1 (2s):
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3 (1m 4s):
And you like those Toddler Milks jump out at you and you're like, Ooh. All this language about immunity and gut health and brain development and ooh, picky eating because You know what? My 12 month old doesn't eat as much as they used to at 10 or nine months of age. And I'm wondering if they're getting enough. And maybe this is a product that can help just fill that gap. But please don't let a formula company convince you that your Toddler needs a powder drink because they're just entering a normal stage of feeding development. All right, your baby's learning, your toddler's learning, and with the right structure and support, I know you too can keep moving forward without buying the Toddler milk. Hey there, I'm Katie Ferraro, registered dietician, college nutrition professor and mom of seven specializing in baby led weaning Here on the Baby led weaning with Katie Ferraro podcast.

3 (1m 54s):
I help you strip out all of the noise and nonsense about feeding, giving you the confidence and knowledge You need to give your baby a safe start to solid foods using baby led weaning. What if I told you that one of the most expensive products in the baby aisle was also one of the least necessary? Okay, and what if that product was actually being marketed to you at the exact moment when you might already be feeling a little anxious and nervous about your baby turning into a Toddler? A picture, this your kid is making the transition to 1-year-old and maybe they're not eating as much as you thought they would. Or they used to eat more when they were nine and 10 months old and now they're starting to get a little picky.

3 (2m 40s):
And yeah, you're worried about iron and protein and brain development, immune health, and always are they, You know, getting enough and then you see it sitting there on the shelf. A Toddler milk, a Toddler formula, a transition formula. Next step follow on product. It looks a lot like the infant formula that you used to buy and all the marketing jargon stuff on the front makes it sound like the logical next thing that you're supposed to buy now that you've got this one year old. But here's the truth. For the vast majority of healthy toddlers, you do not need Toddler milk. You don't need a follow-up formula, you don't need a transition milk, And you don't need to spend more money on a powdered drink that's being marketed as if regular food and milk somehow are not enough.

3 (3m 28s):
Now I'd like to start these mini baby led weaning training episodes with a baby led weaning tip of the day. And today's tip is I kind of already let the cat outta the bag with the title of the episode. When your Baby Turns One, you do not need to graduate from infant formula to Toddler formula at 12 months of age. Most of your baby's nutrition can be coming from food. If you're breastfeeding And you wanna continue breastfeeding for both you and baby. If that's working And you wanna go past one, go for it. If you've been formula feeding, congratulations, you get to stop buying formula at age one And you can transition to cow's milk if that's what works for your family.

3 (4m 8s):
I work with lots of families that don't do cow's milk and they're perfectly fine. We don't have to do cow's milk. There are other plant-based milk alternatives, particularly calcium fortified soy milk that can work. But we know lots of families that get their nutrition from food and then the kiddos just drink water and that works great. Now, I do wanna enter this episode with an exception. There are certainly situations where children may have a medical condition whereby a Toddler would be benefited from having a nutritional formula. Those are situations where that child's course would be followed by a pediatric dietician. So for the pediatric dieticians listening, I know you rely on these formulas for your sick or failure to thrive or growth faltering kiddos.

3 (4m 52s):
But when we're talking about the rest of the typically developing population, Toddler Milks are totally unnecessary. They're not a baby led weaning milestone. They are not an insurance against picky eating and they're definitely not something that you need to buy just because the container makes it look like it's the official next step. So what are Toddler Milks? What are we even talking about here? Toddler Milks are powdered or liquid milk based drinks that are marketed for young children, usually somewhere in the 12 to 36 month range. You may also see them called Toddler formulas growing up, milks follow up formulas, transition formulas or next step formulas. And the marketing is very clever.

3 (5m 32s):
'cause you might be like, I'm not dumb. I'm not gonna go buy my 1-year-old a A formula yet. You might because they put 'em right next to infant formula. They use a lot of similar colors, they use similar branding, scoops, containers, similar language, but then they go like agro on all of your mom guilt. And a lot of it is around picky eating. But guess what? Picky eating or food, neo phobia, fear of new foods is a typical development. When your child turns one picky eating is not a problem to be fixed. Okay? That's part of normal infant, normal child development is that your child will become more selective. It's the whole crux behind my hundred First Foods approach is that if your baby is spoonfed, they're gonna have at most eight or 10 foods by the time they turn one.

3 (6m 15s):
And if you lose those eight or 10 foods to picky eating, you're up a creek, right? Because that's a really challenging child to feed. But if your baby has a hundred foods by the time they turn one And you lose eight or 10 of those foods to picky eating, who cares? You still have 92 or 90 foods that the child can eat, right? So we know that picky eating is coming down the pike, but parents still feel bad about it and they wonder that they did something wrong. And so they start to turn to these formulas. It's like, oh, it's just a little bit extra protein or it's a little extra nutrition. But what they're basically buying is a sugar sweetened milk. You're buying your kid basically a milkshake with a lot of extra calories and added sugar that they definitely don't need. So I have a real problem with these products.

3 (6m 58s):
As a registered dietician, I do a lot of work with the state WIC association. So in the United States, the USDA's special supplemental Nutrition program for women, infant and children. And I have nine different talks that I do for the state WIC associations. The only one that I would say has a negative bent is this Toddler milk one. And so sometimes I'll go back to speak to spa states for lots of different talks and they'll be like, whoa, you're kid, the Toddler milk is your total soapbox talk. And I'm like, yes, it is my total soapbox talk because the marketing here is insane. And the fastest growing sector of the formula market is the Toddler milk product. They wouldn't be marketing the heck out of it if it didn't work and people were buying it.

3 (7m 38s):
So I want you to know, again, most of your baby's nutrition can't be coming from food by the time your baby turns one. And you don't need to buy these different products. So What SHOULD your baby drink before they turn one? Let's back up from birth to six months of age. Obviously all they need is infant milk, right? Breast milk or formula. That's it. And then around six months of age, your baby's showing you those reliable signs of readiness to eat. You start solid foods, you start adding foods. Gradually the amount of infant milk starts to slow down. This amount of nutrition from foods starts to tick up. Hello, this is weaning in action. And then by the one year mark, most of your baby's nutrition is coming from food. You stop the formula. You can keep breastfeeding for comfort and bonding if you'd like to.

3 (8m 18s):
But the reality is most nutrition is coming from food. So that breast milk or that formula is still in the mix in the second half of infancy. Okay? Now, when your child turns one, you can make that transition to cow's milk if you'd like. We do whole milk, okay? So no, no reduced fat, low fat or non-fat dairy products for children until after age two. 'cause your kiddo still needs that fat in the whole milk for they're still developing brain. And we really wanna keep a tight leash on the amount of milk your child is drinking. Somewhere between one and a half to two cups of milk max 12 to 16 ounces a day is ideal. Okay? The biggest saboteurs of the Toddler diet, you guys know it. Milk and snacks, all right? You let your kid drink as much milk as they want and snack all day, they're never gonna eat the food that you're making for them.

3 (9m 2s):
So what changes at 12 months? Okay? Remember the rate of growth slows down. Your baby is not going to be eating. It's crazy. You'll be like my 12 month old is eating less than they did at 10 or nine months of age. And that's true. The rate of growth slows down as they approach the one year mark. And they will start to exhibit some signs of picky eating. That is you have a Toddler on your hands, you have a typically developing Toddler, congratulations. So the answer is not automatically go buy a milkshake product from the store to help fill in the gaps. 'cause you're nervous that they're not eating enough. So why does this Toddler milk marketing work so well? Because it targets the exact fears that parents already have. Okay? The container might say something about brain development or immune support or digestive health or picky eating or growth or nutrients your Toddler may be missing.

3 (9m 50s):
And listen, If you are the parent of a newly minted Toddler, those concerns feel real. You're thinking, my baby used to eat everything and now they're throwing food on the floor. Or they loved vegetables last month and now they only want bananas. Or they're not eating as much as they did when they were 10 months old. All of these things are true. But here's something I want you to know. Appetite changes after the first year that growth velocity slows down compared to infancy. Your Toddler may not need as much food as you think they need. If I could highlight that sentence in the audio, I would. Your Toddler may not need as much food as you think they need. They may eat a lot at breakfast and barely anything at dinner.

3 (10m 31s):
They may love food one week and refuse it the next. And that doesn't mean something is wrong. It doesn't mean you failed at feeding. It doesn't mean you need to buy a Toddler milk product to fill the gaps, okay? In many cases, the better strategy is not more milk, it's better structure. Predictable meals, planned snacks If you do any snacks at all. And in a best case scenario, no snacks for toddlers. A variety of foods allow your child the privilege of feeling what I call casual hunger so that they feel, experience and sense hunger when they come to the table. We, I'm not saying to starve the kiddo out, but a hungry child does eat food. And casual hunger is a gift you can give your child.

3 (11m 11s):
You've got safe food preparation, they're still constrained or strapped in when they're eating versus running all around and distracted. You're practicing responsive feeding and you're trusting that your baby will know how much to eat. Hey, we're gonna take a quick break, but I'll be right back

Lowe's (11m 34s):
Now at Lowe's. Faster quotes, start at the Lowe's pro desk, got a material list handwritten on a sticky note or saved as a photo. Perfect. Bring it to us and get a quote in minutes. And if you don't see what you need on the shelf, we'll help you get it. You can access thousands of products beyond what's available in store or on lowes.com, right from the Lowe's pro desk. Build quotes faster and source the materials you need to keep your jobs moving just like that.

1 (12m 1s):
Add Lowe's

3 (12m 7s):
When it comes to ingredients, major issues with Toddler milk ingredients, biggest problems that they contain. Ingredients that are not ideal for toddlers added sugars or sweeteners. They have gross added oils in them. I'm sorry, I'm editorializing here as a dietician. I shouldn't say gross. They have added oils and they have other ingredients that make the product sound more impressive than it needs to be. And I wanna be careful here because not every product is identical. I remember the first time I did one of these talks, a formula company I no longer work with wrote me an email. I can't believe you did an episode bashing Toddler milk. And their product at the time was not approved for use in the United States as an infant formula. So they had to market it as a Toddler formula. And I was like, did you even listen to the episode?

3 (12m 47s):
Like I wasn't talking about your particular brand. I was talking about the brands that market to children older than age one with a bunch of added sugar and crappy oils in there, but they didn't listen anyway. I don't work with any formula companies as someone who just finished my I-B-C-L-C and I'm working a lot in the breastfeeding space. Now, I completely understand the need to feed your child formula if necessary during infancy, after the age of one. If you're feeding your child formula, I hope it's under the direction of a registered dietician that you're working with. And that would be for a medical condition. So back to the ingredient situation, our recommendation, not ours. Most major health bodies recommend babies and toddlers avoid added sugars un before age two. And there's even some more that avoid added sugars for much older ages.

3 (13m 30s):
So when we see Toddler products that have a bunch of added sugars or sweeteners, hello red flag. 'cause your Toddler is learning what foods and drinks taste like. They're learning flavor patterns and they're learning expectations. And if that milk is sweetened, then they're gonna start to prefer sweetened drinks over plain milk or water. And that is going to make your transition to regular family foods way harder, not easier. Then we have all of the added nutrients issues. You're gonna see claims about DHA, probiotics, prebiotics, vitamins, minerals, immune support. But adding nutrients to a product does not automatically make that product necessary. Your Toddler can get fat from avocado and olive oil and nut butters that are thinned out safely and egg and fish and full fat yogurt and other foods.

3 (14m 10s):
You can get iron from meat and poultry and fish and lentils and other iron containing foods. And you can get fiber from fruits and vegetables and whole grains. And you can get calcium and vitamin D from all the foods that naturally contain them. Real food matters, okay? When we lean too heavily on milk-based drinks, our toddlers are gonna end up drinking too much and eating less of the foods that they actually need practice with. Not to mention, all those milks don't have any fiber and now you're messing with their gut and that's not a good thing. The other issue is cost, right? Toddler Milks are often much more expensive than plain whole milk or appropriate alternatives. And that's frustrating 'cause they're being sold to parents as if they're helping to solve a problem. But in many cases, these are creating a new expense without solving the actual feeding challenge.

3 (14m 50s):
So if your toddler's not eating a lot of vegetables, then Toddler formula doesn't teach them to like vegetables. If they're struggling with texture, the Toddler formula is not teaching them how to chew. If they're filling up on bottles, the Toddler formula doesn't help them build the appetite for meals. And if they're going through a typical picky eating phase, the Toddler formula doesn't replace the need for structure exposure and responsive feeding. And so that's why I really want parents to feel confident walking past these products at their store. Okay, you can look at the Toddler milk aisle and say, no, thank you. We're working on eating real food. Alright, I wanna talk for a second too about the bottle connection because it's very closely connected to Toddler Milks. A lot of these products are marketed in a way that keeps toddlers attached to the idea of liquid nutrition.

3 (15m 33s):
A lot of toddlers who are drinking a lot of milk or Toddler formula are still drinking from a bottle. Okay? And that can become a problem because by around 12 months of age, we wanna be working on weaning off of the bottle. Okay? I don't panic if a baby doesn't wake up on their first birthday completely off of bottles, but I'm definitely moving in that direction pretty quickly. Why? Because prolonged bottle use can make it easier for toddlers to drink more milk than they need. And when toddlers drink two milk, they're not gonna be hungry at the table. If they don't get enough food, then they don't have that practice with texture and chewing and self feeding and getting all the nutrients that they need. That's why it's so important to be practicing open cup drinking during the second half of infancy. It's a very big part of our program is that we're getting these babies to drink out of an open cup on their own, albeit with some minimal spillage by the time they turn, one, parents don't have to stress about going to sippy cups or a step down bottle or straw a cup.

3 (16m 22s):
You go in right from the rest or bottle to the open cup at 12 months of age. They're practicing that lip closure. They're learning pacing, they're learning coordination. They're learning how to manage liquids in a developmentally appropriate way. Alright, so I know some of you probably picked up on the picky eating stuff. One of the biggest reasons why parents buy Toddler milk is it because of picky eating? And I get it right, because it can feel really unsettling when your Toddler does start to refuse the foods they eat. But I want you to know it's coming, okay? A Toddler picky eating is not solved by buying Toddler formula. Giving more milk can actually make the picky eating worse. So one of my biggest Toddler feeding reminders is milk and snacks. Sabotage the Toddler diet. Not because milk is bad and not 'cause snacks are bad, but just You know, too much milk or too many snacks just interferes with appetite at mealtime.

3 (17m 7s):
And we talked about your Toddler coming to the table with that casual hunger. If they don't experience that, they will not be motivated by the amazing food you're making. Okay? So instead of reaching for Toddler milk, I want you to think about the rhythm. Like are the meals in your family happening at predictable times? If there are snacks, where are they coming from? Who's giving 'em? How much are they planned? Or is grazing happening all day? Is the milk being offered in a cup after meals and snacks? Or is it available constantly? Is your Toddler repeatedly exposed to foods and allowed to pick without pressure? Are you offering familiar foods alongside new or less preferred foods? That's the kind of work. It's hard, but it actually supports feeding progress. And if you truly are in a situation where you need feeding therapy, feeding therapists are gonna help you with techniques.

3 (17m 47s):
They're not just gonna push a Toddler formula on you. When might a child need specialized nutrition? I did mention at the outset, I wanna be clear that some toddlers do need specialized nutrition support. These are our children with medical complexity and growth, faltering and feeding disorders and severe food allergies, metabolic conditions or other diagnoses where standard feeding guidance is not enough. And so in those cases, I mean obviously you're not using a podcast episode to make a medical decision. Work with your child's healthcare team, get a referral to a pediatric registry registered dietician. And if there's feeding skills involved, you might need a feeding therapist, an ot, or a speech language pathologist. But that's really different from like crews in the aisle at target and being like, I feel like my picky eater needs a Toddler milk because medical nutrition support is individualized.

3 (18m 33s):
But Toddler milk marketing is broad. All right, So what do you do instead? Instead of buying Toddler formula, here's the simple version. Less than 12 months, your baby needs breast milk or infant formula plus solid foods starting around six months when they're showing the reliable signs of readiness at 12 months, transition 'em off the formula. Keep breastfeeding if that's working for you, keep on practicing that open cup drinking. Keep on doing a variety of foods. Keep offering those iron rich foods, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, protein foods. Keep redoing those allergenic foods. Put your milk in perspective. Pre-measure it If you have to. I just worked with the family where the grandma was giving so much milk And I finally was like, do you want me to tell the grandma that we're putting 16 ounces in the cup at the morning and she's not allowed to give anymore?

3 (19m 15s):
Or do you like, do you want to do it like it was the grandma giving like 48 ounces of milk a day and everyone was wondering why the baby wasn't eating like, 'cause baby is freaking full of milk. Your Toddler doesn't need to be drinking their nutrition all day long. Cool. So let's finish it out quick. Win the next time you're at the store. Just like sneak over to the Toddler milk section and take a look and be like, dang, that is some really good marketing, but I don't need it. Look at the words on the package. Brain development, immune support, growth, picky eating transition. Okay. And then remind yourself, my child doesn't need a marketing plan. My Toddler needs food practice structure and time. Okay, if your baby's not one yet, just remember you're doing the work right now, but this stuff is coming down the road for you, okay?

3 (19m 55s):
Every time you offer safe foods, get that open cup. Practice in for five minutes after each meal If you can. And if all this feels like I get the Toddler milk thing, but I still am a little uncertain about this idea that my baby can get all of their nutrition from food, I want you to know that they can. Okay? This is exactly what I teach inside of My program, BABY led weaning with Katie Ferraro. Inside of that program, I walk you through the whole process step by step so You know when your baby's ready to start, You know how to prepare food safely. You know how to introduce allergenic foods, how to build variety, how to get that open cup success going because it doesn't happen overnight. And we're gonna help your baby become an independent eater because baby led weaning, it's not just handing your baby random foods and hoping it works out, right?

3 (20m 38s):
There's a structure, there's a sequence, there's a way to do this safely and confidently without feeling like you have to figure it out from scratch. So if you wanna learn more, check out the baby led weaning with Katie Ferraro program. It's at baby led weaning dot co slash program. You can get $50 off when you join with a discount code that's put there in the description, wherever you're watching or listening. Alright? So Toddler Milks not necessary for your healthy Toddler breast milker formula is fine up until 12 months. Keep breastfeeding past that point. If you want to, you're awesome if you're doing that. But at 12 months, most of your baby's nutrition can be coming from food. And don't let a formula company convince you that your Toddler needs a powder drink. 'cause they're entering a normal stage of feeding development.

3 (21m 18s):
If they're getting a little picky, your baby's learning, your toddler's learning. And with the right structure and support you can keep moving forward without buying the Toddler milk, you can do this. Thanks so much for listening. I'll see you guys next time. Show notes are up@blwpodcast.com slash 1 3 5. I'm gonna put up some of my favorite marketing reports that recently updated the lit review for my wic, talk about Toddler formulas and like it's just gross, the research about Toddler formulas and marketing. I'll share that with you on the show notes If you wanna check it out. BW podcast.com/ 1 3 5. A special thank you to our partners at AirWave Media. If you like podcasts that feature food and science and using your brain, check out some of the podcasts from AirWave Media or online@bwpodcast.com.

3 (22m 0s):
Thanks for listening. I'll see you next time.

The Home Depot (22m 11s):
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