Common Misunderstandings About Parents' Milk Cause 3-Year-Old to Need Blood Transfusion

In the minds of many parents, milk is a substitute food for children with poor appetite: children who do not eat rice can drink milk, which is both convenient and nutritious.

Talking to Dan Tri , MSc. Dr. Mai Quang Huynh Mai, Deputy Head of the Nutrition Department, Children's Hospital 2 (HCMC) assessed that giving children too much milk is a very common mistake of families raising young children.

"When some children have poor appetite, many parents worry that their children are hungry or lacking in nutrients, so they choose to compensate by giving them milk, even using milk to completely replace main meals.

However, this is not a good solution and also poses many health risks. We have received many children who drank so much milk that they suffered from severe iron deficiency and had to receive urgent blood transfusions upon admission to the hospital," the doctor shared.

Among the cases he has received, Dr. Mai cannot forget a three-year-old patient who weighed only 13kg and drank 6-7 times of milk a day, with 180ml each time. Previously, the child's parents thought that their child had a poor appetite, so they tried to compensate with milk, so that the child would not be hungry or malnourished.

After a while, the baby completely refused main meals, only liking milk and sweets. She often vomited, chewed and spit out the residue, and had to be hospitalized for anemia, digestive disorders and slow weight gain.

"Once, the child had to be hospitalized and had to have a blood transfusion due to iron deficiency. This was the result of a long period of uncontrolled milk drinking," the doctor recalled.

The pale hands of a child with anemia due to drinking too much milk (Illustration: myUpchair).

Children like to eat dirt and hair because they "drink milk instead of rice"

Milk is a nutritious food, containing a lot of calcium, vitamin D, protein and micronutrients necessary for children's development. However, when milk is used as a complete replacement for main meals, especially during the period when children need a variety of nutrients for comprehensive development, this "golden" food becomes a double-edged sword, affecting the health of young children.

When given too much milk, children can easily develop "milk addiction" syndrome - skipping meals and crying if they don't get to drink.

"This is not simply a love, but a state of dependence that seriously hinders comprehensive development," Dr. Mai emphasized.

According to doctors, one of the most obvious side effects of drinking too much milk is that children refuse other foods such as rice, porridge, vegetables, and fruits. A stomach full of milk makes children no longer feel hungry, leading to skipping meals and forming incorrect eating habits.

In the long term, this condition can cause slow weight gain or unbalanced weight gain. Some children gain fat but lack muscle, while others grow slowly due to a lack of diverse nutrients.

In addition, when drinking too much milk and forgetting other foods, children are prone to bloating, constipation, indigestion, and even stomachache.

Children who drink too much milk can easily have excess calcium compared to the body's needs (Illustration: Unsplash)

In addition, drinking too much milk leads to excess calcium compared to the body's needs. When the body has excess nutrients, the digestive and excretory organs have to work harder, creating a burden on these organs, which is not beneficial for the body.

In addition, too much calcium in the body causes competition with iron absorption. Iron in the body is easily pushed out, cannot be absorbed, causing children to become anemic.

At this time, children often have pale skin, fatigue, gray hair, little movement, and a habit of eating dirt, paper, and hair - a classic sign of severe iron deficiency.

At a more severe level, children may experience mental decline, reduced mobility, and susceptibility to infection due to a weakened immune system due to malnutrition, and reduced endurance in learning and playing.

How much milk per day is reasonable for children?

According to the recommendation from the Institute of Nutrition, children from one year old and up should only consume about 500-600ml of milk per day, including breast milk, formula milk, fresh milk, yogurt and cheese. Calculating the amount of milk needs to be combined from all sources, not just a glass of breast milk in the morning or a carton of fresh milk before bed.

	3-5 years old	6-7 years old	8-9 years old	10-19 years old
Number of units of milk and dairy products	4	4.5	5	6
Cheese	15g cheese (1 piece of cheese)	15g cheese (1 piece of cheese)	30g cheese (2 pieces of cheese)	30g cheese (2 pieces of cheese)
Yogurt	100ml yogurt (1 box of yogurt)	100ml yogurt (1 box of yogurt)	100ml yogurt (1 box of yogurt)	200ml yogurt (2 boxes of yogurt)
Milk	200ml milk	250ml milk	200ml milk	200ml milk

According to Dr. Mai, to "wean" a child off milk, parents need to adjust slowly and patiently. Cutting off milk suddenly will easily cause a crisis for the child and be counterproductive.

Initially, parents should gradually reduce the amount of milk so that the child gets used to it. Reduce by 50-100ml each day, do not cut it off suddenly. At the same time, increase the interval between milk feedings so that the child feels hungrier and has a greater appetite.

In addition, for main meals, parents should increase children's interest by preparing more beautiful, colorful dishes and lively, animal-shaped eating utensils.

Parents should also try to let their children choose ingredients or participate in preparing them; during meals, never let children eat while watching TV or using their phones.

Instead, meals should become a time for socialization and closeness among family members, helping children to be happy and receptive to new foods.

A normal meal for a child takes about 2-3 hours to digest. During this time, you should absolutely not give your child milk or snacks, which can cause bloating and prevent them from eating their main meals.

In cases where children are completely dependent on milk, especially children under 2 years old, underweight children or children with underlying medical conditions, parents need to consult and closely monitor with a nutritionist for appropriate and safe adjustments.

Besides, parents should not worry too much and buy micronutrient supplements for their children. At this time, children should be examined and tested to determine the level of deficiency.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/hieu-lam-pho-bien-ve-sua-cua-cha-me-khien-be-3-tuoi-phai-truyen-mau-20250518082412098.htm