Is this a silly question????

[squirtle81]

OK this may sound really silly, but here goes anyway.

If your meant to stop giving formula milk at the age of 12 months and start

giving cows milk, why do they have formula for 12 months+??

[Ange&Seth]

That is a FANTASTIC question!! I'd like to know the answer to this one too. But thanks for clearing up another question I had, which was when they could have cows milk!! :thumbsup:

[squirtle81]

Well i'm glad i'm not the only one that doesn't know why :smiliedance:

[Baby Girl]

I don't know why but I know I gave my DD1 the 12 months + formula and cows milk and she liked them both as much as each other!!

The formula was a flavoured one (can't remember which flavour) so it made for a bit of a change of taste for her rather then plain milk all the time. I used to use it to make milkshakes for her too!!

[Miss Tazar]

to make money
we have a family advisory service in WA and they say not to be fooled into progress formulas, toddler formulas, etc... they are just gimmicks to make us buy their products
The starter formula is fine until 12 mths, then cows milk after that

I wonder if you should introduce the cow's milk slowly? I imagine so...

[Baby Girl]

The progress (step 2) formula that we use is cheaper than the starter formula so I don't know how it makes them more money - DD2 drinks less and it is cheaper per tin!!

Strange marketing strategy if you ask me!!

[jessgray]

my mchn told me that some kids dont get enough good stuff from their foods and cows milk so they need to have some formula thats why their is 12 months + formulas. which i think must be tru coz it says the same thing on the karicare ad :laughing:

[rynosmum]

Purely a marketing ploy by the formula companies to try and secure a new market.

Toddlers are fine on cows milk (except if they have allergies of course) but it's a target market for these guys as they have previously been missing out once the babies hit toddlerhood. When you think that at this age, your child is getting most of their nutrition from solids, the claim that toddler formula carries more nutrients than cows milk is fairly moot.

Another interesting point. I spoke to a Karicare rep last year who said that all toddler formulas are pretty much the same. However the prices vary dramatically.

We still use formula if we're travelling as it's easier to keep some bottles of water and powder and make it up on the run rather than having to keep milk cold.

[xkwzit]

to make money
we have a family advisory service in WA and they say not to be fooled into progress formulas, toddler formulas, etc... they are just gimmicks to make us buy their products
The starter formula is fine until 12 mths, then cows milk after that

I wonder if you should introduce the cow's milk slowly? I imagine so...

Well said Roxy, hear hear :yelclap:

It's to guilt you into spending money - what a load of rot.

I always just swapped after running out of the last tin of formula. The kids had already had cows milk yoghurt and cheese, so I knew there was no intolerance. Just swapped and had no troubles.

Cheers

[Starlet]

I think they sell it because it has added nutrients, etc in it.

My DSD1 is a very fussy eater. She has chalky teeth and one of her front teeth rotted away to the gum and she never used to want to eat ANYTHING. Cows milk wasn't enough for her to get all the iron, etc that she needed. She is still very skinny and underweight because of the eating habits she's grown used to.

We use Heinz toddler formula, we get it from the chemist for $9.95 a tin and one tin lasts about a week. Why do we do this? Because we have 3 children drinking it and it actually works out cheaper to buy a tin of formula than enough cows milk to last a week(plus we have a small frigde and can only fit 2 3litre bottles of milk in it).

We use ALOT of milk, so yeah, the formula is more practical for us.

[Charlie Angel]

A couple of people have said that when u introduce cow's milk you are supposed to water it down until bubs gets used to it. Is this right mums? Should you slowly wean them onto it & still give formula?

[reAllytee]

Ok well its not just a ploy as some people like to think that it is.
Some babies dont need to step up & are quote happy with continuing a step 1 formula all the way through till they are ready for cows milk but others like my little boof who at 7mths became very fussy & wanting a bottle every 2hrs again like a newborn & just wasnt happy. We stepped him up to the step 2 & he was fine went back to every 4hrs no dramas because its more filling so it also meant he was happy enough to drop a bottle this way also. Again as advised i have tried to introduce the cows milk into his diet slowly around the 9mth age mark by cooking foods with it in etc but he refuses it spits it out or i wear it. This has been on going ever since so he refuses as you can imagine to drink cows milk now even at 13mths. So our only option is to use the toddler formula ! Again it has meant he has cut down which they are meant to at this age & he is happy plodding along this way so who am i to refuse him.
The other big thing with a toddler formula is that it is made for kids who refuse to eat 3 portions of dairy a day. Im pretty lucky that bubs does tend to have at least 1 per day but i also know that the days he refuses to eat any dairy or even if he refuses to eat nothing but a rice cracker & a rusk for the day he is getting enough through the formula.
If he was being bf he would still be taking this when not eating whats required so i dont see the fuss.
Oh & i agree with schmell toddler formulas arent any more expensive than step 1 formula's & infact i worked out that by the time we pay for all the cows milk he would be drinking buying a tin of formula is a hell of a lot cheaper.
Anyways thats my 2 cents worth.

[annsam]

OK this may sound really silly, but here goes anyway.

If your meant to stop giving formula milk at the age of 12 months and start

giving cows milk, why do they have formula for 12 months+??


To the best of my understanding it is purely marketing. Followon formula can be used for as long as the baby is bottle feeding, the toddler formula and such is not necessary but people buy it if it has an age group on it so there is a market for it and formula is a billion dollar industry so it will continue to be produced as long as people buy it.

The follow formulas are different to the starter forumlas, they are thinker and the ingredient tables are very different I believe but the toddler formula is not necessary.

Dont forget, some children at lactose intollerant too so cows milk isn't appropriate for them and some people believe that cows milk shouldn't be fed to children at all.

Thats my understanding anyway. :)