My husband has been giving our one year old daughter chocolate milk once a day in her bottle, is this bad ?

Question

I don't think this is such a good idea, what do you think?

Answer 1

My kids love chocolate milk too :). Due to the amount of sugar in it I limit it so that we have it once in a while as a special treat. Just like ice cream or candy. There is nothing wrong with treating yourself or your child, I just believe moderation is the key.

Not to offend, but maybe it is a good time to introduce these wonderful new drinks in a sippy cup or regular cup? My children enjoyed exploring the new cup along with the new tastes of the different juices. Take care!

Answer 2

Its not good to give them choloate milk so early because then they wont want plain milk. My boss' daughter is very chunky because all she will drink is chocolate milk...

Answer 3

I think it's bad.

Why give sugar and caffeine to a 1 year old?

She never even knew about a thing like chocolate milk, so why get her into bad habits at such a young age?

Not only is it bad for her teeth, it can lead to weight problems later on in life.

I'm not saying to never give your child a treat, but there are healthier things that she'll like just as much and which are not as bad for her.

Answer 4

No, it is not a good idea.  Chocolate milk contains much more sugar than regular milk.  Unless the child is absolutely refusing to take regular milk, I would never add this to their daily diet.  If it were a special treat once a month or so, then sure.  But every day is way too much unnecessary sugar for someone that young.

Answer 5

"Everything in moderation" is what my pediatrician always tells me when I ask what I should and should not allow my 16-month-old son to have as a 'snack' or a 'treat'. Chocolate milk, although it may be higher in sugar than regular milk, is STILL MILK and still provides your child with the necessary calcium and Vitamin D that they need to help strengthen their bones. Obviously regular/plain whole milk would be better, but any kind of milk is better than high fructose juices.

I do agree with the other comments that the chocolate milk should be given in a form other than the bottle (i.e sippy cup, training cup) to help the child associate the difference between the two drinks and also to encourage her to drink from the sippy cup more often. I would not recommend the chocolate milk on a daily basis. Maybe once or twice a week as a 'treat'. Try to talk to your husband and express how you feel and help him understand why the chocolate milk should be given less often and in a sippy cup instead of a bottle. Hope this Helps!

Answer 6

I wouldn't want my kid drinking that, but I also don't drink it myself and I wouldn't want an older kid touching it, either. So I'm probably not the best person to ask.

Answer 7

Considering she's 1 now and it's time to be weaned from the bottle, if he's going to give it to her, why not do so in a sippy cup?  It may even help wean her from the bottle as long as you don't overdo it.

Answer 8

I have been a nanny for 10 years and my rule of them is...if they are drinking anything out of a bottle that isn't regular milk, she needs a sippy cup! Chocolate milk won't hurt her, but only as a treat. It is FAR better than juice. But, don't give it to her in her bottle, give her a sippy. She will start to associate the bottle with that...

Answer 9

A little bit every now and then is ok but I certainly wouldn't be giving it to her every day. Chocolate milk is very high in sugar and it will cause tooth decay very early. It's also not good to feed babies high sugar foods. It can be a start up for diabetes and other conditions later in life. If she wants it, maybe once every few days, or a couple of times a week for a treat.

Answer 10

Yeah its bad! Firstly a one year old should be on a sippy by now, not a bottle! And all the sugar and chocolate is not good! I would tell him to do juice in a sippy if you have to give her something besides milk, and even then I'd water it down bc there is sooo much sugar even in juices! It's really bad giving anthing but milk and water in a bottle bc other things like juice and chocolate milk are very sugary and goes right onto babies gums and teeth causing decay and tooth problems which you don't want im sure!

Answer 11

I would recommend against the one year old getting chocolate milk.

The reasons are that the child is still developing and chocolate milk is high in fat and sugar.  Unless the one year old is low on weight I would not do this.

Once a day is rather out there in my opinion. As the one year old is most likely not getting the exercise needed to use the fat/sugar content of the chocolate milk.  You are defining her calorie in-take and do you really want a child that will crave high calorie rich foods?  If you do then that is your choice but you might want to make sure she gets the exercise to go with the food.

Answer 12

Question:  Would you be opposed to a toddler getting chocolate milk in a cup?  Or a chocolate chip cookie?  Or a little chocolate ice cream?  

If not, I'm not sure why chocolate milk in a bottle is worse than chocolate from any other source.  

If you want to avoid chocolate/sweets completely, then you need to come to an agreement with your husband about it. (Why do you have chocolate milk in the house if nobody can drink it?)

EDIT:  Chocolate milk contains no more calories than whole milk. Most commercial chocolate milk is low-fat milk.  A cup of whole milk has 150 calories.  A cup of low-fat chocolate milk has 160 calories.  Not much difference.

(What you might consider is cutting the milk half and half.  I find commercial chocolate milk to be too heavy, so when I drink it, I cut it 50% (or sometimes by 2/3rds with white milk.) Still tastes good, but much less sugar and, (because I drink low-fat anyway) fewer calories.)

Answer 13

I wouldn't do it on a regular basis.

1 cup whole milk has 150 calories and 12 grams of sugar.

1 cup of 1% chocolate milk has 170 calories and 27 grams of sugar.

That is 15 extra grams of sugar per cup.

Answer 14

It's not a great idea given the very high sugar content in chocolate milk.  As we all know too much sugar is bad for anyone, particularly kids.  Not to mention the choc milk might fill her up and as a result she'll eat and drink less of the good stuff (fruit, veg, milk, etc).  

Once in a while maybe (even then) but not once a day.