the reason i started DC is too stay home for my kids and i kept pushing this bottle issue because i didn't have the enegry to fight him.Comment
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Oh love don't feel get to down on your self. I think most of us "thought" by doing daycare we could devote a lot of time to our families. Just doesn't work out that way does it?... LOL!!Yup all the bottles are thrown out, but God its like an addict kicking his addiction
Thank you everyone for the wonderful advice. i am having a slow period at DC these days so now i can focus on the bad habbit my own kid has developed. Sad part is the reason i started DC is too stay home for my kids and i kept pushing this bottle issue because i didn't have the enegry to fight him.
My daughter is a horrible eater..for one..she started out breastfeed and took to a bottle after that easily but we switched her to soy bc she started getting sick on milk. Very much the same as my self. I can not tolerate any milk products even ice creams, yogurt..to much milk just does me in. So my daughter will drink soy milk or the ensures....not sure why she loves those but I won't complain bc they have lots of vitamins in it for her. She eats tons of peanut butter but not a good veggie person...recently she started liking carrots so we eat those together. If she seems me munching she isn't afraid to try it which is nice and also we buy those snapa crispy's that is also really good healthy snack. But, I don't feel that children HAVE to have milk. I have one parent refuse milk all together for their child bc they feel that milk has hormones in it and doesn't want their child exposed. I don't understand or know much about that kind of thing but they are homeopathic and are health conscious. I am my family are pretty healthy maybe more on the lean side but none of us have any health concerns or have had any from not much milk consumption. Also, i just wanted to point out that the children here that do drink milk...I've noticed that they are not very hungry after they drank a full glass. I started mentioning it to the parents bc a couple will come in with a full glass of milk in the mornings and then they aren't hungry for their breakfast bc they where full from the milk. Even with my biggest boy here who eats tons. The milk is filling..so if your child is consuming that much milk every 2 hrs...those are meals for him. Blackcat gave awesome advice on how to get him back on track. Just stick to your guns girlie...you'll do fine..it will be a struggle but any change will be a struggle.
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