Dairy Allergy - Worried About Not Drinking Her Milk From A Cup

[mygirl05]

Hi,

My daughter has several food allergies, including Dairy. I would really like to try to get her to drink her milk from a cup, but whenever I try she won't have more than 30 mls. My main concern with this is that if she does not drink her milk, she might get sick because she can't get her calcium from anywhere else. I can give her some Soy Yogurt which would help a little but not much. I am also worried that she will get dehydrated from not having enough fluids.

She will drink some water from a sippy cup and a cup with a strawer. She won't drink a lot though, unless she is really thirsty - maybe 50ml over 1/2 an hour.

I just realised I should add that she is now 15 months.

[the pero clinic]

Dear Mygirl05,

It could be as simple as just increasing your daughter’s interest in cup drinking. I presume that she is managing well with the actual process of drinking from a cup, but perhaps just loses interest after a while?

To make cup drinking less of an effort for your little one, you may actually need to put more effort into it to begin with. Start by sitting with her (away from other distractions) when she has a drink, and give her praise, interaction and encouragement. You may also consider giving your daughter a ‘reward’ after sips to encourage her to drink more. After your daughter has a sip from the cup, reward her with a quick play of a toy / doll / a tickle or a cuddle (whatever is interesting and motivating for her).

It is very important, however, to quickly reduce the rewards that you give a child in this way. For example, very quickly expect that your daughter will have 2 then 3 then 4 sips in between each reward – before expecting that she will drink most or all of what is in her cup before rewarding her. This way she will not expect or require a toy or attention to have a drink, but she will have learnt to drink more than a few sips at a time. Work towards a simple routine such as a big hug, or being allowed down from the highchair to have a play when her drink is finished. Just remember, of course, that she won’t always be hungry / thirsty enough to have all of her drink, and it’s never worth struggling for that ‘last sip’!

Finally, let your daughter choose whether she would like a sippy cup, open cup, straw, particular colour cup (no more than 2 choices at a time though!) - a little bit of power goes a long way with a toddler!

the pero clinic