Often in the background, parents are seen to issue various "soul torture" because their children drink milk:
"How big does your baby have to drink milk?" Is it normal to drink milk powder at the age of 5? ”
"Babies don't like to drink milk powder, can they use milk and yogurt instead?"
……
Today we're going to talk about kids drinking milk.
Nutritional requirements vary at different stages
Milk is a necessity in the child's growth process, in the child's different stages of growth, will experience several key nutritional periods, and different critical periods, nutritional needs are different, the choice of milk is also different.
Between 0 and 6 months, breast milk is your baby's most important food source, and if the mother is unable to breastfeed or is not breastfeeding enough, you can choose a formula that is suitable for your baby.
After 6 months, the baby begins to add complementary foods, but breast milk or formula is still the baby's main source of nutrition, and it is necessary to maintain more than 600mL of milk per day. At this stage, the baby's gastrointestinal development is not yet sound, and it is not recommended for children to choose milk within 1 year of age.
In other words, after the age of 1, the baby can begin to contact milk, including pure milk, yogurt, cheese, etc. to meet the need for calcium. However, at this time, milk is no longer the main source of nutrition for babies, and there is no need to drink formula all the time. This means that formula must be drunk until the age of 1, and healthy babies can drink pure milk after the age of 1.
The American Pediatric Association, the World Health Organization and other relevant authorities also recommend that babies over 12 months old can drink pure milk, and at the same time cultivate their babies' diversified eating habits.
However, if the baby's complementary food is not ideal, or picky eating, or unbalanced nutrition, or allergy to pure milk, lactose intolerance, etc., it is still recommended to continue to drink low lactose or lactose-free formula milk for the baby after the age of 1, you can also eat some sugar-free yogurt and other supplemental calcium, and according to the situation of their own baby, drink to 2-3 years old can also be.
Formula is better than milk? Not really?
In the mother circle, there has always been a saying that formula milk is more nutritious than milk, from the perspective of nutritional value, formula milk is indeed more comprehensive, but after the age of 1, the nutrition of children mainly depends on daily diet, so parents instead of pestering their children to drink milk or formula milk, it is better to ensure that the baby's nutrition is balanced three meals a day and develop good eating habits.
According to the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents", it is recommended that babies aged 13-24 months guarantee about 500ml of milk per day, 1 egg per day, 50-75 grams of meat, poultry and fish, about 50-100 grams of cereal foods such as noodles, soft rice, bread, etc., and try different kinds of vegetables and fruits according to the baby's needs, but the amount should not be less, otherwise the baby is prone to constipation.
In short, after 1 year old, the baby's complementary food is eaten well, and the balanced intake of meat, poultry, fish, cereals, vegetables, fruits, eggs, etc. is guaranteed every day, and the baby has no allergy to milk, lactose intolerance, etc., you can rest assured that the baby can drink pure milk!
Some mothers say that pure milk will stimulate the baby's stomach and stomach and affect the baby's digestion. In fact, after the age of 1, the baby's digestive system has gradually improved, and drinking pure milk generally does not bring discomfort to the baby's intestines.
In addition, there is an enzyme substance in the baby's intestine, which can decompose lactose that is not easy to digest and become easy to absorb, and the lactic acid produced by lactose decomposition can help the growth of probiotics in the body, which is conducive to promoting the absorption of calcium and can also inhibit the reproduction of harmful bacteria in the intestine.
Can formula be drunk all the time?
This is an era of free choice, some mothers want to continue to give their babies formula, of course, no problem, but the following issues need to be considered before deciding:
Whether the child is obese
Formula milk protein less, high calories, more sugar, generally more than 3 stages of formula milk will often add sucrose, glucose syrup and other sweets, eat more but let the child become fat, especially the original fat baby should pay attention to.
Children are prone to bottle caries
Due to the high sugar content of formula milk, if the baby does not develop the habit of brushing his teeth before going to bed, it is more likely to suffer from bottle caries than babies who drink milk.
Whether it will affect normal eating
After the age of 1, the baby's milk is only a part of the diet, and the child's nutrition mainly comes from three meals. If in the process of giving the child transitional complementary food, the baby is still allowed to use milk as a staple food, it will make the baby less and less fond of eating, forming a vicious circle.
Whether it is drinking milk powder or drinking milk, the most important thing is that the mother's concept should change: after 1 year old, milk is no longer the protagonist in the baby's diet, and formula should not be relied on formula to supplement the baby's comprehensive nutrition, but to cultivate the baby's healthy eating habits, which is the most important.
As for how old the child should drink milk, our advice is that as long as the child is willing to drink, he can drink as long as he wants, there is no age limit at all, and it is better to drink for a lifetime.