When my boy turned one, I’m struck by the baby books introducing whole milk to toddlers once they reach this milestone. This is very unlike the Asian/Malaysian tradition of sticking to formula milk until the kid turns 7 or 8.
My mom, my babysitter and even my friends are skeptical and horrified that I’m thinking of doing that. However, his paed, whom I think is a very progressive lady, is very supportive of it as she has mentioned before that given the choice between breast milk and formula, breast is best.
In cases when breast milk isn’t possible, then babies are given infant formula. Thus, why should formula be given preference over whole milk when the child is bigger? It makes sense, doesn’t it?
Also, in my globe-trotting experiences in the Western world, the Mat Sallehs drink milk or have milk with cereal every day for breakfast. My US, Canadian, UK, Australian, European and South American colleagues all recounted childhood and teenage years of drinking milk 3-4 times a day.
They’ve got strong bones and teeth, with very few cases of osteoporosis. Asian women, on the other hand, hold the record for the highest cases of osteoporosis, due to their low-milk diets.
For Malaysians, our Indian friends are often commented for their beautiful, strong, white teeth. Why? Milk plays a huge part in their cooking, be it in the form of yoghurt or milk.
We are very lucky to have fresh milk (homogenized and pasteurised) easily available in supermarkets and I’ve found the Susu Segar brand to be the closest in taste to the whole milk available overseas.
By the way, the milk in the Netherlands is the best tasting of all!
We are encouraged to eat foods that are as close to their origin as possible i.e. instead of gulping down a vitamin C tablet (synthetic), why not eat an orange or a guava (natural)? Both give you the natural source of vitamin C plus fibre and a whole lot of minerals at the same time.
That’s what my gynae repeats and repeats all the time as well throughout my pregnancy. And that’s what my dear hubby believes in as well – I can’t even finish counting on both hands the number of times he has ever popped pills.
And I’m glad my boy takes after his father in this sense because:
a) he loves to drink water
b) he loves fruits esp bananas and oranges
c) he loves veggies (so far)
d) he loves cereal + milk + fruit that his Mum mixes for him every morning
Because of this, he doesn’t have any constipation problems, unlike his Mum who always forgets to drink water and is too lazy to eat fruits unless it’s within reach, does not need to be peeled and can be eaten using one hand 
Anyway, here’s some links to share on the info out there on full cream milk:
- Parenting and Child Health – Milk for Toddlers
- Parenting and Child Health – Feeding Toddlers
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/vegetarian_and_vegan/children.shtml
- http://www.health.qld.gov.au/phs/documents/cyhu/28111.pdf
Of course, the opposite argument is presented by formula companies e.g. Wyeth:
“switch from an iron-fortified formula to full cream milk at an early age” is cited as the first reason why toddlers are not getting enough nutrition.
“fruit juice in place of a calcium-rich milk source”
Yes, this is correct but note that “milk source”, not “milk”? Why? Because formula is NOT milk – it’s just what it is – a FORMULA i.e. a recipe of ingredients mixed together. Just do a quick survey in the supermarket – which formula brand markets itself as “Growing Up Milk”???
None, I bet.
Let’s go glug, glug, glug then…
