I've always been a huge advocate of children drinking milk. From the time "my" babies go from breast or formula to milk at the age of one year, I discuss the need for dairy products to ensure adequate calcium and Vitamin D in a child's diet.
It's easy to have children drink milk when they're toddlers, but as kids get older and decide that they "prefer" water or even juices or soft drinks it may be harder to get them to choose milk. Unfortunately, once a child enters the "real" world through school and sports, they quickly realize there are other beverages available besides milk.
So, what to do? Well, I think it's preferable to have children and adolescents continue to drink milk, even if it means having chocolate or strawberry milk. There have actually been studies in the pediatric literature that show it's preferable to have a few extra calories from the sweetener in flavored milks than to forgo drinking milk.
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