My toddler doesn't like milk!?

Question

My son is almost 20 months & I still give him a bottle at night because it's the only way he'll drink milk. I've tried it in a variety of cups, hot and cold, chocolate, strawberry flavoured, soy, rice & almond milk...he won't drink it. Today I bought him a new "special" sippy cup just for his milk & tried putting warm milk in it at bedtime but he took one sip & threw it & got really mad! He hasn't been drinking much anyways from the bottle lately, maybe half of it so should I just abadon it altogether or keep it up since he drinks a little of it???

P.S. He eats really good otherwise, lot's of blueberries, oatmeal, brocolli, fish twice a week & cereal to name a few.

Answer 1

No human being NEEDS cow's milk. There are so many different things that have just as much nutrients and more than milk does. My son only drinks vanilla soy milk and wont touch anything else. He will eat yogurt, but only soy. I don't know how he knows the difference, but he does. I recently tried lowfat milk in his cereal and he ate it, I have previously tried it with whole milk and it made him gag. Have you tried lowfat?

I know that everyone will tell you that milk rots teeth, but in my family they have given the bottle for kids to sleep for generations and up to the ridiculous age of 5. Yes, a bottle can rot teeth but only if it stays in their mouth while they sleep and they are not drinking. When he is done drinking the milk, take the bottle away and then let him fall asleep. Right after the last sip, he'll swallow again and get most of the milk out of his mouth. The teeth rot when there is a pool of milk (or juice) sitting in the cheek for an 8 hour stretch.

Answer 2

he will reject anything but the bottle, its a comfort device for him. Try giving him the cup to play with, just with cold water in it. Let his toys take a drink, you take a drink, and he may try it. get him used to it curing the day, then start giving him both the bottle and the cup at night. Put a small amount of milk in the bottle and more in the cup. When the bottle is empty he can switch over. It might work. Good luck!

Answer 3

He might relate milk only to the bottle, if he has used a bottle heavily since infant change. Toddlers seem to link objects to people, food, animals... (for example: my three year old believes that my husband and I have assigned chairs at the table because we sit in the same ones every night for dinner. She tells me "thats daddy's seat" If i sit in it his spot). To reverse his association with milk only in a bottle, try putting just water in it and then wean him off the bottle.

Cow milk is overrated. You can find calcium in other places like whole milk baby yogurt. Perhaps even putting some vanilla ice cream (melted of course) in a toddler cup with the milk for a treat. And don't forget you can put milk in his cereal....

Answer 4

Just get those nutrients from another souirce. Milk, per se, is NOT necessary and when it is drunk any more than 6-8 ounces is TOO much. Die hard vegans don;t touch ANY animal products so it CAN easily be done. The bottle is probably just a security issue now and can and probably shoudl be filled only with water. I wouldnt worry too much if anyone fusses at you that he's too old for it, just make sure its only water to prevent sugars from milk or juices lyign on his teeth.

Answer 5

bottles at bedtime are bad anyways because of tooth decay. so i would just get rid of the bottle and start weaning him now. Some kids just don't like milk. Talk to you Dr about alternatives to milk. They need the calcium and vitamins and fat from the milk but there are other things out there. Have you tried Pediasure?

Answer 6

Technically from a medical point of view they only need 6 oz. a day. try yogurt or other forms of the calcium. My little one does not like it either so i do the milk with a tad of choco. in it and she eats yogurt at least every morn. she also takes vitamins(my little on is almost 2) my pedi. said she can drink the motts, kids plus juice and that has the calcium in it and also you could give him the poly vi sol drops but they smell horrible and i am sure taste just as bad. As long as he is getting the calcium in other things i have been told it is fine. so does he drink milk or formula at night? his eating habits are great and is not a problem. i would try to incorporate it other ways and not worry about it. i wish mine ate broccoli--LOL.

Answer 7

I think I would talk to the doctor about it, because it could be that he's only drinking the milk because he still wants his bottle. I put chocolate Ovaltine in my toddler's milk - that was the only way she would drink it. But you do need to keep milk (whole milk) in his diet because they need the fat & vitamins & calcium for brain development

Answer 8

My best friend always said to me "you know who needs milk? a baby cow, that's who!!!"

My son was lactose intolerant and I made the mistake of opening up my mouth in front of her once in a while!
Let him kick the bottle habit and one day he'll just drink milk out of the blue.

Answer 9

When my daughter refused milk the doctor told me to give her other foods rich in calcium. She also told me that some children just don't like milk and you really can't force them to drink it.
She is going to be 6 in OCT. and she still will not drink milk.

Answer 10

Don't give him milk.