What % milk did you switch to after 2 years?

[wencit]

I think the general recommendation is whole milk until 2 years old, but what about afterwards? 2% 1% Fat free? Stay at whole milk? Our pediatrician says whatever the family drinks is OK, and we drink fat free, but that seems so drastic for a toddler. Or does it matter what percentile your child is in? DS is right at 50%, FWIW.

TIA!

[citymama]

Before 2, we did fat-free and DD did whole milk. Since she turned 2 last month, the whole family has switched to 2%. (Our ped. recommended 2%.) We only use milk in tea/coffee and cereal so it didn't seem like a major addition of fat in our diet. I agree that fat-free seems drastic for a toddler - if you consume a lot of milk as well, you might want to continue getting 2 different cartons for parents and kid.

[momtoonegirl]

DH and I drink fat-free, and DD currently drinks 1%, since her 2 year well-child visit about 2 months ago. The pediatrician said it was ok for her to drink fat-free also, even though she is at 25%ile weight.
I just felt it was a drastic change to switch abruptly from whole milk to fat-free. DD hasn't had any problems with switching, though.

[cvanbrunt]

We went from whole to skim. No transition, no problem. She didn't notice. Pediatrician said whatever is fine.

[JBaxter]

We have never switched. We always have drank whole milk. I figure its just one more process for something to happen.

[o_mom]

We have done

12-24 mos whole milk
24-36 mos 2%
36+ mos 1%

I figure that made sure they got enough fat until age 2-3. Once the last on is on 1%, we will probably switch them all over to skim. DH refuses to use skim, only 1%, and I don't want to buy more than two kinds of milk.

[sidmand]

Hmmm. Good question. We only drink skim, but DS drinks 1%. He is (still) drinking SO much milk per week that we didn't want to go much higher fat than that. He is very tall for his age but in the 50-65% for weight.

We tend to make sure to buy his milk without growth hormones and I don't think we check as much for our own, but it might be good to switch us all over. I didn't think about that.

[KBecks]

We went straight to skim.

[almostsane]

http://www.dietdetective.com/content/view/2834/150/
http://www.herbological.com/herblog/?p=191
http://vvv.com/HealthNews/prostatecancerriskfactors.html
We started DS1 on whole milk at age 1, then I switched he and DH to 2% when he turned 2. I only drink skim milk, but am re-evaluating my choice now. I have already taken the two of them back to whole milk, but I just can't drink that stuff. Think I might change to 1 or 2%. It really concerns me that lowfat might increase cancer chances.

[Clarity]

We've found that organic skim milk tastes every bit as good as "regular" 2%. Maybe your husband would be willing to try that instead? It's not as thin or something...I don't like "regular" skim either, but I switched to organic skim and never looked back. The downside is the expense!

I've been planning on switching dd to skim when she turns 2. I worry a bit about making sure she gets enough fat, but the fat in whole milk is saturated fat, and I've read that it's better to give them fats from nut butters, olive oils, avacado's, etc. So, I'm going to try to make sure she gets those in lieu of whole milk.

[hillview]

DS is 3 in July and still drinking whole. I drink skim. Pedi said keep him on whole. He is 90%+ for height and weight.
/hillary

[kmak]

A lot of it depends on the rest of their diet. Our ped said that his recommendations are based on the diet. If the diet is "typical" American diet with lots of McDonalds, then a low fat or skim milk. If the family is vegitarian, then he recommends staying on whole milk. He left it up to us for our DD. She's 35%tile in weight and 95%tile in height. We eat the occasional McDonals hamburger, but mostly we eat at home with lots of veggies and fruits. We stayed at whole for a couple of months after she turned 2. We buy organic milk with DHA added which is really popular at our grocery store. So, we buy 2% if it's in stock, otherwise we'll grab the whole.

[nfowife]

DD switched to 1% (same as us) at 2. DS is just over 1 now so he drinks whole.
I noticed that DD seemed to eat more food once I switched her to the lowfat milk (she didn't notice a change in the taste or anything, though). She actually jumped UP in percentiles after 2, not sure if it was the switch or what but now she is in the 50% where before she was almost the 25%! She has always been 90% for height, though.

[ilfaith]

We switched DS1 from whole milk to 2% when he turned 2. When he turned 3 (and DS2 was 1) we moved DS1 to 1%, gave DS2 whole milk, and switched ourselves from skim to 1% (because who has room in the fridge for three kinds of milk?). When DS2 turns 2, we'll probably just switch him to the 1%.

[HIU8]

DS is a very picky eater and likes storebought meatballs and chicken nuggets and hot dogs. Therefore, we switched right to fat free milk at 2 yrs. He never even noticed. The ped said it was better to do that since his eating choices were sometimes higher fat (although I have found lowfat hot dogs and chicken nuggest, but not meatballs). With DD we will do the same thing. She eats pretty much everything so at 1 yr we will do whole fat and at 2 yrs we will switch to fat free.

[melonkelli]

1-2: whole milk
2-3: 2%
3+: skim

The adults use milk in cereal & coffee, and the 2 and 4yo drink milk by the cup & pour it over cereal. It's annoying that you can't mix and match gallons of milk in the "buy one get one discounted" deals at the store!