1) My kids were bottle lovers. They adore routine more than anything else and have since they were born. When we took the bottles away (at two, not one, like we should have), it was as if we'd purposefully ended the world. Those first weeks were tough, and all the "you're such big girls now" in the world weren't helping. So they stopped drinking milk entirely, in protest. Chocolate saved me.
"Hey, how about not milk, but chocolate milk?"
Skeptical eyes. "...Okay."
And it was done.
2) It's not like that squirt of chocolate is going to do more damage than the Froot Loops they're chomping on.
3) I figure it's like I gave them Cocoa Puffs with milk in it for breakfast. Same thing, right?
4) I had sugary crap cereal as a kid and it's still my favorite food. I flatter myself by thinking I turned out just fine.
5) This is only what we call "first breakfast." We have a second breakfast of apple sauce, yogurt, grits or oatmeal, every day.
6) It's not like the pre-mixed stuff. My chocolate milk is actually rather greyish. I've tried slowly weaning back to white milk by microscopic increments. They can totally tell when it goes from just-barely-slightly chocolate to white.
7) To me, there's no difference between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. so chocolate milk doesn't suddenly become more acceptable in the afternoon.
8) I still cut their juice in half with water. (Although this is pure rationalization now. What does juice management have to do with chocolate milk for breakfast? Nothing. I think I'm done.)
Anyway, I make a lot of parenting mistakes, but if chocolate milk keeps my kids quiet while I do my morning tasks, I don't consider giving it to them one of those mistakes. You've got to do what you've got to do. Right?
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Hey, they're still drinking milk, right? My kiddo does milk in a straw cup or a real cup. If it's in a straw cup, it must still be warm. If it's in a regular cup, it has to be cold. We do what we need to do to make it work.
ReplyDeleteLisa
To the best of my knowledge, I've never had a glass of JUST milk. It's ALWAYS been chocolate milk. Not so much that the milk is BROWN - just enough to taste a hint of chocolate. It's the ONLY way my parents got us to drink milk with breakfast and dinner. That and they had us race in games of 'Red Light, Green Light' and whoever won....I think the loser had to clear the table.
ReplyDeleteThat's a healthy choice. It's about keeping your kids healthy with nutritious foods.
ReplyDeleteI love milk. I find them very healthy. In fact, my Fredericksburg dentist once advised me to drink milk to get the right amount of calcium in the body. It also prevents tooth decay. Anyway, it's good that your children are loving the chocolate milk. I'm sure you're giving them the proper dental hygiene they need to prevent dental problems in the future.
ReplyDelete