The Milk Gestapo

Milk, which until now has had little importance to our toddler, has suddenly become a large issue at dinner. Where before she had to be bribed to drink milk whether soy milk or cow's milk, A-chan has apparently developed a new love! Particularly Silk soy milk.

The problem exists because rather than eating any of her dinner, she will drink down her milk and ask for more - not just once but several times a meal. Forgotten on her plate is the food to such an extent that she would rather drink milk than eat her most favorite. (though we haven't tried any kind of dessert on her plate and I think the sweet would win over milk but we don't know for sure.)

So I have taken to stern rules regarding milk consumption. She can drink half a glass and then I take it away for a bit and require her to eat a few bites of her meal before she can drink anymore. It has been working, but I feel pretty darn horrible about it when every time she wants to take a drink she looks to me for permission first. With her hand upon the glass, she will wait until she catches my eye and I either nod permission or shake my head no at which point she will drink or let go the glass, depending on my response.

It makes me feel very bad, like I'm being a horrible controlling mother. But she needs to get some food into her, not just milk, right?

The secondary problem with the amount of milk consumption is that she used to be allergic to soy when she was a baby. She's done okay with tofu for a while now, but the last few days she's had a lot of tummy upset. We are worried that the allergy is showing up again and are going to switch to cow's milk for a few days to see what happens.