At what age can milk be given to a child

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

At what age can a child be given milk and what? In some cases, only cow is allowed, while others can be given to goat. Consider what experts think about this.

Is milk the staple of a baby's food?

Even 30-40 years ago, the question of at what age you can give cow's milk to young children was not raised. It, of course, in a diluted form, was considered the best food for a baby, which for some reason could not be breastfed by the mother.

Then women had no choice. Therefore, some are still confident that there will be no harm to the baby from the milk of the cow. However, science has stepped forward over the past half century.

The nutritional requirements of a small human being and a newborn calf differ significantly. For example, a calf should stand up and follow its mother in the first hours after birth. This requires rapid bone growth, which means a lot of calcium and phosphorus.

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A person does not have such a need, our body is not adapted to the consumption of the amount of minerals normal for a calf. But the growing human brain needs polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are very few in cow's milk. And the protein is different in chemical composition, babies do not have enough enzymes to digest hard cow casein.

It has been proven that:

• cow's milk protein causes allergies when introduced into food early in 2-5% of bottle-fed babies, and in 0.5-1.5% of those who are lucky enough to receive breast milk;
• there is too much phosphorus in the milk of cows, this increases the load on the kidneys of the baby and leads to the loss of calcium, which in turn threatens rickets even with the introduction of vitamin D into the diet;
• not all children can assimilate protein from cow's milk, often the baby's immune system considers it foreign and begins a struggle, which leads to a deterioration in weight gain, anemia, and persistent diarrhea.

All these features of the immune system and metabolism usually disappear with age. Most often, a baby can only be given cow's milk by 12 months. That is, babies do not need to give it.

Goat's milk is healthier or not

This product has the same disadvantages as cow's milk. True, goat milk causes allergies much less often. Therefore, the answer to the question at what age you can give it to children is simple: just like a cow - from a year.

Usually, complementary foods start with cow's milk as it is more readily available and cheaper. But if the baby does not have a relationship with him, then you can switch to goat, and start giving cows from a later age.

What is the "third step"

The third step in infant feeding is foods that they can safely and profitably receive from 8 months to a year. It is for her that industrial baby milk is recommended, for example, "Tema". At what age can you actually give it?

"Tyoma", "Agusha", "FrutoNyanya" and other types of milk in children's packaging differ from adults only in size and quality control. Fat content 3.2% is too high for a baby up to one year old.

Of course, there are children who normally tolerate milk at 8 months, and if it is correctly introduced into complementary foods, you can give them it from that age. But even in this case, cow's milk should not become the main diet of the child.

When to inject milk

Modern pediatricians answer the question from what age it is possible to give milk to children, they answer unequivocally: from 1 year. Some babies may metabolize it earlier and some later, so as with any complementary food product, it is important to watch the infant's reaction.

Earlier than milk, cottage cheese is introduced into the baby's diet, this can be done from 4 months. If the curd made from cow's milk is not suitable for the child, then the milk itself does not need to be given yet. Then it is better to start giving the goat.

There is an important rule in infant nutrition: it is better to introduce foods for a later age later than indicated on the package than before. This applies to everything from age-adapted infant formula.

The second important rule: a new product is introduced gradually. Cow's milk 3, 2% fat is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 3 and give just one teaspoon of new product a day to start with. If the child absorbs the novelty well, the amount of the product is gradually increased, bringing it to 100 ml (approximately 25 ml of milk and 75% water).

In this case, it is better not to give milk as a separate product, but to dilute them with already cooked cereals from cereals that are well known to the child, to which there is definitely no allergy.

And finally, advice. If milk is absorbed by the child, but he simply does not like it, do not give it. The baby has his own taste preferences, and food that is tasteless from his point of view, if offered too persistently, can ruin the eating behavior, which will be extremely difficult to recover later.

Summarize

The basic rules for introducing cow's milk into a child's diet are as follows:

• if there is not enough breast milk, it should be replaced not with cow milk, but with mixtures specially developed for each age;
• pure milk can be introduced into complementary foods from a year, fermented milk products can be given earlier;
• the difference between goat and cow's milk is only in the presence or absence of an allergy to one of them;
• if there is an undesirable reaction to milk, do not give this product for several months and then feel free to return to it, the negative consequences will most often completely disappear.