can I feed my 12 month old rice milk instead of cows milk?

Question

I'm a little bit of a health freak with my baby and have been told by several naturopaths that rice milk is better for kids than cows milk. However rice milk only has 1% fat so I'm not sure that it has enough fat for her development cos elsewhere I've heard they need full fat til 2 years old. Any thoughts please???

Answer 1

There is no danger at all in rice milk. But babies and toddlers need the full fat in cow's milk in order to properly develop the brain. Also, there is little to no protein in rice milk. I would advise sticking with the cow's milk. Make sure you are buying hormone-free cow's milk, of course.

Answer 2

I know of parents who use rice milk when their child has a dairy allergy, but it's probably not ideal if your child can drink cow's milk. Kids do nead the full fat for brain development until age 2, and it does specifically need to be the liquid fat in milk, other fat doesn't do the same thing. You can find organic cow's milk without all the hormones etc. if that's what you're worried about.

Answer 3

I don't know why every question I see concerning nutrition has suggestions to talk to your doctor. I agree that goats milk is the best alternative. If there is not enough fat in the milk you can always add some flax oil. I definately would NOT use soy milk due to the large amount of estrogens it will put into your childs body. You could also use rice milk and add flax oil. There is a lemonade flavored flax oil that is delicious in yogurt or applesauce.

Answer 4

Rice Milk For Babies

Answer 5

We do not feed our kids cows milk because my oldest has severe dairy allergy. Rice milk does not have sufficient fat content for child at that age - who needs fat for brain development. Go with soy milk.

BTW there is a ton of BS on the internet these days about soy and "estrogen" effects...all that we drink in our house is soy (and we eat a lot of soy as well) and my husband has not grown any breasts or been unable to get me pregnant. My boys are still boys as well.

Answer 6

I just that it is okay to give soy or rice milk, because some kids won't like the taste of cow's milk and they can still get all the vitamins

Answer 7

Ask your doc. When introducing new foods into your child's diet, you should be especially careful. What if your child is allergic to rice? I'll tell you my own experience with full fat vs lowfat. I will be feeding my son (almost two) full fat milk long after he's two. And by doctors orders. That whole "full fat until he/she is two" has something to do with giving your child the fat necessary for brain development and to give them calories. It all depends on the child. My mother told me she was told to switch to lowfat milk with me when i was a year old. i was a bit of a chunker.....:) Seriously, ask your doc.

Answer 8

I would use goats milk, that is even better and healthier than rice milk and has all the fat baby needs {even little more than whole cows milk}

Answer 9

Breast milk is what nature intended. Everything else deprives your child of both nutrition and immunities from disease.

Answer 10

Cow's milk is for cow's. Your baby *should* continue to nurse until at least age two -if that is not possible or not desired then the nutrition of breastmilk must be made up for with other foods. Yes cow's milk contains *some* of the components of breastmilk but so do many other foods -rice does not appear on the lists of foods to replace either as far as I have seen. Coconut milk fortified with dolomite is supposed to be a healthier option for older children and adults I don't know about toddlers.

Fat can come from cow's milk, it can also of course come from other foods. Breastmilk contains many types of fat including DHA, DHA is not found in cow's milk. Healthy fat sources for toddlers include eggs, fish oils, and certain nuts (if no allergies), coconut oil etc. Breastmilk is also VERY high in saturated fat. While saturated fats may not be healthy for adults developing children NEED them.

Breastmilk contains a lot of protein so your toddler needs a diet rich in protein, rice is not high in protein as far as I know.

Breastmilk is very high in vitamin A as well, so your one year old would need a source of that. Liver is a good source of vitamin A.

Breastmilk is very high in folate. So are certain green veggies and beans.

Breastmilk is high in vitamin C (leafy greens, citrus, etc).


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http://www.westonaprice.org/children/nourish-baby.html
Don't Fear Fats!

Pediatric clinicians have known for some time that children fed low-fat and low-cholesterol diets fail to grow properly. After all, a majority of mother's milk is fat, much of it saturated fat. Children need high levels of fat throughout growth and development. Milk and animal fats give energy and also help children build muscle and bone.1 In addition, the animal fats provide vitamins A and D necessary for protein and mineral assimilation, normal growth and hormone production.27

Choose a variety of foods so your child gets a range of fats, but emphasize stable saturated fats, found in butter, meat and coconut oil, and monounsaturated fats, found in avocados and olive oil.

[there are specific ideas of foods to add at the link]

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html
Nursing toddlers benefit NUTRITIONALLY

* Although there has been little research done on children who breastfeed beyond the age of two, the available information indicates that breastfeeding continues to be a valuable source of nutrition and disease protection for as long as breastfeeding continues.

* "Human milk expressed by mothers who have been lactating for >1 year has significantly increased fat and energy contents, compared with milk expressed by women who have been lactating for shorter periods. During prolonged lactation, the fat energy contribution of breast milk to the infant diet might be significant."
-- Mandel 2005

* "Breast milk continues to provide substantial amounts of key nutrients well beyond the first year of life, especially protein, fat, and most vitamins."
-- Dewey 2001

* In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk provides:
o 29% of energy requirements
o 43% of protein requirements
o 36% of calcium requirements
o 75% of vitamin A requirements
o 76% of folate requirements
o 94% of vitamin B12 requirements
o 60% of vitamin C requirements
-- Dewey 2001

* Studies done in rural Bangladesh have shown that breastmilk continues to be an important source of vitamin A in the second and third year of life.
-- Persson 1998


A Natural Age of Weaning
http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.html

http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detsleepthrough.html
Human children are also designed to have breast milk be a part of their diet for a minimum of 2.5 years, with many indicators pointing to 6-7 years as the true physiological duration of breastfeeding -- regardless of what your cultural beliefs may be. I can provide you with references to my research on this topic if you wish to read more.

Also see: A Natural Age of Weaning
http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.html by the same author to see why she says 2.5-7 years.

American Academy of Family Physicians:
http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/policy/policies/b/breastfeedingpositionpaper.html
If the child is younger than two years of age, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned.