Milk and milk products provide many vital nutrients that your preschooler needs for growth. Milk is a good choice to offer as a beverage at meals and snacks.
While some children don't drink enough milk, others sometimes prefer to fill up on milk and avoid other important foods. Preschoolers need about 2 to 2 ½ cups from the dairy group each day. Help your child get enough but not too much milk.
Choose fat-free or low-fat milk. These have the same amounts of calcium, protein, and vitamin D as whole or 2% milk, but less saturated fat and calories.
All types of fluid milk are typically fortified with vitamin D. Some yogurts are also fortified with vitamin D. Vitamin-D fortified products help build and maintain bones.
Make sure you serve only pasteurized milk (not raw milk) to preschoolers.
Sometimes I wonder about the USDA recommendation. We grew up drinking whole milk, cream on the top and lots of it. We were rail thin!
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