Does Your Child Drink Enough Milk?
Is Your Child a Milk Addict like mine? My 4-year old will drink upwards of a half gallon of milk or more each day. He just loves milk and always needs a cup nearby. I started to wonder if this was healthy, so I did a little research. I found some great resources on the internet dealing with what children drink and how it will help or hurt them.
Dr. Spock has a great website where you can ask pretty much any question (related to children) under the sun and you will probably find an answer. I often visit to find out what experts are saying about certain topics. Having a 4-year old and a 5-year old, we have almost daily concerns regarding their health and well being.
Dr. Spock Experts state that for a child to develop well, it is said that they should be drinking between 16 and 24 ounces of milk each day. Be aware that giving your child too much milk prior to a meal will often leave your child too full to eat their meal. It is also important that if they do not drink regular milk, that they get calcium with vitamin D from an alternate source. Some alternatives are soy milk or calcium fortified juice, just watch the sugar content of the juice because that could lead to other issues.
The concerns with drinking over 24 ounces of milk each day vary by child. If a child is drinking lots of milk, but not eating all the other food groups, they may become iron deficiency anemic or underweight. Often times children get so filled up with the milk they are drinking that they do not eat enough of the other foods to fulfill their dietary needs of fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.
In contrast, if a child is also eating very well, the added calories in milk can often lead to the child being overweight. Even low fat milk has anywhere from 15 to 19 calories per ounce. If a child drinks 24 ounces of milk in one day, that translates to 360 calories and over 1/4 of their daily caloric needs (roughly 1300 is recommended). So, in my own child’s case, he is drinking upwards of 32 to 48 ounces of milk each and every day. That is somewhere between 480 and 720 calories! Thankfully, he loves fruits and veggies as well, so we have a nice balance, but after reading this information we will be changing our ways.
One tip is to only fill the cup half way rather than to the top. Or, alternate between a cup of water and a cup of milk. After all, our job is to make sure our kids stay healthy. Why start them off on the wrong foot.
Do you have a milk addict at home?
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