Should I have my child drink 2%, 1%, skim or whole milk? Is one more nutritious?
In the past the recommendation has been to drink, or to give kids whole milk which has 4% fat. And the thinking was that all kids, all babies, since they are still milating and having brain development going on, they need a certain amount of fat for that to happen properly. Well, since then we live in a very different culture now, and it’s very hard pressed to find any child that is not getting enough fat in the United States in their diet. With that in mind, the amount of fat that they are getting through their milk is not really that big of an issue anymore. The more important issue is that it is the main source of calcium for the kids. At least in our culture, milk is the main source. And so we want the kids to drink enough milk so that they can get enough calcium, but not necessarily have to take in all the calories that comes with the whole milk, the 4% milk, or the 2%, or the 1% for that matter.
Again with the issue with pediatric obesity in mind, the American Academy of Pediatrics has changed their recommendations recently to say that any milk is actually okay for the kids. Calcium is calcium and we just want to make sure the kids get enough of it. Milk is one of the most easily readily available fluids source that’s available now. I suppose if you’re another culture you might eat anchovies or whatever to get the calcium, but as it is right now in our culture, that is the most easily obtainable source. You can certainly use calcium fortified juices. They actually have just as much calcium as milk per ounce, actually a little bit more. Now-a-days there are also a lot of calcium supplements designed just for kids, like the gummy bear type of calcium supplements. Soy milk is also another option, rice milk, as long as they’re fortified, they will be fine too.
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