I got a lot of questions from parents and providers about plant milk, such as almond milk, rice milk, coconut milk, etc, especially almond milk. 

Not all milk are created equal. Nothing beats human breast milk as the best food for human babies.

Breast milk from baby’s mom is the best choice of nutrition for infant up to 12 months of age. Some parents choose to continue offering breast milk past 1 year old, which is perfectly fine, especially if your child is growing well on the WHO growth chart. 

Full fat cow’s milk (3.25% fat) is the appropriate choice after 1 year of age. Depending on your child’s growing needs, your pediatrician may recommend that you switch to a lower fat version of cow’s milk after age 2. 

Plant-based milk, such as almond, coconut, rice and soy milk, are gaining popularity as alternatives to someone who may not tolerate cow’s milk or someone choosing a plant-based lifestyle. However, parents of young children need to realize that many of these milk alternatives do not compare equally with cow’s or breast milk. Therefore, replacing cow’s milk with one of these plant milk beverages may not provide adequate calories and protein to meet your infant’s or toddler’s growing needs. 

However, these plant milk beverages may still fit in as part of a healthy diet given that your child is eating a well-balanced diet that is meeting his/her calories and protein from other sources.

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