The first 1,000 days between pregnancy and a child’s second birthday are a critical time to nourish early brain development1.
Dairy foods provide seven of the 14 nutrients identified by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) as key for brain development. But when do you introduce dairy foods? Consider your child’s age on when to introduce dairy foods2.
| Age | Serving Size Recommendations for Dairy Foods |
|---|---|
| 6-12 months | Practice and Exposure |
| 12-24 months | 2 cups per day |
| 2-3 years old | 2 cups per day |
| 4-5 years old | 2 ½ cups per day |
6-12 months
Around 6 months of age, when your infant is ready, you can start introducing dairy foods like cheese and yogurt. Encourage your infant to touch, feel, smell and interact with these new foods. Your infant is learning something new every day! Choose full fat dairy foods to help ensure your infant is getting the calories and fat needed to fuel their growth and brain development.
Put It into Practice:
Offer shredded cheese for your infant to practice their pincer grasp while getting important nutrients. Serve yogurt, which is packed with iodine and vitamin B12 to help maximize your infant’s brain development. Plus, the live and active cultures found in yogurt also helps maintain gut health3.
12-24 months
Beginning at 12 months of age, children can start transitioning from breast milk/formula to plain, pasteurized whole milk in a sippy cup4. Strive for 2 cups of whole milk, cheese or yogurt per day as recommended by the AAP and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) to help children get the protein, calcium, and vitamin D needed during this time of important growth and development.
Up to 80% of brain growth occurs in the first 3 years of life. Choosing milk, cheese and yogurt provides toddlers with vital nutrients like high-quality protein and Vitamin B12 to grow their brain5.
Put It into Practice:
Prioritize family mealtimes and offer dairy foods as a way to explore different tastes and textures. Embrace the fact that making a mess is all part of the learning process! Recognize that introducing whole milk can be a challenge. Start by mixing the whole milk with breast milk/formula in a cup. Gradually adjust the proportions, increasing the portion of whole milk.
2+ years
For children ages 2-5 years, aim for 2-2 ½ cups of dairy foods daily, as recommended by the DGA to help children eat a healthy, balanced diet. At age 2, your toddler may transition from whole milk to low fat milk, as encouraged by the AAP and WIC. To help with this transition, try mixing the milks together to adjust the change in taste and increase acceptance.
Leading health experts also recommend only water and plain milk for children 1-5 years of age6. Offer milk at meals and give your child water whenever they need a drink.
Put It into Practice:
Give snacks like yogurt and cheese which provide a nutritionally dense combination of protein, fat and carbohydrates to help grow smart brains and fuel energetic play. Encourage your preschooler to try new foods by letting them help in the kitchen.
Tummy Troubles
As growth and development continues, some children may experience issues tolerating milk. Lactose intolerance is a type of food sensitivity where a decreased amount of the lactase enzyme is produced which breaks down lactose in dairy foods. Lactose intolerance is not common in early childhood7, however if it is a concern, talk with your child’s pediatrician. The dairy case is full of lactose-free options and low lactose dairy foods to try.
Meeting daily dairy food recommendations in infancy and early childhood is a simple way to promote growth and development and help support a lifetime of health and wellness. Find more tips for feeding kids and when to introduce dairy foods at Drink-Milk.com.
Citations:
1. Dairy for Nutritional and Cognitive Development in Infants
2. A Guide to Feeding Your Baby for the First Two Years
3. Donovan SM, Rao G. Health benefits of yogurt among infants and toddlers aged 4 to 24 months: a systematic review. Nutr Rev. 2019;77(7):478-486. doi:10.1093/nutrit/
nuz009. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31038676/
4. Nicklas, T. A., O’Neil, C. E., & Fulgoni, V. L., 3rd (2020). Nutrient intake, introduction of baby cereals and other complementary foods in the diets of infants and toddlers from birth to 23 months of age. AIMS public health, 7(1), 123–147. https://doi.org/10.3934/publichealth.2020012
5. Cusick SE, Georgieff MK. The Role of Nutrition in Brain Development: The Golden Opportunity of the “First 1000 Days”. J Pediatr. 2016;175:16-21. doi:10.1016/ j.jpeds.2016.05.013
6. HER-HealthyBeverage-ConsensusStatement.pdf
7. Melvin B. Heyman, for the Committee on Nutrition; Lactose Intolerance in Infants, Children, and Adolescents. Pediatrics September 2006; 118 (3): 1279–1286. 10.1542/peds.2006-1721. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16951027/
