Whole milk vs. 1% for my kids: which is better?

[dncomom]

Dh informed me this morning that he thinks the kids (ages 11, 9, 7, and 5) need to be drinking milk with a higher fat content. I currently buy them 1% and skim for myself. They do not like milk and rarely drink it but they do pour it on their cereal and of course, dunk their oreos in it :-). I think dh is just looking for an excuse to get me to bring at least 2% into the house. Are there any RD's out there who can set me straight? I understand that babies need the fat for brain developement but what about kids that are of the ages of mine? Is dh right or just desperate?? ;-)

Heather

[Vanessa]

Fat-free (skim) and low-fat (1%) milk and dairy products are excellent choices because they make it easy to get enough calcium without adding a lot of extra fat and saturated fat to the diet. For example, a glass of whole milk contributes 25% (1/4) of your total saturated fat for the day, while a glass of low-fat milk contributes only 7.5% of the total saturated fat. There are now a variety of milk products available including different levels of fat and even different flavors but an 8-oz glass (1 cup) of any variety still contains about 300 mg of calcium.

However, babies under one year old should drink only breast milk or iron-fortified formula. Children ages one to two should drink whole milk rather than reduced fat varieties because some fats are necessary for their early growth and development. Between ages two and five, parents should gradually transition children to low-fat or fat-free milk. Beginning at age 2, children should get most of their calories from grain products; fruits; vegetables; low-fat dairy products; and beans, lean meat and poultry, fish, or nuts.

[Peggy]

My DD has been drinking fat-free milk since she was about five (she is now 12). Thank you Vanessa for stating the real facts about milk and kids. I have never understood why people insist on giving their children "fatty" milk, except for the fact that many kids will refuse to drink fat-free because it is watery in comparison. I made the switch very gradually and now DD can't stand the taste of full-fat milk.

Peggy

[mightyh]

My moms club just had a really interesting speaker (RD) on nutrition for kids and she said what Vanessa said above.... after age 2 you can start transitioning from whole milk to the 1% or skim, whichever you prefer.

She recommended a book called Baby of Mine by Ellyn Satter, I think. Not that you asked about kids' nutrition as a whole, but the method this book advocates was interesting to me. It says it's the parent's responsibility to "set the menu" and by that she means healthily and it is the child's responsibility to eat as much of whatever is on "the menu" as he/she wants that night.... supposedly it teaches the child to pay attention to their stomach and when it's full as a sign to stop eating--a trait that can be really helpful in later life.

[aggie94]

Hi Heather,

I'm not nearly qualified to answer your question about what milk kids should drink (and it sounds like you already got some good info), but this is in response to your comment about your DH being desperate to get at least 2% in the house.

My DH refuses to drink skim milk, but I do the grocery shopping and don't want to buy two different kinds of milk or buy just 2% (or even whole, like he'd prefer). So I don't. He's an adult, and I won't tell him that he can't drink whatever he wants (even though I think skim is better for him), but he's also quite capable of finding his way to the store himself and buying whatever he wants. A few times of just coming home with skim milk and him complaining about having to put "blue milk" on his cereal and he was off to buy his own. And I'll say I was very proud of the fact that he came home, on his own, with 2% rather than whole.

If your DH is desperate enough, he'll go get his own milk and no one else HAS to drink it. But if he'll drink whatever you buy, he must not think it's all that bad. :)

[funnybone]

My kids drink 1% and have for years. They actually don't like 2% or whole milk because they are not used to it. It's the calcium thats important in milk.

Now, if the kids are underweight and are told they need to gain weight, then I guess giving them the more fat milk is better than giving them junk food.

[beacooker]

Originally posted by mightyh
She recommended a book called Baby of Mine by Ellyn Satter, I think. Not that you asked about kids' nutrition as a whole, but the method this book advocates was interesting to me. It says it's the parent's responsibility to "set the menu" and by that she means healthily and it is the child's responsibility to eat as much of whatever is on "the menu" as he/she wants that night.... supposedly it teaches the child to pay attention to their stomach and when it's full as a sign to stop eating--a trait that can be really helpful in later life.

Mightyh, I just finished reading this book a few weeks ago, and I loved it. I had borrowed it from the library, but now I plan on buying it. Other goals she has is for children to learn HOW to learn to like new foods (by being given opportunities to eat them, but not being forced to try them), and to learn how to 'make do' when they don't like the foods being offered (i.e. fill up on bread or whatever without complaining, if you don't like the main dish). These things are really important to me - I hate the idea of being stuck either serving only supposedly kid-friendly meals (hot dogs, spagetti), or having to cook special meals for the kids to eat. I would also hate for my son (and future kids) to grow up being afraid to try new foods, the way a lot of people I know are.

This was totally off-topic, but I really loved this book (although I have quite a while before I can test her theories), and wanted to add my recommendation for it.

[Gail]

Just to further corroborate what has been said, our pediatrician had recommended we give our son 1% milk from the time he was about two years old since "he doesn't need all the extra fat."

[BosunsWife]

We transitioned DD at age 2 from whole milk directly to 1% and had no problems whatsoever. Her pediatrician said after age two she could drink whatever the family drank. DH and I are not big milk drinkers but he thankfully has no problem drinking 1% when he does drink it.

On the subject of eating, I am going to look for that book. We went through a period of time with DD about four months ago (she be three next month) when she started eating only select foods. I was kind of freaked about it and made an appointment with her ped. He told me that all kids go through it and to keep offering her what we ate, but not to fix anything different for her. She picks and chooses what she will eat. She definitely is not starving and eats when and what she likes. She is offered different things and one day (hopefully) she will eat what we do for dinner. He said at least twice a week we should try and have a meal that she will eat. She is not a big breakfast eater (maybe will eat a good breakfast twice a week) and when I sheepishly admitted to the pediatrician that she would eat pretzels and dried fruit for breakfast I was expecting to get chewed out. He said no problem, its a grain and a fruit and much better for her than either nothing or a sugar sweetened cereal.