Thursday, January 14, 2010

Crouching child, hidden dairy?

If I had to list my three most basic nutrition questions for toddlers it would be:

1. How many vegies do they need (see previous post)?

2. What nutrients are most important for toddler development (still researching)?

3. How much milk/dairy do toddlers really need?

I guess there is the whole breastmilk vs formula debate always going on but in the interests of tackling this the easy way, let's assume the toddler is on standard cows milk somewhere between 12 and 18 months.

I think after some serious hunting the answer always seems to be around 600mls (English sites seem to delight in noting that this is approximately one pint).

This used to be super easy when Leo was having bottles as he loved to chug down a couple of hundred mls whenever he got the chance but now that I phased them out it seems to be a bit tougher. He'll maybe drink 100ml from a cup but the whole experience doesn't seem to grab him - even when I purchased a plastic Buzz Lightyear/Woody cup.

My main tactics are Leo tea (warm milo), milk on cereal or porridge, and heavy doses of bechamal sauce a couple of times a week. The odd babycino seems to work as well.

Anyone else got ideas??

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