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Toddler milk is popular and becoming more so. Just over a drink it. Parents hundreds of millions of dollars on it globally. Around the world, toddler milk makes up nearly half of , with a 200% growth since 2005. Growth is expected to continue.

We’re concerned about the growing popularity of toddler milk – about its nutritional content, cost, how it’s marketed, and about the impact on the health and feeding of young children. Some of us voiced our concerns on the .

But what’s in toddler milk? How does it compare to cow’s milk? How did it become so popular?

What is toddler milk? Is it healthy?

Toddler milk is marketed as appropriate for children aged one to three years. This :

• skim milk powder (cow, soy or goat)

• vegetable oil

• sugars (including added sugars)

• emulsifiers (to help bind the ingredients and improve the texture)

• added vitamins and minerals.

Toddler milk lower in calcium and protein, and higher in sugar and calories than regular cow’s milk. Depending on the brand, a serve of toddler milk can contain as much sugar as a .

Even though toddler milks have , these are from . Toddlers do not need the level of nutrients found in these products if they are eating a varied diet.

Global health authorities, including the (WHO), and Australia’s , do not recommend toddler milk for healthy toddlers.

Some children with specific metabolic or dietary medical problems might need tailored alternatives to cow’s milk. However, these products generally are not toddler milks and would be a specific product prescribed by a health-care provider.

is also up to more expensive than regular cow’s milk. “Premium” toddler milk (the same product, with higher levels of vitamins and minerals) is more expensive.

With the , this means families might choose to go without other essentials to afford toddler milk.

How toddler milk was invented

Toddler milk was created so infant formula companies could preventing them from advertising their infant formula.

When manufacturers of their toddler milk, many parents assume these claimed benefits apply to infant formula (known as ). In other words, marketing toddler milks also boosts interest in their infant formula.

Manufacturers also create brand loyalty and recognition by making the labels of their toddler milk look similar to their infant formula. For parents who used infant formula, toddler milk is positioned as the next stage in feeding.

How toddler milk became so popular

Toddler milk is . Parents toddler milk is healthy and provides extra nutrition. Marketing it will benefit their child’s growth and development, their brain function and their immune system.

Toddler milk is also presented as a to fussy eating, which is common in toddlers.

However, regularly drinking toddler milk could increase the risk of as it reduces opportunities for toddlers to try new foods. It’s also sweet, needs no chewing, and essentially displaces energy and nutrients that whole foods provide.

Growing concern

The , along with public health academics, has been raising concerns about the marketing of toddler milk for years.

In Australia, moves to curb how toddler milk is promoted have gone nowhere. Toddler milk is in a category of foods that are (to have vitamins and minerals added), with no marketing restrictions. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission also about the rise of toddler milk marketing. Despite this, there is no change in how it’s regulated.

This is in contrast to in Australia for infant formula.

What needs to happen?

There is to show the marketing of commercial milk formula, including toddler milk, influences parents and undermines child health.

So governments need to act to protect parents from this marketing, and to put .

Public health authorities and advocates, including us, are calling for the restriction of marketing (not selling) of all formula products for infants and toddlers from birth through to age three years.

Ideally, this would be mandatory, government-enforced marketing restrictions as opposed to in place currently for infant formulas.

We musn’t blame parents

Toddlers are eating (including toddler milk) than ever because time-poor parents are seeking a convenient option to ensure their child is getting adequate nutrition.

Formula manufacturers have used this information, and created a demand for an unnecessary product.

Parents want to do the best for their toddlers, but they need to know the marketing behind toddler milks is misleading.

Toddler milk is an unnecessary, unhealthy, expensive product. Toddlers just need whole foods and breastmilk, and/or cow’s milk or a non-dairy, milk alternative.

If parents are worried about their , they should see a health-care professional.

Anthea Rhodes, a paediatrician from Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne and a lecturer at the University of Melbourne, co-authored this article.

Jennifer McCann is a researcher with the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), a co-chair of the Infant and Toddler Foods Alliance, and a member of the Public Health Association of Australia.

Karleen Gribble is a member of the Public Health Association of Australia, the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative, the Australian Breastfeeding Association, the Infant and Toddler Food Research Alliance and the Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies Core Group.

Naomi Hull is a member of, and volunteers for, the Australian Breastfeeding Association and is a member of the Public Health Association of Australia. She is also an executive on the Infant and Toddler Food Research Alliance. Naomi is the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Coordinator for the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative Australia.