Parents warned milk formula could be harming toddlers

Parents have been warned toddler milk products sold in Australia could be harming their children.

The products are often placed on supermarket shelves beside infant formula, but VicHealth CEO, Dr Sandro Demaio, says they’re only put there to confuse parents.

“These are unnecessary, incredibly expensive, and, in fact, could be harmful,” he told Ross and Russel.

“Parents think it’s best for their child to continue to use the products well beyond what would be required.

“These products are not only up to four times as expensive as regular milk, but they contain more sugar and fewer key nutrients, including calcium.”

In just one month, the use of toddler milk products for a single child adds more than $20 to the household food budget, and 60 teaspoons of sugar to the child’s diet.

Dr Demaio says most children over 12 months should begin eating small amounts of fruits, vegetables and other solid food products, and there’s no need for toddler supplement milks in most cases.

“These products really have no place,” he said.

“They’ve been created out of nowhere to confuse parents.”

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