At 03:06 PM 8/22/99 -0400, Harriet Smiley wrote: >Michael, > > In general, I agree with your suggestions re: getting young children to >eat better though I would add water to your list of acceptable drinks for >the cup, especially given how hot this summer has been. From a housekeeping >standpoint, water in a cup doesn't attract bees or other bugs and is cooling >if it spills. > I should have expanded on this a little. Once they will drink milk from the cup, then certainly permit (and encourage during warm weather) water *between* meals. But if a child is refusing all milk through the cup, period, then permitting water - even between meals - gives the child the option of continuing to refuse the milk. I've seen too many kids who won that battle and the result is a child who - while not drinking juice - drinks nothing but water during and between meals. Then it's tough to get adequate calcium intake. BTW, for those who are dairy sensitive (or for parents who prefer that their child not drink milk for personal reasons), fortified rice and/or soy milks are a good alternative. The problem is that I've not seen any (other than soy infant formulas) which have a fat content equivalent to whole milk, so for the one-two year olds it's tough. How come some marketing genius doesn't come out with a "high-fat" soy or rice milk specifically for this age range? Michael Sachs, M.D. General Pediatrician