Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much milk are they drinking? Only little kids drink milk in my family. Once you hit upper elementary school you get water with meals. Milk is only used for cereal (eaten maybe once a month) and recipes. We use whole milk.

what do they eat for breakfast then??? or not at all?

Strangest post ever. Were you told once PP that the ONLY thing that was allowed or even available for breakfast is cereal? I just....wow.

My nephew who is getting chunky, has been on whole milk his whole life. Can't figure out why they don't switch, but it's their deal, not mine.

Anonymous wrote:
How much milk are they drinking? Only little kids drink milk in my family. Once you hit upper elementary school you get water with meals. Milk is only used for cereal (eaten maybe once a month) and recipes. We use whole milk.


They drink a fair bit. Between the two of them they likely drink 6 litres a week. A lot of that is taken with cereal.
Why wouldn't they drink milk?

Because there are better ways to get the major nutrients in milk. Calcium and protein are the big reasons that people think milk is important. If they are drinking 6 litres per week, that is about 3900 calories. That is a lot of calories and a lot of liquid volume for the amount of calcium and protein it gets you. For example, spinach, broccoli, and other vegetable contain significant amounts of calcium and are less caloric and less volume than milk.

How much milk are they drinking? Only little kids drink milk in my family. Once you hit upper elementary school you get water with meals. Milk is only used for cereal (eaten maybe once a month) and recipes. We use whole milk.


what do they eat for breakfast then??? or not at all?

My husband makes breakfast before he leaves for work. Current favorites are:

Poached egg, toast, fruit

Ham and eggs

Turkey and cheese on english muffins with fruit

Scrambled eggs

I can't remember the last time anyone ate cereal in our house. We just don't like it that much and since there are so many better choices we don't miss it. Thanks for your concern though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fat is good for a developing brain, so if there is no weight issue I would stick to whole milk.

OP here, I feel my younger one is getting borderline heavy. He is 68 percentile for weight.

Eh....if he's 12, he's likely getting ready for a growth spurt.

Anonymous wrote:Fat is good for a developing brain, so if there is no weight issue I would stick to whole milk.

Yes, but whole milk contains saturated fat, which is not a good thing. Definitely drop back, OP, to at least 2%.

Anonymous wrote:How much milk are they drinking? Only little kids drink milk in my family. Once you hit upper elementary school you get water with meals. Milk is only used for cereal (eaten maybe once a month) and recipes. We use whole milk.

what do they eat for breakfast then??? or not at all?

We do 2%. The only ones that really drink milk are my teen and my toddler and they are both a healthy weight.

Your kids should drink the milk with the lowest amount of fat they will tolerate. The hormones in milk attach to the fat molecules and exposure to those hormones is associated with an increased risk of various cancers (breast & prostate in particular). Skim milk really is the best.
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/12.07/11-dairy.html

Anonymous wrote:We do 2% because that's what we've always done. But new studies are showing whole milk is probably better with respect to maintaining a healthy weight. I do but whole milk yogurts, etc. "I" am not skinny but my kids are.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/02/12/275376259/the-full-fat-paradox-whole-milk-may-keep-us-lean

Yes, saw something similar and immediately switched from skim lattes to whole milk lattes. A twice a week indulgence. Have not convinced DH to make the switch from 1%, but i sometimes sneak in a 2%.

We do 2% mostly because my husband buys whole milk when he goes to the grocery store and the difference between whole to 1% means no one drinks the 1%. But they'll drink the 2% (even though my husband complains).

They drink whole milk. But I produce beanpole children with low cholesterol.

Anonymous wrote:skim is the healthiest for over weight children

Do you have studies based on data that counter the other linked studies (showing whole milk associated with leaner children) where this is the outcome?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do 2% because that's what we've always done. But new studies are showing whole milk is probably better with respect to maintaining a healthy weight. I do but whole milk yogurts, etc. "I" am not skinny but my kids are.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/02/12/275376259/the-full-fat-paradox-whole-milk-may-keep-us-lean

Interesting

Thanks for the link. I have always fed by kids whole milk because it is less processed and I feel as if in general the whole low fat movement led to weight gain. A few years back when my kids were very young (around th2 1/2 year range where peopel started talking about transitioning to low fat milk) I tried to find research on this and it was hard, there was a study in a nordic country that was consistent with this link, that kids raised drinking whole milk may be leaner in the long run. I stuck with the whole milk. The funny thing is, I feed my kids whole milk at home but my 5 year old loves the low fat milk they serve at school. My kids also drink less and less milk as they get older, with it only being a cereal usage for my 9 year old.

Also OP, 12 year old boys may add a few pounds as their bodies prepare for growth spurts. If this is recent and he eats generally healthily and is active I would give it a little time before changing his diet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fat is good for a developing brain, so if there is no weight issue I would stick to whole milk.

OP here, I feel my younger one is getting borderline heavy. He is 68 percentile for weight.

I would switch to 2% but I'd also see what else he's eating. It could be something else besides the milk. However, my 16 son could drink a gallon of milk some days so if your son is like mine, that could be a lot of calories he could cut out. Personally, I'd try to frame it as how he is making food choices and not what you are feeding him.