Is milk still important for my toddler?
Milk is still an important part of your growing toddler’s diet. Although they’ll now probably be eating three meals a day, milk still has lots of important nutrients essential for keeping them healthy. As a guideline, they’ll need a minimum of 350 ml (just over half a pint) of milk, divided into drinks, cereal and cooking, on top of the other dairy products they eat each day. The maximum they should have is 600ml (just over a pint), so they don’t fill up too much.Our specially prepared Growing Up milk, is suitable from 12 months and above to complement your toddler’s diet.
Tips to get milk into your toddler’s diet
Lots of toddlers go through a fussy-eating phase, especially when it comes to milk. But as a mum, you have permission to be sneaky! Here are some ideas to get milk and dairy into your toddler’s diet:
• Add some milkshake mix to milk and call it ‘strawberry juice’
• Give them a change of beaker or an exciting cup to use especially for milk to make it fun
• Try changing the way they have their milk – if your toddler usually has cold milk, try warming it up or vice versa
• Use warm milk as part of their bedtime routine. Sit together as part of your quiet time before bed – your toddler with a cup of warm milk and you with a cup of tea.
• Offer a milky but tempting bowl of cereal, a cereal and milk bar or try porridge to start their day
• Use other foods which you’ve added milk to, like mashed potato, pancakes or custard
Use other dairy foods
• Use cheese – try a cheese sauce on top of vegetables, as a sauce for pasta like macaroni cheese or a cheese sandwich
• Try a healthy yogurt as a snack
• Give your toddler dairy for dessert; offer frozen yogurt, ice-cream, rice pudding or semolina.
You can find out more by reading our fussy eaters section… but always remember to stay as relaxed and encouraging as possible when it comes to food.