when is a more suitable time to take cultured milk drink?

[pink_daisy]

hi all,

when is a more suitable time to drink yakult/ vitagen? a couple of hours after a meal? can it be taken during a meal or immediately after a meal? how many bottles can a toddler take per day? tx.

 

[BaoAloysiusBei]

i give my son 1 bottle lor.. mostly after lunch.. i let him drink when he turn 2..

 

[tika]

my 18 month old dotter is taking it three times a week. i give her yoghurt twice a week. both aids her constipation problem.

 

[stonston]

The best time to take probiotics is 1-2 hours after meals.


I'm sorry but I dun understand why is there a need to give artificially flavoured & sweetened culture milk drinks (Yakult & Vitagen) at such a young age.

1. By introducing such sweet drinks, you are developing a sweet tooth in them. It's going to be a life long habit that's hard to kick!
2. It's additive! They'll always want MORE!
3. You can easily give them probiotics with YOGURT. Baby yogurt is mildly flavoured & not very sweet if you are lazy to buy fresh plain yogurt to mix with fresh fruits. They also come in smaller tubs now so that you do not have to keep leftovers. Probiotics also come in powder form that you can mix into their milk.

My boy is turning 3yo in a few months and he's only taken 5 bottles of Vitagen less sugar his whole life (courtesy of my mum who gives it to him before I can say no). Now, he knows how to ask for it when he sees it at the supermarket! "MUMMY! I WANT MY YAKULT!"
Thankfully, my mum mix with water (diluted, less sweet) before see gives him. She also drinks 3/4 of the bottle, & only use 1/4 of it to dilute into 1/2 bottle for him.

 

[pink_daisy]

tx all for sharing.. my 2kids only get to take vitagen as some kind of 'rewards' for good behaviour but after finishing one bottle, they still want another bottle.. they usually take fruits to aid digestion coz i find vitagen is still quite sweet although they stated less sugar..

 

[annie]

my mum give my nephew very often though i dun support that as well. i agree with wat stonston says.. i give my girl plain yogurt n some fruits mixed in a blender n put in her sippy for her to drink almost daily as her snack. other than this, i give her wheat germ which supposedly will aid in digestion n bowel movement as well.. i give her wheat germ added to her yogurt or her cereal during breakfast but not everyday. maybe 2-3 times a week or so...

 

[tika]

there is nothing wrong in indulging your child in something that he/she likes, even if it happens to be sweet, as long as its in moderation. You can always modify it yourself anyway (like add more water to dilute sweetened drinks) if you personally think its too sweet. No need to get your panty in a twist.

The manner in which you treat the "sweet" food/drink is very important. If your child feels that its a treat, something that is seen as a reward and often forbidden, don’t be surprised to find him/her wanting more. I treat Yakult as I would treat any other food that my toddler eats. Apart from yakult, she drinks only FM and water. And she doesn't consume chocolates/candies or unhealthy crackers. So sweet Yakult 3 times a week (sometimes she doesn't even finish the small bottle) is fine to me. The great thing is she doesn't throw a tantrum or kick up a fuss whenever she sees Yakult at supermarkets.

Its how you educate them about food. Being too strict with their intake does not always necessary work with every child either.

 

[mommy.loves]

My daughter drank it when she is around 1 and a half years old. She saw my sister drinking and after trying, she loved it so much that everytime we went to the supermarket, she will insist on buying yakult.

 

[apollo]

my mum actually suggested that giving ds regularly when he grows older is okay... but i feel that once a week is enough as i'm afraid he might get used to it... and most imptly, so scare that he will down with cough.., haha

 

[snowbear]

there is nothing wrong in indulging your child in something that he/she likes, even if it happens to be sweet, as long as its in moderation. You can always modify it yourself anyway (like add more water to dilute sweetened drinks) if you personally think its too sweet. No need to get your panty in a twist.

The manner in which you treat the "sweet" food/drink is very important. If your child feels that its a treat, something that is seen as a reward and often forbidden, dont’t be surprised to find him/her wanting more. I treat Yakult as I would treat any other food that my toddler eats. Apart from yakult, she drinks only FM and water. And she doesn't consume chocolates/candies or unhealthy crackers. So sweet Yakult 3 times a week (sometimes she doesn't even finish the small bottle) is fine to me. The great thing is she doesn't throw a tantrum or kick up a fuss whenever she sees Yakult at supermarkets.

Its how you educate them about food. Being too strict with their intake does not always necessary work with every child either.

I have to agree with you tika. Initially i was very strict with my dd's diet so every time she wanted to try something and that's not in my list of healthy stuff to give, I'd not allow anyone to give it to her. Over time, I realised that she became very unwilling to try food and became very picky. My hubby argued with me and said that we shld let her try a bit of everything after she turned 1 as long as it's not seafood or nuts and maybe she might change. Just to prove that he was wrong, I agreed to do it. It turned out that I was wrong and now my dd really is less picky and willing to try more things and even if it's something that she doesn't like, she'd take a few more mouths of it before shaking her head and refusing. Granted that we have given her some things at times that aren't considered very healthy, I think the overall impact on my dd is positive coz now she eats a lot more than she used to (she used to be a super small eater), and the 'a lot more food' is actually healthy homecooked toddler meals.

 

[stonston]

Hmmm... I think most of the mummies here have not dealt with toddlers in their 'terrible twos'. They WILL NOT understand the different between a 'treat' or 'priviledge' and THEIR WANTS.

When you need to fight off the tantrums, and give in cos you can't stand it anymore, you'll get a very unhealthy kiddo in the long run. Not only medical research has proven this, generations in my family have already proven this fact. Wait till you experience losing a loved one due to bad eating habits from young (& it's not their fault, cos it's a habit inculcated from young by their caretakers).

As parents you can always choose to not be strict with your child from young. But when you start realising problems, just remember you only have YOURSELF to blame.

If you start off strict and relax a little when they grow abit older and can understand better (around 3-4yo), then they'll know their 'limits'. & it'll be easier to put a stop to snacks/sweets after you've given them as rewards.