SageMother

When my sons were young I didn't believe in giving them too much cow's milk because most of the calcium is unavailable to the body once the milk has been pasteurized. I chose to provide cheeses, leafy green vegetables, yogurt and other sources. As an Afro-American parent, I am also aware that most Afro-American children are lactose intolerant. My sons' bones are fine and their teeth are healthy...even with my never giving them milk as a beverage.

Have any of you made similar decisions? Many people are horrified at the thought of not insisting children drink cow's milk but I have the feeling they haven't actually done any research and are acting based on lobbying by the dairy industry, not necessarily good nutrional approaches.

What dietary choices have you made for your children that run contrary to popular practices?

Sam

Hi, I have been giving my kids soy milk, which I think is much healthier in my opinion. Maybe you can try that and see how your kids like it...my kids doctor was the one who recomended it to us and its done great healthy wise.

mistere

I found this info online and was quite shocked by the numbers:



My wife and I are both lactose intolerant and we buy goat milk products to get our dose of milk. We rely on Meyenberg products (www.meyenberg.com) and Laoo's Goat Milk Ice Cream (www.laloos.com). Both are great options for those who have a hard time with cow milk.

Kaytee

hmm that was interesting info.

Well I am not for or against cows milk. I personally LOVE milk!!! Drink a lot!!! But I don't think it is the entire world kinda thing for kids.
Nichole drinks cows milk but no where near what they say she "should". She usually only gets about 1/2 a cup a day. Last week she has had none because she is also slightly lactose and as long as she does not have large amounts she is fine. Unfortunatly she has had too much lately and has had diarrhea.

Also Soy is not really that good of an alternative uinles in small amounts. Soy milk is not really good for you. Rice milk is a better alternative for children. Our doc also reccomended either, but Nichole does not like soy so....

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jtee

"Got Milk?"

hannah's mommy

My pediatrician recommended that milk be limited to 2 cups a day. The way he explained it to me was that children do need some milk for vitamins and calcium, the bulk of fluid intake should be water after they turn one.

I do think that kids do need to drink primarily water, rather than milk, as it develops good habits.

sirius8

DO NOT GIVE YOUR CHILDREN MILK OR SOY PRODUCTS.

Here are two links for you to look at regarding these two killer products.

http://www.notmilk.com/
http://www.wholesoystory.com/

There are two books that every parent should read. If you do, it will change your whole outlook on both milk and soy products. If you listen, it will also change your health and your life.

Thanks
Terry

fallon

"If a bottlefed baby has an ear infection, eliminate milk
and dairy products from the child's diet for thirty days to
see if any benefits result...a cause of frequent ear
infections in children is food allergies."

I took this quote from Terry's article.

I'm a little concerned about this particular statement. How do you just stop feeding you baby the thing the need to survive. If you have ever had a formula feed baby you know it isn't a good idea to go changing around their formula, and most docs aren't going to recommend it for an ear infection. A food allergy may be the answer if the infections are reoccurring but not because of one. Also I think you need to be very careful when reading things like this, it could result in harm to your baby.
Personally both my children have thrived on soy formula, whole milk after one yr and skim milk after that. I see the benefits of organic milk but can't pay that price. Unpasteurized milk scares me, I have family who drinks it and raves about it but at this point in my life I can't bring myself to drink milk straight from a cow. Anyways I just think people should be very careful about this kind of thing.

Kaytee

I see what you mean fALLON, There are other types of formula out there if your child is young. They are expensive but you can give goat milk based formula, I believe there are a few other types. I didn't read the articles so.... I will later I swear. Not an advocate of formula as you all know but another reason for ear infections in bottle fed infants is the position that the baby is in, so if I was bottle feeding and my child was getting ear infectons, you should prop the baby up at a higher angle when feeding. It may be from that not just the milk itself.

Anyways I am a moderation person so i don't think milk is going to break her as long as it is in moderation. If I have a choice between giving her milk or juice I will give her milk most likely.

__________________

If you can't stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them!
http://www.spcnicholasidalski.com

fallon

With girls it is improtant to limit the amount of milk fat they consume, it can cause yeast infections, I know from experience as I battled with them with DD from the time she was 1. But that is caused from the milk FAT not milk itself, which is why for girls it's best for them to have 2% or less. She still gets whole milk once in a while but I try to give her mostly skim