Formula for how long?

If you ask me what is the biggest different that I see among Malaysia kids and the U.S. kids? I said definitely the milk consumption differences. First, the formula feeding age and, second, how much milk/ formula a kid drink?

I breastfeed Skyler for the first 6 months, he then switched to formula (milk powder) from 6 months to 12 months. After he reached a year old, our pediatrician wanted us to switch from formula to dairy milk. No more formula! I saw packaging on the formula that sell in Malaysia are for kids up to 10 years old... what? 10 years old? still drinking formula? why? 

I do agree to give formula just up to a year old, reason being kids are eating solid at that age and they should be getting their nutrition from their daily meals, not the powder! yes, I know I know... the formula companies advertise their products with all kind of vitamin and supplement that they put in it, but those are still just the evaporated milk, if you want to give calcium, vitamin D, and protein...why don't you give your kid some fresh milk? Vitamin and supplement that kids needs are best from fresh food, why from the compressed powder? We feed babies formula because they cannot chew solid food and food selection at that age are very limited, but for any toddler, their body definitely need more than what's in the formula to help growing and develop.

I strongly encourage all parents to feed their kids dairy milk after a year old, here is why..at my last trip in Malaysia, I noticed my nieces and nephews ranges from 3-5 years old eat very little during lunch or dinner, well.. they don't even have to have breakfast, why? oh, my brother said "because they drink milk powder already." It seems like formula is being treated as the main course, then the kids are free to choose to eat or not to eat their lunch or dinner entree as my brother think they get enough nutrition from the formula. Of course they drink quite a few bottles of formula a day. My sister is even funnier, she said " oh, my boy take vitamin too just to be sure he got enough". Why? why don't you give your kid real food that give them real vitamins and energy to help them grow and develop? So, I think, in a way, having formula actually mislead parents mentally that their kids already get enough supplement from the formula, and causing parents not paying enough attention to their kids daily nutrition balance. 

For Skyler, he is now 20 months, and he drinks 2 cups of dairy almond milk per day, total should be not over 16oz a day. He will need to first eat his breakfast, lunch or dinner main course, then I will give him 4oz of milk at the end of the meal. It is just like us drinking teh tarik, boba drink or smoothie with our meals. It's good if he finished the milk, if he doesn't; that is fine with me too because I feed him enough from his lunch or dinner. 

So, please ask yourself, if I gave you a cup of smoothie with all added vitamin and protein, will you drink the smoothie as your main course for lunch or dinner...everyday?

Skyler drinks almond milk instead of cow milk, I will post another blog on this topic soon.