[Cjmeck]

I am having a total mommy brain moment. DD is 21.5 months old and she is still drinking whole milk; I'll continue that until she is 2. The rest of the family drinks skim milk, and I'd like to switch her to that after her birthday. Is there any reason why I shouldn't? She is in the 80th percentile for weight and over the 100 percentile for height so growth is not a concern. She eats mostly full fat cheese and yogurt. What did you do? I cannot remember what I did with my son... I'm losing my mind, I swear.

[Fran27]

Well you're supposed to at 2, but if your daughter is big and eats a lot of other dairy products it's probably not such a big deal. Heck, a lot of kids don't even drink much milk at all anyway.

[Stormster]

i would do it now! She may lose a little weight at first but it will even out as she eats a bit more to supplement! E dropped from the 50th for weight to the 25th when we moved him to Rice Milk which is like Skim. But he is thriving!

[Magic_Hat]

Our doc said skim at 2 but now is probably fine.

[dutchmum]

I started to give 2% little before his 2nd birthday.
DS is small for his age (5%) if you are going via the Dutch standards (The dutch are the tallest people in the world). But he is healthy and eats everything.
Just do what you think is right, it is not like after you stop giving her whole milk she will drop in weight and shrink.

[sheababy]

Skim should be fine at 2. We switched DD over to 1% just because that's what we drink.

[Stormster]

Originally Posted by dutchmum

I started to give 2% little before his 2nd birthday.
DS is small for his age (5%) if you are going via the Dutch standards (The dutch are the tallest people in the world). But he is healthy and eats everything.
Just do what you think is right, it is not like after you stop giving her whole milk she will drop in weight and shrink.

haha Mine actually DID! But we did it before 2 and he was drinking a LOT of whole milk before....

[Nevada Jen]

The fat in whole milk is important for brain development and weight gain. If she is getting other sources of fat, it whould not matter when you make the switch. Some kids at 2 still get most their nutrition from Milk and just don't eat much of anything else.

I think the "standard" for switching to something other than whole milk is actually age 3. (I suppose it might have changed while I was not paying attention).

[shy_bear]

My son is 28mths and drinks whole milk. He was on soy up until a couple of mths ago; he is very small for his age and not the world's greatest eater. We also add carnation instant breakfast mix to his milk so he can get the extra calories.

[blessedbybug]

I think switching depends on the whole of a child's diet. I switched both kids from whole to 2% milk at age two because they were getting plenty of nutrients from the variety of foods they were willing to eat. If there diet had been more limited, I might have waited.

[KarenInCa]

We were told by our ped that toddlers need fat in the diet for brain development. We kept her on whole milk till she was 3 years old, then switched to 2%. She's going to be 5 this month, and she still drinks 2%. We're not planning on switching her to skim milk any time soon.

[robandjulie]

I think part of the discussion has to be volume, too. If you're talking about 4-5 glasses of milk each day (3 meals, 1-2 at snack or more) then a 2% or skim may still add up to enough fat. But if it's 1-2 glasses per day then keeping those whole may be necessary to reach those good healthy fats for brain development and such.

[mommieof2cuties]

Mine all had Whole milk until 2, and than 1% organic as that is what I drink. I was so sick when I was on skim milk, so I switched back to 1% I also think skim milk is basically water.....

[Cjmeck]

Thanks for all of the feedback. She drinks about 16oz a day so that's within normal limits. And she does (praise God) eat just about anything and everything. I guess I was more concerned about the necessary fats needed for brain development past the age of 2. I think since its not a huge part of her diet, and she does get other healthy fats and calories, she'd be great going to skim. Why does everything have to be a major decision...

[OnTheJourney]

Echoing some pp's - It is about the healthy fats needed for brain development and growth.

My doc recommends whole milk until 3 or 4 years and then we can switch to 2% until at the very least 6 years old.

DS was 3 in September and he still drinks whole milk. I really don't have any plans to switch him soon. His diet is highly comprised of fruits and veggies - so the extra fat in the milk is important for him.