Dairy and Alternatives for Infants and Toddlers

Dairy Recommendations

Infants 

• In the UK, it’s recommended that babies are breastfed for the first six months of life, and after that, alongside appropriate complementary foods, into the second year of life. When breastfeeding, feed baby in response to their cues. You can find guidance and support by visiting Better Health Start for Life (opens in new tab)
• First infant formula is usually based on cow’s milk, made especially for babies under 12 months, is the only suitable alternative to breast milk in the first 12 months of baby’s life. If you are offering baby first infant formula you can find guidance and support by visiting Better Health Start for Life (opens in new tab).
• All infant formula in the UK has to meet the same standards to help babies grow and develop. It does not matter if you choose a cheaper or more expensive brand of formula
• Follow-on formula is not suitable for babies under 6 months, and you do not need to introduce it after 6 months
• Formula milks are not needed once baby is 12 months old. This includes first infant formula, follow-on formula, growing-up milks and toddler milks.

Pasteurised dairy foods, like pasteurised full-fat yoghurt and cheese, are suitable foods for baby from around 6 months. Full-fat, unsweetened or plain yoghurts are a good choice because they do not contain added sugars. Whole pasteurised (full-fat) cows’ milk, or goats’ or sheep’s milk, can be used in cooking or mixed with food from around 6 months old, but not as a drink until your baby is 12 months.

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Young Children:

You can give children pasteurised whole or semi-skimmed cows’ milk, or goats’ or sheep’s milk, as a main drink from the age of 1. It’s ok to use 1% fat or skimmed milk when cooking for children over the age of 12 months. But do not give them as a main drink to children under the age of 5.

Toddlers aged 1 to 4 years should be offered dairy foods at 2-3 meals and snacks each day.

• Try to give children at least 350ml (12oz) of milk a day, or 2 servings of foods made from milk, such as cheese, yoghurt or fromage frais.
• It is suggested that at 1-2 years about 400ml of cows’ milk a day fits into a healthy balanced diet. The 400ml might be made up of a drink in the morning, milk with snacks, and a drink before bed or a nap, depending on how families manage their children’s eating and sleeping patterns across the day.
• Children aged 2-4 years probably need about 300-350ml of milk a day as they will eat bigger portions of food at meals, may need fewer or shorter daytime naps, or not want a drink before bed.
• From the age of 1 years children can have unsweetened calcium-fortified milk alternatives, such as soya, almond and oat drinks, as part of a healthy, balanced diet.

If mums are still breastfeeding as the main milk drink, there is no need to know how much milk their young child is receiving as the intake will naturally adapt around food consumption. Some mums may breastfeed in the morning and at night and offer a smaller amount of cows’ milk during the day.

Young children should not be given unpasteurised milk because of the higher risk of food poisoning.

Children with an allergy or intolerance to milk, should talk to their health visitor or GP before introducing milk alternatives. They can advise you on what is suitable for your child.

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Top Tips with dairy and alternatives for infants and toddlers

Young children Under 1:

• Should either have breast milk or stage 1 infant formula.
• Whole (full fat) pasteurised milk can be used as an ingredient in infants food from the age of 6 month, however it is NOT suitable as a main drink until they are over the age of 1 year.
• Babies under 1 year old should not be given condensed, evaporated or dried milk, or other drinks referred to as ‘milk’, such as rice, oat or almond drinks.
• Full-fat cheese, yoghurt and fromage frais are recommended up to the age of 2.

Top tips for children:

• Choose full-fat dairy products such as cheese, yoghurt and fromage frais, as children under 2 years old need the vitamins and extra energy found in them.
• Children over the age of two who are growing well and eating a healthy balanced diet can have low-fat varieties of yogurts, fromage frais, cheese and cream cheese.
• Children over 1 year of age should have no more than 500mls of cows milk, including any milk in foods. Any more than this is likely to spoil a child’s appetite for other foods and could worsen any fussy eating behaviours
• Goats’ and sheep’s milk can be provided for children over the age of one year
• Current UK public health guidance is that unsweetened, fortified milk alternatives (with the exception of rice-based milk alternatives) can be used as a non-dairy alternative to cow’s milk for children over the age of one year. You can find out more information on milk alternatives in our blog ‘Which Milk Should I Offer My Toddler? (opens in new tab)‘
• Try to incorporate dairy foods at snack time, such as cheese and crackers, bagel with cream cheese and fruit with yoghurt
• Include some milk based puddings in the week, such as rice pudding, unsweetened custard and fromage frais.

Babies and young children shouldn’t eat the following cheese as they carry bacteria called listeria:

• mould-ripened soft cheeses, such as brie or camembert
• mould-ripened goats’ milk soft cheese like chèvre
• soft blue-veined cheese like roquefort
• cheese made from unpasteurised milk, so always check the label

These cheeses can be used as part of a cooked recipe as listeria is killed by cooking – baked camembert, for example, is a safer option.

Adults

Individuals wishing to cut down on their fat intakes, should opt for 1% or skimmed milks. They contain all the important nutritional benefits of milk, but contain about half the fat found in semi- skimmed milk. Adults can opt for reduced fat cheese and reduced or low fat yoghurt.

Top tips for adults:

• Try 1% fat milk which contains around half the fat of semi skimmed milk without compromising the taste or texture
• If cheese is used to flavour a dish or sauce, opt for strong or mature cheese, such as mature cheddar, as the more intense flavour means less needs to be used
• Try low fat cheese such as cottage cheese or quark
• Opt for low fat and low sugar yoghurt such as natural, plain or Greek yoghurt- try adding fruit to naturally sweeten them.