Originally Posted by Unregistered:
I have a 2 year old who asks for a "bottle" all day long. It is really a sippy cup of milk, not a bottle. I do milk at meals and water in between. I typically allow dcks to have as much milk as they want with their meal as I've never had an issue with it before. I serve it in dixie cups to avoid wasting and refill as they request it. However, dcb will not eat more than 2 or 3 bites of food at any meal and asks for "bottle" repeatedly throughout the meal. Dcm says he mostly drinks milk at home and she doesn't mind that, but we're talking like 12-16 oz of milk at each meal. I'm wondering if I should set a limit for him or just let it go. It concerns me for his health, but it also is a lot of money to spend on milk each week. I was thinking of giving him 5 minutes with his food before offering his milk, but I don't really think it will make a difference. Should I just serve 8oz of milk and say all gone or just give him the milk and let it go since dcm is ok with it? I don't make battles out of mealtime. I just serve and let them eat what they want of it, but this kid doesn't eat anything.
If you don't care that he has a sippy full of milk all day then why not ask mom to supply some so her child can continue on with the "bad" habit she has allowed him to have.
If you are not okay with him having that much milk, then treat it like you would any other food issue and refuse to engage. At meal time, I serve. The kids eat. Or don't. I don't give more milk after the appropriate serving size....water is the ONLY option. They can take it or leave it but that's the only choices I offer.