How much milk per day??? (2 yrs old)
- Thread starter Jasbo
- Start date
barbwong_130
Registered User
I don?t know what the ?correct? quantity of milk is for this age group but I have a few suggestions about getting children to eat more.
When my first child was a toddler and not feeding more than a few mouthfuls in the whole day a friend gave me this excellent advice, ?Make every mouthful count.? It is easy to give non-nutritious food to our children because they like to eat it so much. But a handful of crisps are a meal to a toddler as is a biscuit. If your child fills up on sweets, cakes and biscuits you can be sure that he won?t eat meals.
I've found that thinking 'outside the box' is the best idea when trying to get little ones to eat more solid food. We are brought up to believe that everyone should eat breakfast, lunch and dinner but this doesn't always work for little ones. Even two years olds might find it more manageable to eat six tiny meals a day rather than three bigger ones.
My youngest likes to eat spaghetti with meat sauce. This is not a meal I would normally associate with breakfast however this is when she most often eats it, especially if we are going out in the morning. Most children?s activities break for a snack mid-morning and if my daughter doesn?t have a good breakfast she will eat loads of the biscuits at snack time and refuse lunch. So instead she has spaghetti for breakfast, just one or two biscuits at snack and is ready to eat lunch afterwards.
Another favourite of hers is risotto. We will have this as a family meal once a week. The other children like it, which is good, but the reason I like it is because the leftovers do my daughter for breakfast for the next few days. She seems happy to eat this for every meal and so long as she is happy eating I let her have it.
I also find that things that are cut into small pieces appeal to her. Maybe they are more her size. She likes ham, cheese, apple, raisins, mini rice cakes ? almost anything that can be cut into her size.
Another favourite is eating in the bath. She plays with her special bath toys and at seems that twice as much food is eaten - easy cleaning up too. She also loves her dolls but I must admit that I do get fed up at having to feed all of them before she?ll take a spoonful.
I know that some of you reading this will worry that because I go to these lengths to get my daughter to eat that she will not get normally at the table. This isn?t the case. If we are all sitting down together she is very happy to eat in a normal fashion with us. Likewise she is happy to sit down with all the other children at snack time. My problem comes in interesting her in food when she is the only one eating.
Hope some of these ideas will help encourage your boy to eat more solid food.
Best wishes,
Barb
When my first child was a toddler and not feeding more than a few mouthfuls in the whole day a friend gave me this excellent advice, ?Make every mouthful count.? It is easy to give non-nutritious food to our children because they like to eat it so much. But a handful of crisps are a meal to a toddler as is a biscuit. If your child fills up on sweets, cakes and biscuits you can be sure that he won?t eat meals.
I've found that thinking 'outside the box' is the best idea when trying to get little ones to eat more solid food. We are brought up to believe that everyone should eat breakfast, lunch and dinner but this doesn't always work for little ones. Even two years olds might find it more manageable to eat six tiny meals a day rather than three bigger ones.
My youngest likes to eat spaghetti with meat sauce. This is not a meal I would normally associate with breakfast however this is when she most often eats it, especially if we are going out in the morning. Most children?s activities break for a snack mid-morning and if my daughter doesn?t have a good breakfast she will eat loads of the biscuits at snack time and refuse lunch. So instead she has spaghetti for breakfast, just one or two biscuits at snack and is ready to eat lunch afterwards.
Another favourite of hers is risotto. We will have this as a family meal once a week. The other children like it, which is good, but the reason I like it is because the leftovers do my daughter for breakfast for the next few days. She seems happy to eat this for every meal and so long as she is happy eating I let her have it.
I also find that things that are cut into small pieces appeal to her. Maybe they are more her size. She likes ham, cheese, apple, raisins, mini rice cakes ? almost anything that can be cut into her size.
Another favourite is eating in the bath. She plays with her special bath toys and at seems that twice as much food is eaten - easy cleaning up too. She also loves her dolls but I must admit that I do get fed up at having to feed all of them before she?ll take a spoonful.
I know that some of you reading this will worry that because I go to these lengths to get my daughter to eat that she will not get normally at the table. This isn?t the case. If we are all sitting down together she is very happy to eat in a normal fashion with us. Likewise she is happy to sit down with all the other children at snack time. My problem comes in interesting her in food when she is the only one eating.
Hope some of these ideas will help encourage your boy to eat more solid food.
Best wishes,
Barb
Thanks Barb!
My bb would sit down when everyone else on the table...
the problem starts only when he's eating alone too!!! (which 's quite often)
what about Milk? J 's still on 24oz a day... when's a good time to cut down the milk? since he's 2... I understand he can have much less... but as he's not eating too well... I'm afraid he'll not have enough nutrition!?!
Milk or no Milk... that's the question !!!
best regards,
Jasbo
My bb would sit down when everyone else on the table...
the problem starts only when he's eating alone too!!! (which 's quite often)
what about Milk? J 's still on 24oz a day... when's a good time to cut down the milk? since he's 2... I understand he can have much less... but as he's not eating too well... I'm afraid he'll not have enough nutrition!?!
Milk or no Milk... that's the question !!!
best regards,
Jasbo
barbwong_130
Registered User
Dear Jasbo,
As I said before I don't know much about the quantity of milk but here is a calculation to give you thought.
Milk contains about 20 calories an ounce. So if you son is drinking 24 ounces a day that is 480 calories a day he is getting from milk.
If you want to reduce his milk intake then his other food intake has to increase by at least that number of calories.
When you look at most foods the calories per ounce aren't that high, for example,
Fruits about 10 calories an ounce
Bananas about 20 calories an ounce
The most fruit my daughter will eat at one go is half a banana which makes about 2 ounces = 40 calories
Vegetables about 5 calories an ounce
My daughter likes carrots but will only eat about four mouthfuls in a meal, maximum about 1 ounce = 5 calories
Pasta about 35 calories an ounce
She likes pasta and might eat about half a cupful if really hungry (about once every four days the rest of the time she only eats three or four mouthfuls)
Rice about 30 calories an ounce
She eats about the same of rice as of pasta
Meat about 35 to 45 calories an ounce (more with fat)
My daughter is very erratic with meat - sometimes she eats none and the next day she'll eat only meat but even in an only meat day she will only eat about 2 ounces.
Cheese about 100 calories an ounce
My daughter loves cheese (but nutritionally is this that different from milk?)
Bread about 70 calories an ounce.
A slice of bread (without crusts) is about one ounce ? my daughter only ever manages about half a slice of bread at a time.
If you are worried about the amount he is eating then cutting down the milk will make him eat more solids but will it be enough to replace the milk calories?
Does he drink the milk from a bottle or a cup? Babies tend to drink more from bottles than from a cup because they like the sucking. But then the sucking is actually good for babies too. It is difficult to tell when a child out grows the need for both the milk and the sucking.
Hope this helps you,
Barb
As I said before I don't know much about the quantity of milk but here is a calculation to give you thought.
Milk contains about 20 calories an ounce. So if you son is drinking 24 ounces a day that is 480 calories a day he is getting from milk.
If you want to reduce his milk intake then his other food intake has to increase by at least that number of calories.
When you look at most foods the calories per ounce aren't that high, for example,
Fruits about 10 calories an ounce
Bananas about 20 calories an ounce
The most fruit my daughter will eat at one go is half a banana which makes about 2 ounces = 40 calories
Vegetables about 5 calories an ounce
My daughter likes carrots but will only eat about four mouthfuls in a meal, maximum about 1 ounce = 5 calories
Pasta about 35 calories an ounce
She likes pasta and might eat about half a cupful if really hungry (about once every four days the rest of the time she only eats three or four mouthfuls)
Rice about 30 calories an ounce
She eats about the same of rice as of pasta
Meat about 35 to 45 calories an ounce (more with fat)
My daughter is very erratic with meat - sometimes she eats none and the next day she'll eat only meat but even in an only meat day she will only eat about 2 ounces.
Cheese about 100 calories an ounce
My daughter loves cheese (but nutritionally is this that different from milk?)
Bread about 70 calories an ounce.
A slice of bread (without crusts) is about one ounce ? my daughter only ever manages about half a slice of bread at a time.
If you are worried about the amount he is eating then cutting down the milk will make him eat more solids but will it be enough to replace the milk calories?
Does he drink the milk from a bottle or a cup? Babies tend to drink more from bottles than from a cup because they like the sucking. But then the sucking is actually good for babies too. It is difficult to tell when a child out grows the need for both the milk and the sucking.
Hope this helps you,
Barb
barbwong_130
Registered User
I have found a web site, the Virginia Parent Information and Resource Center web site, that gives information on children's diets, http://www.vpirc.net/health/vpirc_nutrition_013002.shtml
This is what it says about the diet of a one to four year old:
"Children from one to four years old need at least two servings of milk per day, and children of this age don't need food portions as large as children just a couple of years older. Follow these tips for children from one to four years:
Give your children whole milk from one to at least two years. Make sure they drink plenty of water each day. Offer a variety of healthful foods, allowing your kids to select their favorite. It's also important to provide healthful, nutritious snacks between meals. I suggest cutting up fresh vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, or cauliflower, fresh or canned fruit, bread or dry cereal, peanut butter or oatmeal cookies served with milk, and fruit milkshakes. "
From what this site says, 24 ounces or three servings (about 8 ounces per serving) will be about right for a two year old.
Barb
This is what it says about the diet of a one to four year old:
"Children from one to four years old need at least two servings of milk per day, and children of this age don't need food portions as large as children just a couple of years older. Follow these tips for children from one to four years:
Give your children whole milk from one to at least two years. Make sure they drink plenty of water each day. Offer a variety of healthful foods, allowing your kids to select their favorite. It's also important to provide healthful, nutritious snacks between meals. I suggest cutting up fresh vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, or cauliflower, fresh or canned fruit, bread or dry cereal, peanut butter or oatmeal cookies served with milk, and fruit milkshakes. "
From what this site says, 24 ounces or three servings (about 8 ounces per serving) will be about right for a two year old.
Barb