Sometimes as a parent we find ourselves walking down a path we least expect. So it goes with my recent reunion with chocolate milk. The last thing I ever thought would become staple of my 17 month old toddler’s diet. Yes chocolate milk. The horror! Maybe your’re not cringing at the words chocolate milk, but the fact that I’m giving him chocolate milk is somewhat unbelievable to me. Chocolate milk definitely goes against my preconceived rules of parenting, but clearly I’ve had to re-assess.
I was that annoying Mom who never allowed my 3 ½ year old daughter to even have a “sip” of juice until she was older than 2. And then it took a birthday party or national holiday for me to break my rules and let her delight in a juice box. (Don’t worry once she turned 3 I loosened up a little and now I let her have juice a few times a week as a special treat…..)
Anyhow, a few weeks ago I easily transitioned Kyle off the bottle. Good news: I saw the appetite of my energetic boy greatly improve. Bad news: He stopped drinking any and all milk. After a week of him refusing all attempts to sip milk even after trying just about every sippy, straw, and suction cup on the market, I called the pediatrician to hear their thoughts. They reminded me how important calcium was for his diet. Be sure he is eating cheese, yogurt, and maybe even OJ with calcium. And of course aim for 15-20 oz of milk a day and that I should just let him try the flavored chocolate or strawberry milk. He’s allergic to strawberries so that left me with the chocolate milk.
I didn’t like the idea, but coincidentally that night I read an article about Osteoporosis – a pediatric disease with geriatric consequences. Yikes. I’m all over that chocolate milk now. And after a few days of encouragement, I’m not surprised that he now seems to be an avid fan.
Hopefully, I’ll transition him to the regular white stuff, if not, so it goes. How do you insure your children get enough calcium? What other foods do you try to make a staple of their diet?
Disclosure: This blog post is sponsored by Healthy Choice. Please visit http://www.spokespersonwanted.com/ for more information on Healthy Choice and to print a free $1 off coupon.