How Can I Get My 1 Year Old to Drink Milk?

I would try mixing it with Nesquik strawberry or chocolate and is that still does not work, then as a doctor once told me when my boy was little, "Milk is not a big deal, as long as they will eat ice cream, it has the same nutrients."

Neither of my boys had cows milk until they were close to 2yrs old. Both were breastfeeding until around that time, and cows milk isn't necessary anyway. Feed her a healthy diet and her body will get what it needs.

Try putting stawberry or choclate flavoring in her milk. A lot of kids don't like milk but if you flavor it they will drink it.

Wait a minute here. Do you really want to addict your child to sugar at such a young age? Don't add sugar (chocolate, strawberry mix, etc) to the milk. If you do, you will corrupt her taste for "real" food and you will have a picky eater. It is really hard to go back when you have done this.
Instead, give her other dairy products like cheese or yogurt. Most kids like these. The yogurt is probably loaded with sugar and fake colors, so read the label - and ice cream should be a treat, not a regular meal.
She may have an allergy to milk, in which case there are lots of alternatives mentioned by others. Avoid soy, though.
Good luck!

J.,
I was just reading something in a womens magazine that was talking about this issue. They said to add strawberry chocolate bannana ect to the milk. Kids are more likely to drink it. It does add sugar of course but still gives them all the good things milk gives them and they need.

have you tried warming the milk a bit. we put it in the microwave for 15 sec...then shooke the cup real well to get rid of any "hot spots" Worked for our son. After a few weeks we warmed it less and less, now he drinks it cold.

Carnation Instant Breakfast worked great at our house! Plus it gave them some added nutrition for my picky eaters. They outgrew being so finicky :)

I had the same problem with my daughter. We tried all kinds of milk (whole to skim) and she wouldn't touch it. My pediatrician said it was fine to give her chocolate milk as it only has a bit more calories than regular, and it worked! We got her going on chocolate milk, slowly thinning it with white milk until soon she was drinking only white. The other thing we did was mix the Carnation Instant Breakfast packets in the milk as it provided flavor, as well as additional nutrients. My daughter is a picky eater so that was a bonus. Those come in many flavors and also store brands for less expense. Have you ever tried warming the milk a bit? I guess after drinking warm breast milk/formula for a year, it may be too much of a change to go to ice cold milk. Good luck!

A lot of kids won't drink milk from a cup while they are getting a bottle. Get rid of that last bottle and in a couple days she'll drink it in a cup.

It won't harm her to go a few days without milk. You can give her cheese and yogurt during this time. Remember, she only needs 2 servings of dairy a day. One serving is equal to 8oz of milk, 1oz of cheese, 8oz of yogurt.

You could also try a cup with a straw or open cup. When she does drink from a cup she might only drink 4oz at a time.

I noticed a lot of people suggested adding flavor, which is ok but she may learn to expect that all the time. You said she drinks milk fine, just not in a cup. It is because she is used to it in a bottle.

Hi J.. I had the same problem a month ago. Our MD said to put in a little chocolate or vanilla ovaltine or Carnation Instant Breakfast. My baby started guzzling the whole milk this way. Each week we put less and less in and now she is drinking plain whole milk. I didn't have the problem with my older child, so this was new to me and very frustrating as I was afraid my baby would become accustomed to only drinking "chocolate" milk....but she's just fine and is on plain, white milk now.
If you have any other questions, let me know.
J.

I had this same problem with my middle child. She absolutely refused milk. I eventually tried the nesquick no sugar added mix and make her chocolate milk. She will still drink regular milk, but it got her to drink it and give up bottles. At first I was worried I would create a different problem adding chocolate to it, but as she's getting older, she's more willing to give regular milk a try. Good luck!

Unless she is drinking organic whole milk (despite what the paid commercials tell you) she isn't getting any nutrients and could be developing other physical and psychological problems. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/0...
http://www.vegsource.com/attwood/milk.htm

my son didnt take to milk either, and really, when it comes down to it, it isnt good for us to have cows milk anyway.. so you could always try soy milk or rice milk or almond milk...

however, try this one: add a little chocolate sauce. my son would drink milk as long as there was chocolate involved LOL. the doctor didnt care if it was chocolate or white, as long as there was milk. wic didnt care either. so do what you have to do to get some milk in her. i just gradually decreased the amount of chocolate i put in and he drank milk just fine by 14 months. take it slow. if she doesnt want it, thats fine. milk is the most common, and yet the most underdiagnosed, allergy in the world.

i recently took a class that gave scientific reasons for us not needing animal proteins. if you are interested just shoot me a note, and i can give you more details. however, one good resource is www.thechinastudy.com - there is a book or book on cd, that will go through a HUGE study that was done... its pretty enlightening. so dont stress about milk... they tell you that kids need the fats in milk, but they can get fats in almost anything (good fats of course) so you dont have to push milk as much as doctors lead us to believe.
anyway. good luck

I really would NOT add anything to try to flavor the milk or you'll be doing it for life!

It took my son a full month of trying milk every day to actually start taking it. I just tried to give him other dairy in the meantime. Yogurt and such. Now he LOVES his milk...I'm SO glad I was just persistent. It can take many introductions of a food before they develop a taste for it.

I did slowly "water" down his formula with milk as well. But it still took a month of straight milk tastes before he drank it consistently.

Good luck and hang in there!

Hi J.-
I have twin girls- nearly 7 now.
One didn't and still doesn't like milk. Fortunately we can substitute cheese and other nutrient similar dairies now that she's older .
She does like flavored milk.
We watered it down some- helped. We flavored it- choc. was great. We let her help choose when she was old enough. She will drink it really cold- and try some different kinds. Not all milk tastes alike. We use polka dot- hormone free- very different flavor than Kemps, lolakes- and you can try almond and soy and rice as alternatives too.

We gave tums for calcium in the transitions.

Hope that helps some.
About me- 47 yo med. perfusionist and wellness coach.

B. J

We had the same problem and got the go-ahead from our pediatrician to give our daughter some chocolate milk. We didn't give it to her with meals since she would obviously prefer the milk to her food, but instead of, or with, her morning and afternoon snack, and then gave her water or OJ with meals. For example, with graham crackers or a banana, etc. We mixed half pre-made chocolate milk from the store with half white milk, and gradually reduced it to an amount of chocolate that seemed acceptable to us (maybe 1/3?). She now often drinks white milk with her meals, but does still enjoy some chocolate milk before getting ready for bed at night and after her afternoon nap sometimes! Good luck!

I had the same problem with my son. My daughter is actually allergic to milk, so we get creative when it comes to getting in the calcium. I asked his pediatritian about the milk and she said as long as he was getting it someplace else it was alright. My son loves yogurt, so I make sure that he has some each day. The dr also said that eating cheese counts as the dairy too. My son won't eat that either, so he eats what he sister eats, the calcium fortitied orange juice, lots of veggies with calcium, vitamins etc.

How was he drinking the formula? Was it warm? My son only drank warm milk up until after he turned two, I guess thats how I transitioned him to milk and it sorta just stuck. If he drank warm formula he might enjoy his milk warm. IDK just a suggestion I guess.

i know this sounds gross to adults but kids love it--try adding food coloring to her cup of milk. seeing a different color she might want to more milk!!!

we started slowly adding milk to her formula until it was mainly milk... we also mixed 'warm' water for the formula with the milk so it wasn't so cold. good luck!

Hi J.!
Ok so this is going to go against everything WIC teaches and the docs probably wont like it, but put some chocolate syrup in her milk. NOT a lot! just a dab! You can buy sugar free chocolate syrup also!The nutrients of the milk are still going to be there. Play it up like its a big treat for her to have it and if it works GREAT! My daughter is going through a no milk phase also (she's 5 I think its more Drama queen than anything!) but she LOVES yogurt! you could try it with your daughter! she would still be getting her nutrients
Good luck!
Love L. Conzemius

Mine won't drink milk either.
Try strawberry milk or chocolate milk.
My son likes vanilla soy milk and vanilla rice milk.

If you are worried about calcium, she can start getting that from other dairy products: yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, etc. Also, most cereals and juices are fortified with vitamins and some with calcium as well.

This is what I did with my 4 children...maybe you could try it. Gradually add milk to her formula/breast milk in her bottle/sippy cup. Ex: 1 oz milk to 5 oz formula, keep increasing milk oz, and decrease formula until she is finally drinking all milk. Hope this helps.

She can get her calcium and vitamin D in other drinks and/or foods. Yogurt, cheese, green vegetables etc... Also, you could try vanilla soy milk. It tastes better than cows milk and has the same nutrients.

I had to get mix it with formula. I would make a 4 oz bottle of formula and then add 4 oz milk. After a few bottles, I then made 2 oz formula, 6 oz milk. Then I did one oz. formula to 7 oz milk. He was on milk exclusively within 1 week! Works like a charm.
Every pediatrician will tell you that whole milk is an absolute must for your kid. Do NOT eliminate it. (unless there is an allergy situation) They need the fat and vitamin D!!!

Put some chocolate in it! I had the same issue with my daughters and the pediatrician suggested trying chocolate milk and it worked! They love chocolate milk and since they aren't dealing with a weight issue the extra calories they get from the chocolate isn't an issue especially considering the benefits of drinking milk.
Good luck!

J.,

Milk is very different than formula and since it's only been a week, give it some more time. I am sure she will learn to like it. If not, you can get nutrients from other dairy products. Milk isn't the only source and not everyone likes it. You can try other varieties as well, add a little chocolate or strawberry - then I am sure she might enjoy it more. Good luck.

We had a similar issue with my daughter. She refused to drink anything "white" out of a cup....breastmilk, whole milk, formula but she took it fine out of a bottle. (And she also was taking water out of sippy at about 5 months.) We just continued giving her atleast 8 oz of formula at night until she was almost 17 months. We gradually started replacing some of the formula with milk, but still gave it to her heated in a bottle. We just kept trying a little milk in a cup most days. Eventually, she drank it. The one thing that did help her is that she started going to an in-home child care two days a week and saw her new friends drinking milk. She is now 26 months old and drinks not more than 8 oz of milk a day....unless it's chocolate milk. We decided not to go down that road at home....she only gets it as a treat when we are out for dinner or at the grandparents' homes. She is pretty good at eating cheese and yogurt so I don't worry too much about her getting her calcium. I did ask her pediatrician and she said that 8oz a day is just fine and not to worry about it. Hope this helps.

Does she eat other dairy products? Cheese, yogurt, etc.? If she does I wouldn't worry about the milk. If she's still drinking formula or breastmilk then she's fine.

My daughter had the same problem at 1. First of all, my doctor told me not to worry about her drinking milk. 16 oz. of milk is about what they should drink during the day anyways. They should get their nutrients from food.

That being said, I think kids should drink milk. I realized my daughter associated milk with the bottle. She would not drink milk except from a bottle. If I gave her milk in a cup she would throw it on the floor. You didn't say what is in your daughter's 1 bottle a day, but I'm assuming it's milk. So the taste of milk probably isn't the problem. If it's still formula, then maybe mix 1/2 formula and 1/2 milk like someone else suggested.

Once I cut bottles out completely, my daughter started drinking milk from a cup with meals. Surprisingly, she started drinking juice at the same time - she didn't like juice either.

I had the same experience as Tammy - my son doesn't like his milk straight from the fridge, so I warm it a little first (whereas water he will drink cold...).

Both of my kids were the same way. We added a little chocolate sauce to their milk (or you could try strawberry). That worked for my oldest but not the youngest. For the youngest we kept offering milk to her and eventually she started drinking it. In the mean time give her other dairy foods such as yogurt, string cheese, pudding, etc. She will come around!

Water is better for her than milk (the human body is 75% water). She probably doesn't like milk because it isn't good food for her. Please don't force it ~ let her guide you as to what her health is instead of putting a formula on her health. If she likes water, praise GOD for her wisdom. Most people don't drink enough of it.