Baby growth milks: what for and at what age?

The nutritional needs of our children are specific and require in particular an iron intake that they do not yet find, on average, in their daily diet. It is therefore recommended to use a growth milk for up to 3 years in order to meet this need.

Why is giving growth milk, or 3rd age milk, important?

The major advantage of growth milk is its iron intake. Indeed, to cover his iron needs, a child should consume about 100 grams of meat. However, most children under 3 do not yet eat this amount of meat. “ Growth milk should therefore be given until the child is able to ingest 100 grams of meat per day. », Insists the pediatrician Patrick Tounian. On average, growth milk contains about 25 times more iron than cow’s milk.

Growth milks are also rich in essential fatty acids, perfect for children who eat little fish.These infant formulas are also fortified with vitamin D. Compared to cow’s milk alone, growth milk also contains 1,8 times more zinc, trace element necessary for growth.

Composition: why switch to growth milk?

The consumption of growth milk therefore constitutes an essential and complementary contribution to allow the child to get closer to the optimal nutritional balance, taking into account his specific nutritional needs.

However, breast milk is considered the best milk for baby’s feeding, exclusively according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) for up to six months. Then, after this age, the WHO recommends breastfeeding in addition to a diversified diet, until the child is two years old or more.

When to give baby growth milk and up to what age?

At the age of 10/12 months, your child’s diet is already well diversified. Nevertheless, the milk supply remains essential, and it is important to provide him with milk that meets the specific needs linked to his young age. Indeed, food diversification alone cannot cover all of its needs.

In addition, between 1 and 3 years old, your little one’s growth and development require specific contributions that are different from those of an adult. Infant nutrition experts therefore recommend switching to growth milk around the age of 10/12 months and to continue this milk supply, at least, until the child is 3 years old.

How much growth milk should the baby consume?

Once the food diversification is well established and advanced, generally between 10 months and a year, we can reduce the amount of milk consumed per day per baby to 500 ml.

What is DHA and when to introduce it?

Whatever the age and the formula (from cow’s milk, goat’s milk or other), infant milks must be enriched with DHA (an essential fatty acid from the omega-3 family). DHA is an essentialto the development of brain and the sight of babies. It is therefore present in baby’s diet from an early age.

Another essential role is that of ARA or arachidonic acid (a polyunsaturated fatty acid from the Omega-6 family): pediatric nutrition experts recommend that its intake be at least equal to the intake of DHA.

Growth milk or cow’s milk for babies?

Most detractors of growth milk think it is not necessary because they themselves have not had it and are in good health. “ It is true that initially, growth milks were invented by brands of infant milks », Notes the pediatrician. However, an iron deficiency is not visible as “ the nose in the middle of the face ».

However, such a deficiency can cause anemia. And if our child is tired, we may not immediately make the connection with a possible anemia. Iron deficiency can also lead to neurodevelopmental problems. ” We tell ourselves that our child has learning problems, that he is lazy … However, that can quite be the cause of a lack of iron “. Another notable consequence: a susceptibility to infections.

In video: Which milks from birth to 3 years old?

In video: Which milks from birth to 3 years old?

Numerous investigations were then carried out by pediatricians, showing that it is not possible to ensure the iron needs of young children only with cow’s milk or of another animal origin. Milks of plant origin (oats, soya, etc.) are more like juices and neither do they meet the needs of children under three years old.

At what age can you give cow’s milk?

It is not recommended to introduce cow’s milk too quickly (or sheep’s milk, donkey’s milk, etc.) in our children’s diet at the risk of providing them with too much protein every day. If a protein deficiency can be very dangerous, penalizing the growth of toddlers, too much intake would tire the baby’s kidneys and promote the risk of overweight in the future. In Western countries, infants receive on average too much protein.

In general, it is recommended to increase the number of proteins by 10 g per age group, namely:

  • 10 g from 6 months to 1 year
  • 20 g from 1 to 2 years
  • 30 g from 2 to 3 years, etc …

On average, we can then give our child milk from cows, goats or sheep. around 3 years old. Milks of plant origin are closer to juices and do not provide at all the same nutrients as milk of animal origin.

From 1 to 3 years old, the specific needs of children are not always met

A Nutri-bébé * study, carried out in 2013 highlighted certain nutritional imbalances with regard to the recommendations:

  • Between 2 and 3 years old, children have 4 times more protein intake than necessary.
  • Between 2 and 3 years old, ¾ of children lack iron.
  • From the age of 1, 80% of children have insufficient fat intake.
  • After 1 year: 95% of children have excessive sodium (salt) intakes.

Allergies or intolerances: lactose-free or cow’s milk protein-free growth milks?

If our child suffers from a transient intolerance or an allergy, we can turn to growth milks made from rice or soy proteins, but always certified as infant formulas by the European Union and generally sold in pharmacies.

Leave a Reply