Q: Dr. Bill, I have a house full of milk drinkers. We prefer 1% but are currently buying 2% because of our 2 yr old toddler. At what age can she move to 1%?
A: Dear Kate, I normally tell parents to start whole milk when children are one year old and continue until they are twoAt that point, if the child is not a picky eater or is not underweight, then it’s okay to switch to 2% or less. Since you don’t mention any weight or eating problems, your child probably will be fine switching to 1% milk. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics revised its recommendations, stating that toddlers (defined as ages 1 – 2 years) who are overweight or have a family history of obesity should be converted to 2% milk. This is because, in general, milk is not a very good food source, other than the calcium it provides. Sometimes children who drink too much milk can become overweight from too much fat, refuse to eat other healthy food, and/or become anemic because milk is very low in iron.

Sometimes I see children with the opposite problem: the child won’t drink any milk. In this situation, I advise the parents to offer other dairy products such as cheese or yogurt. They can also try offering more foods that are high in calcium, like spinach, collard or mustard greens, navy beans, black beans, almonds, canned salmon or sardines, oysters, cooked soy beans, tofu, fortified orange juice, or fortified waffles/cereals. For super picky eaters, I often suggest that parents crush up a Tums and mix it into their kids’ food (the main ingredient in Tums is calcium). Older kids can benefit from a supplement, too, such as Viactiv. It’s important for children to get plenty of calcium, since once you become 35 years old, you don’t absorb calcium very well. This early investment in calcium will reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis as an older adult.

Good luck with your milk situation,

Dr. Bill