Chocolate Milk?

Hi M.. Chocolate milk won't kill him. Instead of empty calorie chocolate mix, you could put in some chocolate Ovaltine so he gets some added nutrients. We tried the chocolate carnation instant breakfast, but found the Ovaltine tasted more like regular chocolate milk. Good luck!

I have the same problem, and I do usually give my 2 year old daughter 1 cup of chocolate milk a day, but I use the chocolate suryp and only enough to make it not look white anymore. On the advice of her Dr. I start her off EVERY morning with a yogurt smoothie. That way she gets her calcium, and some of the fruit too. They aren't too expensive. I get a 4 pack at wal-mart for about $3. And $6 a week is a small price to pay to make sure she's getting what she needs.

Hi M.!

I'm a 34 yr. old mother of 2 girls, 11 and 9. I have the exact same problem with my 11 yr. old, which started at about the same age. I guess my take on it has always been that it is better to get some milk into them than not to have them drink any at all. I don't buy the prepared chocolate milk. Instead, I buy 2% white milk, then let my daughter use Ovaltine rather than Nestle Quik. It was a compromise, as chocolate milk has almost twice the calories, but at least Ovaltine has added vitamins and an extra 20% of the recommended daily amount of Iron. (My daughter also says it tastes the same as Quik) It is not ideal, but growing bones need calcium, and while a supplement is good, I still personally believe that it is better to get it from food. Also remember that there are other good sources of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, and cottage cheese. If your son will eat these things, then the milk isn't quite as important. But I don't believe that it will hurt anything to let children have some chocolate milk each day. But be aware that this may spark your other children to want equal treatment, especially if they love chocolate milk too. Thankfully, my 9 year old LOVES white milk, so I don't have any problems. Hope this helps some.

S.

M.,

I have a daughter that sounds incredibly similar to your son. She ate NOTHING except chicken nuggets, and then switched to waffles (only Eggo) with peaches. She's 7 and we still struggle sometimes, but her palate is expanding daily. Our pediatrician assured us that her habits would change over time. As far as the milk thing goes...sister, we've been there, too! We put her on organic milk after trying regular supermarket milk, and she liked the taste MUCH better. It's more expensive, but she still prefers it to this day. Also, our pediatrician told us that if we mixed in a little bit of Nesquik powder and then slowly weaned her off in small increments, she would take more milk over time and eventually wouldn't miss the chocolate in it. (He didn't want us to go for the Hershey's syrups...he specifically said Nesquik, probably because it has more vitamins in it.) At first we started with a fairly concentrated mixture of Nesquik/milk, and before we knew it, she was down to less than a teaspoon of Nesquik per 8oz. I hope this helps :-).

Hi M.! My pediatrician told me it was absolutely fine to give my son chocolate milk since that was the only way i could get him to give up the bottle (a year ago). He would ONLY drink the boxed Horizon milk from Starbucks (thankfully, I found it at Costco). Now he will drink only chocolate milk but once in awhile I can get some plain white into him. Also, I saw your other post about your son not eating. At least he will eat pb&j!! My son goes running from the room anytime you try to feed him anything other than: cheerios, waffles (ONLY Nutri-grain blueberry), chocolate chip cookies, apples (skin on only),...and once in awhile chicken nuggets and fries (McD's only). He refuses his multi-vitamin. Sounds like you're doing much better!!:) Good luck!

M.,

Don't worry about the chocolate milk. Believe it or not, it has less sugar than fruit juice and is just as nutritious as regular milk. This question seems to come up every month in Parenting magazine, and this is what they say everytime. If you are concerned about the nutrition aspect, you can use Ovaltine or add a little Pediasure to the milk (chocolate of course). Pediasure is expensive, but if you add 1/2 or 1 ounce to a cup of milk you can stretch it out longer.

my oldest only drank plain milk, if anyone gave her chocolate, strawberry or any other flavor she would ask for "the white milk", but my youngest daughter wouldnt touch it, i asked our peditrician and she said the same thing others have posted, flovored milk is fine, she recommended slowley lessining the amount of syrup we added if we were concerned or try subsituting for the pedisure (sp) drinks to make sure she was getting the propper nutrition!

Some people would worry about the sugar. I think you can do what works for you and just make sure his teeth get brushed. He can also get dairy nutrition from yogurt and cheese.

All my kids drink are chocolate milk and my ped says it is fine. I don't worry about the milk intake because I know they are getting calcium is so many other foods.
I think it is fine!

my kids love chocolate milk
I just heard about chocolate Moo that they have at Trader Joes that is supposed to be healthier than the nestle quick stuff I use. I have not tried it yet but I am going to

It's not necessary for your child to drink milk. There are many other sources for calcium. My oldest daughter was allergic to milk for 11 years. She is actually the healthiest member in our house. After researching, I found many other sources for calcium. Try calcium fortified Orange Juice or Silk Soy milk. He may like it better. If you do use milk, I recommend going organic.

I think chocolate milk is fine. I give my girls chocolate soy milk and then lessen the chocolate by mixing it with plain milk (regular or soy) so it is not too sugary. They love it.

I don't see anything wrong with chocolate milk. My daughter will drink white milk but loves chocolate & drinks that more. She is 4 yrs old. She has been drinking chocolate milk since she was 3.

Hi M., my 5 year old only drinks chocolate milk and has for about 3 years now. My research when he started this showed that the benefits of drinking chocolate milk far outweighed the negatives. At the time, my husband was cncerned that there was way too much sugar and that that would be unhealthy. We found that not to be the case and have let our son drink as much chocolate milk as he wishes -- usually 2 to 3 glasses a day. I say don't sweat it! Bev.

Instead of Chocolate try Carob powder or Ovaltine Powder. Both are healthier than Chocolate and look like chocolate in the milk.

The kids at schools put chocolate milk on their cereal. Milk in one form or another is good. Don't beat yourself up.

Some people will tell you that there are chemicals in the chocolate that interfere with the absorption of calcium from the milk. To some degree this is true, but is extremely insignificant. So, if that is the only way you can get the little one to drink it, it is better than nothing.

Chocolate milk is fine. My son also refused to drink white milk, and the pediatrician recommended putting some Ovaltine or chocolate syrup into the milk to get him to drink it. But I would limit how much you give him each day.

Have you tried vanilla soy milk? That is the only way that I can get my daughter to drink milk at all (I don't give her chocolate only because she gets it all over her clothes and makes a huge mess). Or maybe try dying it with food coloring to make it funny colors like green or blue?

M., out with the sippy cup, in with a normal cup. Three years old is ready for a normal cup. No, it isn't bad to put some syrup in the milk. Mine sometimes drink milk with strawberry syrup. But I also wanted to say they get the nutritions (sp?) in other things, like cheese, yoghurt (plain, or fruity ones), sour cream etc. I actually avoid giving milk unless they ask for it. But they get it plenty with a bowl of cereal
long story short, yes syrup is fine (make sure teeth are brushed afterwards)
:)