Question:
My 2-year-old loves milk; he drinks at least 950 millilitres of whole milk a day. He's a solid 15 kilograms. Should we switch to semi-skimmed or skimmed milk? We've tried giving him water, juice, soya milk, etc., but he wants milk.
Answer:
Doctors recommend limiting milk intake to 450 grams a day at age one. Many
toddlers fill up on milk and then they don't want to eat their meals. Milk is a great source of calcium, but it contains little or no iron. For both of these reasons, it's important to limit milk consumption at this age. At the age of 2, doctors recommend switching to skimmed milk to cut down on fat and calories. When your child requests milk, give him smaller amounts. I know
toddlers are quite persistent at this age, but try to distract him or give him something else when he requests more milk. You might also try limiting his milk drinking to certain meals or times of day. Good luck.