Milk is still an important part of your growing toddler’s diet. Although they’ll probably be eating 3 meals a day by now, milk still has lots of important nutrients, essential for keeping them healthy. As a guideline, they’ll need a minimum of 350ml (just over half a pint) of milk a day, as drinks, on their cereal or in cooking, along with the other dairy products they eat. The maximum they should have is 600ml (just over a pint), so they don’t get full up on milk.

Lots of toddlers go through a fussy-eating phase, especially when it comes to milk. But as a mum, you have permission to be sneaky! Here are some ideas to get milk and dairy into your toddler’s diet:

• Offer a milky but tempting bowl of cereal such as muesli to start their day.
• Use warm milk as part of their bedtime routine. Sit together as part of your quiet time before bed – your toddler with a cup of warm milk and you with a cup of tea.
• Give them a change of beaker or an exciting cup to use especially for milk to make it fun.
• Try changing the way they have their milk – if your toddler usually has cold milk, try warming it up or vice versa.
• Use foods that you’ve added milk to, like mashed potato, custard on puddings, rice pudding, or white sauce on vegetables or pasta.

• Use cheese on pizza, as a cheese spread on crackers or try cheese on toast.
• Give your toddler dairy for dessert; offer yogurt, rice pudding or ice-cream.

You can find out more by reading our fussy eaters article… but always remember to stay as relaxed and encouraging as possible when it comes to feeding.