Parents Should Limit Cow's Milk for Toddlers
Topic: Children's Health
Sunday, 9 August 2026, at 7:03 am
A 5-year-old girl named Hope was very sick with low iron in 2023.
In short:
Too much cow's milk can cause low iron in the blood, which can be very bad for toddlers.
Dr. Sally Campbell says babies under 1 year should not have cow's milk, and children 1-5 years old should have only 2 cups of cow's milk per day.
What's next?
Dr. Campbell says the message about cow's milk for children has not been clear, and they are working to fix this.
Drinking too much cow's milk caused the deaths of 3 toddlers in Queensland in the last 2 years.
Dr. Campbell says that having too much cow's milk can cause low iron in the blood, which can be life-threatening for young children.
A professor in Perth says low iron in children is a hidden health crisis.
Many children in a study had low iron, and some had very low iron.
Professor Desiree Silva says low iron can cause problems for children.
Some parents do not know about the dangers of too much cow's milk.
Hope's parents did not know that too much cow's milk could cause low iron.
Hope's father says she was tired and had little appetite before they found out about her low iron.
Hope's parents gave her iron supplements, and she is now healthier.
Hope's parents also changed her diet to include more iron-rich foods.
Hope is now more energetic and playful.
Parents should limit cow's milk for their toddlers.
There has been an increase in cases of low iron in children at a hospital in Queensland.
The cause of the increase is not clear, but one reason might be that cow's milk is cheap.
Dr. Campbell says that too much cow's milk can prevent the body from absorbing iron.
Dr. Campbell says that children who drink too much cow's milk can get very sick.
Three toddlers in Queensland died because of low iron caused by too much cow's milk.
Dr. Campbell says that babies under 1 year should not have cow's milk.
Children 1-5 years old should have only 2 cups of cow's milk per day.
Dr. Campbell says that the message about cow's milk for children has not been clear.
A health organization has added information about cow's milk to a book for parents.
The book says that children over 1 year can have cow's milk, but with limits.
A website has information about the dangers of too much cow's milk for children.
Dr. Campbell says that parents should be aware of the risks of too much cow's milk.
A program sends text messages to parents to help them keep their children healthy.
Dr. Campbell says that parents should limit cow's milk and give their children iron-rich foods.
Professor Silva says that iron deficiency in children is a growing problem worldwide.
Iron deficiency can cause problems for children, but it can be prevented.
Hope's parents are happy that their daughter is now healthy.
Hope's name means having hope, and her parents are grateful for her health.
There are many stories about children's health on the ABC website.
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Topic: Children's Health
Topic: Queensland
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