Parents of Preschoolers  Discussion Forum

Hi,
I have 2yr.old daughter. She is not at all drinking milk. I've tried flavoured milk, boost, bournvita, horlicks. She doesnt open her mouth. Even if i force her or show some pets of the next house she will try to run away from me. I am very depressed and i am in the stage of getting stress. Please suggest some ways for me to overcome this problem. Sangeetha replied. Have you tried giving her the milk in a bottle when she's sleeping. Just might work. Have you tried giving her milk shakes? Maybe get her involved in preparing it.

Sangeetha Viji replied. My son is two and he also dislikes milk. He stopped drinking milk when he was 15 months old. Nothing worked - I tried everything - additives, changes in formula, cow's milk etc. However, he made one exception - he would drink a bottle of milk when he woke up first thing in the morning.
My doctor advised me not to force the child to drink milk. Instead I started giving him curd, kheer made of milk, cheese slices ( they are highly processed and should not be given in exscess) etc ( chocolates have milk too!). I continued this for months. This seems to have helped because now my son has started drinking milk from a bottle when he wakes up in the afternoon after a nap, at least on some days.
Don't worry about the child not drinking milk. Milk is a complex food and some stomachs can't tolerate it. Just give enough protein substitutes - Dal, paneer. Curd is also a very good alternative and easier to digest than milk. Most important, if you don't fuss, the child may start drinking milk again on her own after a few weeks or months. Good luck!