The Bub in the Belly

First, the bottle. It is recommended that children progress from the bottle/nipple to the cup from one year onwards. The goal is to reduce reliance on the bottle and on sucking and to encourage more reliance on solids and chewing.

Some parents may choose to make the transition gradually by using a sippy cup in between. I did come across some articles saying that sippy cups do not promote good oral hygiene but I think that can be countered with brushing your child's teeth regularly.


Next, the milk. What I understand from my various discussions with Dr Ngiam and my own research is that milk is not a must. If milk is part of your toddler's diet, it should not be the main part after your child turns one. In Dr Ngiam's words, milk should be like coffee and tea - just a beverage. At this stage we should be looking to nutrient-packed solids for our child's dietary needs.

The general recommendation, mostly from Western sources, is to start weaning the child off milk during the period between one and two years old. The rationale is that this is an important window to get the children to eat solids and chew their food. If their diet still consists mainly of milk when they are between two and four, there is a risk that they will prefer to stick to milk and become picky with food. I found this to have proved true in Ryan's case. Before he turned two, I could still offer him chicken rice and fried rice; now he only takes white rice.

Having made such progress, it did not make sense to "go backwards" and put Rachel on formula milk. I did not want to start a habit which we would eventually have to wean her off of. I note that the culture in Singapore seems to be to rely on milk for as long as possible and to wean the child off it when he/she is much older. I guess Rachel crossed the finish line ahead of most of her Singapore peers and presented her nanny with a novel situation which makes her nanny a little concerned and uneasy.


So, should we give Rachel any milk at all? Well, milk is still a rich source of certain nutrients - Ryan is as healthy as can be. Plus I knew that her nanny would be more at ease to have something to offer Rachel between meals.

Since I was looking into it, I decided to check up the nutritional pros and cons of different types of milk (formula milk, fresh milk, goat's milk, non-dairy milk). In the end, I decided on almond milk and I managed to pick up some organic unsweetened almond milk (original) from Pacific Foods. I will ask Rachel's nanny to serve it in a sippy/training cup, and only if she feels that she has no other option.

I should say that I'm not against dairy products for Rachel. Rachel takes a helping of whole milk yoghurt every morning, and she gets an extra helping if she's hungry in the afternoon.


I should also point out that almond milk is not perfect because it has very little protein and fat. Our little ones do need protein to grow and fat is absolutely crucial to build up their amazing brains. Sources of protein and healthy fat (other than milk) include oily fish (such as tuna and salmon), eggs, soy, meat, peanut butter, tofu and avocados. The recommendations for toddlers around Rachel's age is to consume 30 to 40 per cent of their daily calories from fat. A little sidenote - never restrict your toddler's calories or dietary fat please! Dieting is an absolute no-no at this stage!