Watered Down Milk?

[Miss A]

Ok, seriously now. Is there new parenting advice that I haven't been clued in on? A second DCM has asked to have her child's milk watered down because of constipation issues. No, just no!

I just read that the AAP reccomend 3 servings of dairy per child per day. In children the ages I care for those serving amounts are 1/2 cup (4 ounces) each. So, in total the child should have 12 ounces a day. We do 4 ounce servings at breakfast and lunch, and when they finish that (and they always do!) They get water as well. Snack is water only. If they drink another 4 ounces with their supper than they have met their required dairy intake. And that is only counting milk servings, and not dairy components within meals.

I wish these parents would try to eliminate the 8-10 ounce bottles these kids are getting before bed before they asked me to water down milk.

Side note: is it still recommended that whole milk be served until age 2? I tried looking it up and read so many conflicting articles that I am still so confused.

[Baby Beluga]

Ok, seriously now. Is there new parenting advice that I haven't been clued in on? A second DCM has asked to have her child's milk watered down because of constipation issues. No, just no!

I just read that the AAP reccomend 3 servings of dairy per child per day. In children the ages I care for those serving amounts are 1/2 cup (4 ounces) each. So, in total the child should have 12 ounces a day. We do 4 ounce servings at breakfast and lunch, and when they finish that (and they always do!) They get water as well. Snack is water only. If they drink another 4 ounces with their supper than they have met their required dairy intake. And that is only counting milk servings, and not dairy components within meals.

I wish these parents would try to eliminate the 8-10 ounce bottles these kids are getting before bed before they asked me to water down milk.

Side note: is it still recommended that whole milk be served until age 2? I tried looking it up and read so many conflicting articles that I am still so confused.

I think overall, yes. Unless the child is overweight then I have heard/read then 1% is recommended.

DS drinks 12oz of formula per day (6oz in the morning, 6 oz at night) and water the remainder of the day. Because of weight/height/dairy/reflux issues he is remaining on formula vs milk until 2 when I will switch him to rice milk. At his 12 month check up, the pedi told me 12oz wasn't enough and I should increase to 16oz if I could.


Naaaaaaaaaaah. Some days it's hard to get him to take the 12oz because he fills up on food and not milk.

[NiNi.R.]

I have a 19 month old dck on breast milk. He doesn't eat a lot but eats a good variety. He struggled awhile with constipation. Mom took him to the doctor who suggested Miralax. The mom didn't like the idea of that and decided first to try Organics HappyTot fiber and protein bars. Game changer!happyface

[Miss A]

I think overall, yes. Unless the child is overweight then I have heard/read then 1% is recommended.

DS drinks 12oz of formula per day (6oz in the morning, 6 oz at night) and water the remainder of the day. Because of weight/height/dairy/reflux issues he is remaining on formula vs milk until 2 when I will switch him to rice milk. At his 12 month check up, the pedi told me 12oz wasn't enough and I should increase to 16oz if I could.


Naaaaaaaaaaah. Some days it's hard to get him to take the 12oz because he fills up on food and not milk.

I was reading that same info about the child being overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. The kids I care for who's mothers have requested this are not in any way overweight. In fact, one was born premature and has struggled to gain weight, and just finally charted on the growth chart for the first time in their life.

There must be some info somewhere on the internet about watering down milk though, because it is strange to me that in a matter of weeks I have had 2 requests for it.

[Blackcat31]

I was reading that same info about the child being overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. The kids I care for who's mothers have requested this are not in any way overweight. In fact, one was born premature and has struggled to gain weight, and just finally charted on the growth chart for the first time in their life.

There must be some info somewhere on the internet about watering down milk though, because it is strange to me that in a matter of weeks I have had 2 requests for it.

Are these parents putting milk in the bottles these kids have? When weaning from bottle to cup it used to be recommended all over to just water down the milk or formula and baby would simply give up the bottle.... just wondering if that is the case with these kids..

I believe most these littles have constipation because of diet. It's so simple to just hand baby a cracker or something quick (usually carbs) to munch on and without the required fiber in their diets they get constipated.

As for milk requirements under 2 yrs old - whole milk and those over age 2 get skim or 1%

[Ariana]

It might not just be the milk! Almost every new parent I know feeds their kids crazy amounts of cheese and yogurt. Not to mention the cheese in snacks like Goldfish etc. Dairy is packaged so conveniently that it is almost always a go to for snacks. Kids get much more than the recommended amount and dairy is not even a necessary food. It replaces most food in my opinion. I have seen it time and time again.

I personally think that milk plus a well rounded healthy diet would be fine for these kids. The other dairy needs to go!

[Miss A]

Are these parents putting milk in the bottles these kids have? When weaning from bottle to cup it used to be recommended all over to just water down the milk or formula and baby would simply give up the bottle.... just wondering if that is the case with these kids..

I believe most these littles have constipation because of diet. It's so simple to just hand baby a cracker or something quick (usually carbs) to munch on and without the required fiber in their diets they get constipated.

As for milk requirements under 2 yrs old - whole milk and those over age 2 get skim or 1%

1 is completely off the bottle, and the other uses a cup here but only a bottle at home.

It might not just be the milk! Almost every new parent I know feeds their kids crazy amounts of cheese and yogurt. Not to mention the cheese in snacks like Goldfish etc. Dairy is packaged so conveniently that it is almost always a go to for snacks. Kids get much more than the recommended amount and dairy is not even a necessary food. It replaces most food in my opinion. I have seen it time and time again.

I personally think that milk plus a well rounded healthy diet would be fine for these kids. The other dairy needs to go!

I feel the same way. I also think that if your meal does have a dairy component such as cheese, yogurt, etc then milk should not be served with the meal. It is so commonplace now for kids to drink milk around the clock with water rarely being offered.