- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- recipes today articles
- recipes today q&a
- message boards
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
 |
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Chocolate Milk in the Sippy Cup
Does Flavored Milk Affect a Child's Weight?
By Teri Brown
Giving a toddler or small child flavored milk, such as chocolate or strawberry, has always been rather frowned upon by the mommy set. But a new study, recently released in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found that children who drink flavored or plain milk consume more nutrients and have a lower or comparable body mass index than children who don't drink milk.
This will be a relief to mothers out there who give their children chocolate or strawberry-flavored milk, many of whom do so because their child won't drink plain milk. These mothers are often torn between their child's need for calcium and their concern over the higher sugar content of flavored milk.
Elizabeth Ross, mother of four from Pittsburgh, Pa., is concerned about her child's love of flavored milk and her weight. "My daughter, Katelyn, will not drink milk without chocolate in it," Ross says. "I do worry about the sugar that my daughter is ingesting by drinking chocolate milk all the time. And since she likes the taste so much, she would drink too much milk if I didn't stop her. I'm afraid the sugar in the chocolate milk might be a factor in gaining weight."
Other parents, such as Jenn Savedge, mother of two from Luray, Va., are less concerned about weight gain than they are about making sure their children get enough milk in their diet. "Milk is not their favorite drink, and I empathize with that as it's not mine either," Savedge says. "Still, I want them to drink some milk each day and I figure chocolate milk is better than no milk at all. I'm not at all worried about their weight. Their diets are fantastic – lots of fruits, veggies and whole grains and they get tons of exercise, so I'm not at all concerned about giving them a little chocolate in their milk."
