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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Watered Down Milk?
Miss A 06:45 AM 04-11-2018
I have a DCM who recently requested that her almost 2 year olds milk be watered down to help with BM issues. I have never once had this request, and I am not sure how I feel about it. As it is, we only do 8 ounces of milk per child per day, and when they have finished their allowed amount it is solely water offered to them. *I am not on the food program*

Had anyone else had this request? How did you handle It?
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Rockgirl 06:55 AM 04-11-2018
I wouldn’t do that. There are other ways to tweak his diet to help with BM issues...more veggies and fruit, more fiber, etc.
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Blackcat31 06:56 AM 04-11-2018
Originally Posted by Miss A:
I have a DCM who recently requested that her almost 2 year olds milk be watered down to help with BM issues. I have never once had this request, and I am not sure how I feel about it. As it is, we only do 8 ounces of milk per child per day, and when they have finished their allowed amount it is solely water offered to them. *I am not on the food program*

Had anyone else had this request? How did you handle It?

"Sorry mom but I don't believe in adding things to something already healthy so instead I will make a point of simply offering more water in general during the day."

I am not a fan of parent created concoctions.

I would suggest she consider adding additional fruit and/or fiber instead to the child's diet to impact his BM's....
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Ac114 06:59 AM 04-11-2018
If she’s really that concerned then she should do away with milk altogether. We as humans do not need cows milk to survive. I would increase water intake, add more fruits/veggies that are high in fiber and cut out foods that have dairy or at least limit them.
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Miss A 07:34 AM 04-11-2018
My entire group has had BM issues since they were babies. As they progressed to table foods we hoped it would get better, and now it seems that it is hit or miss with consistently soft easy to pass BM. That is why I moved to offering lesser amounts of milk at meals and adding in more water throughout the day.

I also agree with adding in more fruits and veggies, and offering high fiber choices as well. I have tweaked my menus and added in more fruit and veggie options, and cut back on extra dairy products as meal componets.

Plus, I personally would not drink watered down milk, so there is no way I would ask a child to do so.
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storybookending 08:29 AM 04-11-2018
They did this for the neice for her nighttime bottle for a few months after switching her from formula to whole milk as she was taking in way more ounces than recommend. I had another dcb that I know they did this for at home as well for the same reason. I don’t serve whole milk so they just stopped sending it here and he got what the big kids drink but they stuck with whole and home and did half milk/half water. I never got why but whatever.
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hwichlaz 08:31 AM 04-11-2018
If I weren’t on the food program I’d do it. Milk is for baby cows...and both water and milk are safe to drink....so I can’t really think of a reason not to.
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MomBoss 08:46 AM 04-11-2018
I think parents give way too much milk at home. My group has so many BM issues...
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happymom 08:47 AM 04-11-2018
Originally Posted by hwichlaz:
If I weren’t on the food program I’d do it. Milk is for baby cows...and both water and milk are safe to drink....so I can’t really think of a reason not to.
This.

My kids ask for ice in their milk. It's not really different.
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mommyneedsadayoff 09:00 AM 04-11-2018
Originally Posted by Miss A:
My entire group has had BM issues since they were babies. As they progressed to table foods we hoped it would get better, and now it seems that it is hit or miss with consistently soft easy to pass BM. That is why I moved to offering lesser amounts of milk at meals and adding in more water throughout the day.

I also agree with adding in more fruits and veggies, and offering high fiber choices as well. I have tweaked my menus and added in more fruit and veggie options, and cut back on extra dairy products as meal componets.

Plus, I personally would not drink watered down milk, so there is no way I would ask a child to do so.
I would not water down the milk either. I'm not sure that would even be allowed for the food program. Of course, plenty of water and veggies will help, but I personally think a lot of constipation in children has to do with lack of activity, too many processed foods, and way too early potty training. Adding some water to milk will probably do very little for their digestion. And, of course, there is always the chance that they are feeding way too much milk in the evening to keep him sleeping at night, so they want you to limit it during the day. Just something to keep in mind.
***sorry, just saw you are not on food program��
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Baby Beluga 09:06 AM 04-11-2018
While I don't think watering down the milk will help with constipation, I don't think it would harm anything either and I would be okay doing it.

Sounds like parents need to find the root cause of the constipation though. A few less ounces of milk per day isn't really going to make a difference.
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Blackcat31 09:13 AM 04-11-2018
Originally Posted by mommyneedsadayoff:
I would not water down the milk either. I'm not sure that would even be allowed for the food program. Of course, plenty of water and veggies will help, but I personally think a lot of constipation in children has to do with lack of activity, too many processed foods, and way too early potty training. Adding some water to milk will probably do very little for their digestion. And, of course, there is always the chance that they are feeding way too much milk in the evening to keep him sleeping at night, so they want you to limit it during the day. Just something to keep in mind.
***sorry, just saw you are not on food program��
I agree! I think the BM issues are always an underlying issue for lack of something. Routine, balanced diet, exercise etc.... ALL culprits for sure!


I guess I just don't understand why adding extra water to the day instead of adding to the milk isn't the automatic solution?

Why add anything to anything else?

Water is pretty good all on it's own.
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daycarediva 10:04 AM 04-11-2018
Originally Posted by Ac114:
If she’s really that concerned then she should do away with milk altogether. We as humans do not need cows milk to survive. I would increase water intake, add more fruits/veggies that are high in fiber and cut out foods that have dairy or at least limit them.
Originally Posted by MomBoss:
I think parents give way too much milk at home. My group has so many BM issues...

This. I am on the food program, and I would just ask for a pedi note to reduce/substitute the milk and do away with all other dairy. Add more water, fiber, and outside play.

SO MANY KIDS with poor diets on miralax regularly!!!
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Rockgirl 10:09 AM 04-11-2018
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I agree! I think the BM issues are always an underlying issue for lack of something. Routine, balanced diet, exercise etc.... ALL culprits for sure!


I guess I just don't understand why adding extra water to the day instead of adding to the milk isn't the automatic solution?

Why add anything to anything else?

Water is pretty good all on it's own.
It’s funny how many parents have told me, “Oh, he won’t drink water.” ALL of my dc kids drink lots of water. Their water cups are available anytime, and they all drink it regularly. Nothing else is offered here between meals, so it’s water or nothing.
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Ariana 10:53 AM 04-11-2018
I currently have an infant with bad constipation who refuses to eat veggies and drink water. I have zero control over what happens at home but mom told me she loves dairy. While here I do not feed her any dairy and give tons of blueberries to get things moving. One day it was so severe I had to give her watered down apple juice . I have never served juice in my daycare ever! She had a massive poop and was happy for the rest of the day. I am not on a food program. She is here 8 hours and drinks maybe 2 ounces of water

It is a tough spot to be in when a child refuses to drink water and needs to poop. If this was affecting the kids mood (whiny and irritable) I would porbably try to water the milk down or give some watered down fruit juice. I would also make sure the parents were trying to do better at home.
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Miss A 02:36 PM 04-16-2018
Ok, seriously now. Is there new parenting advice that I haven't been clued in on? A second DCM has asked to have her child's milk watered down because of constipation issues. No, just no!

I just read that the AAP reccomend 3 servings of dairy per child per day. In children the ages I care for those serving amounts are 1/2 cup (4 ounces) each. So, in total the child should have 12 ounces a day. We do 4 ounce servings at breakfast and lunch, and when they finish that (and they always do!) They get water as well. Snack is water only. If they drink another 4 ounces with their supper than they have met their required dairy intake. And that is only counting milk servings, and not dairy components within meals.

I wish these parents would try to eliminate the 8-10 ounce bottles these kids are getting before bed before they asked me to water down milk.

Side note: is it still recommended that whole milk be served until age 2? I tried looking it up and read so many conflicting articles that I am still so confused.
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Baby Beluga 03:51 PM 04-16-2018
Originally Posted by Miss A:
Ok, seriously now. Is there new parenting advice that I haven't been clued in on? A second DCM has asked to have her child's milk watered down because of constipation issues. No, just no!

I just read that the AAP reccomend 3 servings of dairy per child per day. In children the ages I care for those serving amounts are 1/2 cup (4 ounces) each. So, in total the child should have 12 ounces a day. We do 4 ounce servings at breakfast and lunch, and when they finish that (and they always do!) They get water as well. Snack is water only. If they drink another 4 ounces with their supper than they have met their required dairy intake. And that is only counting milk servings, and not dairy components within meals.

I wish these parents would try to eliminate the 8-10 ounce bottles these kids are getting before bed before they asked me to water down milk.

Side note: is it still recommended that whole milk be served until age 2? I tried looking it up and read so many conflicting articles that I am still so confused.
I think overall, yes. Unless the child is overweight then I have heard/read then 1% is recommended.

DS drinks 12oz of formula per day (6oz in the morning, 6 oz at night) and water the remainder of the day. Because of weight/height/dairy/reflux issues he is remaining on formula vs milk until 2 when I will switch him to rice milk. At his 12 month check up, the pedi told me 12oz wasn't enough and I should increase to 16oz if I could.


Naaaaaaaaaaah. Some days it's hard to get him to take the 12oz because he fills up on food and not milk.
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NiNi.R. 07:59 PM 04-16-2018
I have a 19 month old dck on breast milk. He doesn't eat a lot but eats a good variety. He struggled awhile with constipation. Mom took him to the doctor who suggested Miralax. The mom didn't like the idea of that and decided first to try Organics HappyTot fiber and protein bars. Game changer!
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Miss A 06:32 AM 04-17-2018
Originally Posted by Baby Beluga:
I think overall, yes. Unless the child is overweight then I have heard/read then 1% is recommended.

DS drinks 12oz of formula per day (6oz in the morning, 6 oz at night) and water the remainder of the day. Because of weight/height/dairy/reflux issues he is remaining on formula vs milk until 2 when I will switch him to rice milk. At his 12 month check up, the pedi told me 12oz wasn't enough and I should increase to 16oz if I could.


Naaaaaaaaaaah. Some days it's hard to get him to take the 12oz because he fills up on food and not milk.
I was reading that same info about the child being overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. The kids I care for who's mothers have requested this are not in any way overweight. In fact, one was born premature and has struggled to gain weight, and just finally charted on the growth chart for the first time in their life.

There must be some info somewhere on the internet about watering down milk though, because it is strange to me that in a matter of weeks I have had 2 requests for it.
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Blackcat31 06:46 AM 04-17-2018
Originally Posted by Miss A:
I was reading that same info about the child being overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. The kids I care for who's mothers have requested this are not in any way overweight. In fact, one was born premature and has struggled to gain weight, and just finally charted on the growth chart for the first time in their life.

There must be some info somewhere on the internet about watering down milk though, because it is strange to me that in a matter of weeks I have had 2 requests for it.
Are these parents putting milk in the bottles these kids have? When weaning from bottle to cup it used to be recommended all over to just water down the milk or formula and baby would simply give up the bottle.... just wondering if that is the case with these kids..

I believe most these littles have constipation because of diet. It's so simple to just hand baby a cracker or something quick (usually carbs) to munch on and without the required fiber in their diets they get constipated.

As for milk requirements under 2 yrs old - whole milk and those over age 2 get skim or 1%
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Ariana 07:08 AM 04-17-2018
It might not just be the milk! Almost every new parent I know feeds their kids crazy amounts of cheese and yogurt. Not to mention the cheese in snacks like Goldfish etc. Dairy is packaged so conveniently that it is almost always a go to for snacks. Kids get much more than the recommended amount and dairy is not even a necessary food. It replaces most food in my opinion. I have seen it time and time again.

I personally think that milk plus a well rounded healthy diet would be fine for these kids. The other dairy needs to go!
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Miss A 07:38 AM 04-17-2018
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Are these parents putting milk in the bottles these kids have? When weaning from bottle to cup it used to be recommended all over to just water down the milk or formula and baby would simply give up the bottle.... just wondering if that is the case with these kids..

I believe most these littles have constipation because of diet. It's so simple to just hand baby a cracker or something quick (usually carbs) to munch on and without the required fiber in their diets they get constipated.

As for milk requirements under 2 yrs old - whole milk and those over age 2 get skim or 1%
1 is completely off the bottle, and the other uses a cup here but only a bottle at home.

Originally Posted by Ariana:
It might not just be the milk! Almost every new parent I know feeds their kids crazy amounts of cheese and yogurt. Not to mention the cheese in snacks like Goldfish etc. Dairy is packaged so conveniently that it is almost always a go to for snacks. Kids get much more than the recommended amount and dairy is not even a necessary food. It replaces most food in my opinion. I have seen it time and time again.

I personally think that milk plus a well rounded healthy diet would be fine for these kids. The other dairy needs to go!
I feel the same way. I also think that if your meal does have a dairy component such as cheese, yogurt, etc then milk should not be served with the meal. It is so commonplace now for kids to drink milk around the clock with water rarely being offered.
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