Chocolate Milk or No Milk?

DS has all of the sudden stopped drinking milk. They eat cheese on a regular basis and yogurt every now and then. I am concerned about him getting the calcium he needs if he doesn't drink the milk. He has never been a huge milk drinker, but before we could always get 1-2 sippie cups of milk in him a day. Now, nothing. I think if we were to give him chocolate milk, he would probably drink it. However, I don't know that I want to start that....I know all that sugar is not a good thing, but on the other hand, he would be getting his calcium then. So, what would you do? Give the chocolate milk, increase other dairy products or start giving OJ w/ calcium???

ETA: If I gave the chocolate milk, I would mix it myself and use as little chocolate as I could to get him to drink it...PLUS I would only offer one sippie cup a day. Still bad idea??

 

OVALTINE!

It's a staple here and it's FULL of good stuff!!

 

Or Carnation Instant Breakfast?? ardon: Maybe you could just put a teeny tiny bit in there, and see if he will take it?

 

Here in Australia they have a product called "Milo" not sure if they have it in the U.S. or not. It is low GI (good for Diabetics) plus some extra nutrients. Some of those flavoured straws I think can be lower in sugar too. Maybe mix it up with some homemade rice pudding, some strawberry milk, etc. You know your child and sometimes it is just deciding what you need to do for your child. I guess when I'm bending the rules I just try not to let it be a routine so they dont' get too used to it. Calcium is calcium no matter what form -- yogurt, custard, rice pudding, etc.

Heather

 

They have sugar free and I had to do that when my twins first took a sippy. They didn't like milk. I just decreased the chocolate syrup once I knew that they would take the sippy and it took a week or two and they were back to drinking milk. GL!

 

We faced this choice with more than one child. My oldest went from breast milk to cup at 1 year and she refused milk. Dr said better chocolate than not at all. To this day she still does not like regular milk, she is a picky eater in general. But she is healthy and growing and chocolate has done no harm.

With my DS #3 he had to be off a bottle for mouth surgery at 11 months old. It took 3 weeks after surgery to get him to drink any milk(we did lots of yogurt, pudding and other calcium rich foods and he drank just enough juice to keep him hydrated)...and then for him it had to be strawberry milk. No he is 7 and drinks milk just fine. When he has to take medicine he still likes a cup of strawberry milk with it to wash the taste out.

None of my other 3 had milk issues.

So I am all for a little flavor if it gets the healthy drink in!

Cindy

 

You could try giving more yogurt and sneaking in extra dairy - fruit/yogurt smoothies or fruit/milk smoothies. Otherwise, if he's eating a healthy diet and not getting loads of sugar from other sources, I wouldn't sweat the chocolate! (Especially mixing it yourself.)

 

I have one that will not drink milk without some kind of flavor unless it's for dunking cookies. We've done Carnation Instant Breakfast, strawberry syrup, choc. syrup and the latest craze is a splash of vanilla coffee creamer. That one got started b/c I was sick of buying those vanilla milk from Horizon for lunches and he would guzzle them down. He went through a phase where he drank the calcium fortified OJ, but doesn't really ask for that as much anymore. He's not a big milk drinker, so he usually drinks 8 oz. of milk a day, but has lots of yogurt and other calcium rich foods.

 

I totally wouldn't worry about 1 cup of chocolate milk a day, especially if you are mixing it yourself. I agree that Carnation Instant Breakfast might be a good alternative, we have used it here on occasion, it does have more nutrients even though it still has quite a bit of sugar.

 

I second ovaltine. I'm actually considering doing that for my kids too to get them to drink more milk, plus it has a lot of vitamins and nutrients (I wouldn't give it if they already have vitamins on the side though).

 

Mine don't drink milk either, neither one of them. We do Nesquick with milk, and I add extra milk, so it's quite light ... that way you can dose a little better yourself compared to the ready to drink stuff.

 

We do Ovaltine but not as strong of a mixture as they recommend.

Plus, everytime we get the canister out of the cabinet, we say, "Ovaltine? A crummy commercial? Sonnabich!"

 

I see nothing wrong with a little chocolate in the milk. I am pretty laid back about stuff like that though, so it wouldn't bother me at all if they are geting other nutritious things throughout the day. I, personally, like fixing my girls chocolate carnation instant breakfast smoothies...they're yummy!

 

Honestly, I hadn't thought about carnation instant breakfast or ovaltine. Thanks for the suggestions ladies!

 

I'm pretty anti-sugar I admit but what I do is make banana shakes - milk and a banana in a blender. If that doesn't go down, I have added a tsp or two of unsweetened cocoa powder. It's completely yummy and the banana sweetens it without the sugar in the chocolate.

 

Here's another suggestion: Try putting a couple drops of food color in it to make it 'fun'. When I was little I remember the daycare doing this for us. We'd have a different color milk every day. I think they did give us chocolate and strawberry, but then they'd throw in green, blue, yellow.....


Just a thought to try something different w/o all the sugar. BTW - OJ has just as much sugar, if not more, than chocolate milk.


I'd ultimately go with chocolate over nothing. At least chocolate he's still getting his milk in him...


You can try getting it in him via food as well. Make home-made Mac 'n' cheese. I usually end up using at least 2 cups of milk with the sauce. Or even Meatloaf, I add milk about 1 cup of milk to that. Homemade chicken pot pie is another one that's loaded with milk. And he wouldn't even know he was getting it! LOL

 

I forgot to say something too - I think it depends on your kids' weight too. I'd be more cautious about using any sugar powder if your kids are of normal weight. I'm only considering it here because DD is skinny and DS is small for his age. Otherwise you could try more yogurt, smoothies etc.

 

That's true. Good point!

 

LOL. I love that movie.

We've really been trying to avoid flavored milk. I was seriously irritated with daycare today when I picked them up and they'd had chocolate milk for snack. They hadn't had it before and I'd hoped to keep it away for a while. Mine are good milk drinkers though. If they weren't I would probably consider Ovaltine or Carnation.

 

We do 1 spoonful of Ovaltine every morning Dr. suggested to add calories and calcium. Mine are still on whole milk too (instead of 2%)...they are thin and tall and we have a hard time keeping weight on. We have also used CArnation, but I like the Ovaltine more.

I very very very rarely give chocolate milk from a carton straight (not mixed by me) due to high sugar. (Mine dont get OJ either, but we do diluted apple/pear/grape juice)

We've also done yogurt/milk smoothies and calcuim enriched cereals. I do pudding (pudding pops too!) with whole milk as well---they love it! Cottage cheese, sour cream etc are good dairy foods too.

 

to answer simply, in my view, chocolate milk is better than no milk.

 

I'd add a tiny bit of Ovaltine or Carnation Inst. Breakfast mix to his milk and see if that makes a diference, or even a tiny drop of chocolate syrup. When our oldest DS wants chocolate milk, we can literally get out the Hershey's syrup and put a teeny, tiny drop in the milk and he's happy b/c he saw the chocolate go in. LOL I'm not sure when he'll figure out that it doesn't taste any different!

 

Well, I was wrong. He won't drink chocolate milk either. :headbang: UGH!! Now what??

 

I would keep offering the regular milk every day, along with the yogurt, cheese, and once-a-day calcium fortified OJ (honestly, OJ has its own sugar issues). I wouldn't worry about it too much beyond that, but if you are worried, talk to your pedi.

 

That sounds yummy! I want a banana shake!

 

They do eat plenty of cheese and yogurt. I guess I will keep pushing that and sneaking in milk whenever I can....like I do with their fruits and veggies.

Thanks for the suggestions!!

 

We do chocolate and strawberry milk that we mix using flavored syrups. I also use Carnation Instant Breakfast a lot too. The pediatrician actually suggested giving DD flavored whole milk since she is underweight, so that's why we started flavored milks in the first place.

Another thing you can try is making a milkshake/smoothie. You can sneak in lots of good fruits and even some veggies in smoothies too.

 

My girls love the taste of vanilla soy milk. You could try some other alternatives...maybe strawberry instead of chocolate? Or just smoothies every morning to completely hide the taste. Love carnation instant breakfast chocolate with a half banana and a T of peanut butter.

 

Sugar free usually means artificial sugar which is worse. It comes with a warning label for a reason!

I don't believe humans NEED milk after weaning but I have a very thin son (bmi 2%, height 97%)who I try to get extra calories into. He drinks Ovaltine every morning (we call it hot cocoa) and my other kids really don't like it. BUT, they like Horizon's Vanilla Milk. And if you've ever tasted it you'll know why. It is so rich and creamy, my kids call it sweet cow's milk. I ony wish they made it with whole milk.

As for calcium, what about non-dairy sources? My 6 year old loves salmon, but always picks out the little bones. I make salmon spinach quiche that the kids like and I carefully smush up the bones from canned salmon to add to it. They don't notice and that is an even better source of calcium, never mind the spinach also.

 

I vote for no milk at all. A toddler needs 500 mg of calcium/day. This site says they can get that from one slice of cheese + 1/2 cup of yogurt. Sounds like he's getting that much already, even without milk.

 

I would say regular store bought chocolate milk or adding unsweetened cocoa not the syrups added.The syrups contains more sugar and junk. Also I would say that the juice would have probably just as much if not more sugar than the milk so be careful there. I know our dietician told us he would rather see the boys drink milk whenever possible instead of juice but our guys are on the smaller side too. I have also used pediasure and ensure to help add extra calories over all. Perhaps you could talk to your pedi and see if there is a need for more calcium?

 

What about trying one of the other flavors of the Carnation Instant Breakfast?

My kids like their chocolate milk with Hershey Syrup. I let them have one at lunch time. My sister's son will only drink "Yummy Chocolate Milk" , so that's what she gives him.

Have you tried the yogurt drinks with him at all? My boys devour the Danimals yogurt drinks!

 

Milk chocolate is tastier and sweeter. In addition, it becomes more soft and gentle.

 

Personally, I prefer a bitter Organic Chocolate without impurities. Only a natural product can be so useful. If you are interested in this topic, then I advise you to search the Internet for articles dealing with this issue. I am sure that you will quickly be able to find enough information on the subject. In any case, I wish you good luck in your search!

 

If the child is allergic to milk try goat milk. Found it at Wholefoods