Chopsy Baby is reviewing… Cow & Gate fridge-friendly 1 litre Growing Up Milk for 1-2 year

Chopsy Baby Says: “Convenient milk to keep in the cupboard for milk related emergencies.”

Rating: 8/10

What is it?
Cow & Gate have launched a 1 litre fridge-friendly format of their Growing Up Milk. The milk is a fortified drink for toddlers which is resealable and safe to be stored in the fridge for up to 72 hours once opened.

The Growing Up Milk for 1-2 years is made from full-fat cows’ milk and enriched with key nutrients such as iron, vitamin D and Omega 3.

Cow & Gate Growing Up Milk 2-3 years offers a semi-skimmed version for toddlers over the age of 2 years. This is because from 24 months, a healthy toddler needs less milk as they eat more solids.

Reviewed by…
Chopsy Baby’s Jen Smith

Specially formulated milk for children over the age of 12 months is a contentious subject. From this age, toddlers should be getting all the nutrients they need from their diet and from cows milk. The way some parents react to it, you would think it had been milked directly from the devil himself.

But let’s reflect on that for a minute. As a hard pressed parent, getting a fully balanced meal three times a day down a youngster’s chops every day is a challenge. How much of it ends up on the floor? How much ends up in the dog? How balanced is that jar of food? What are they eating at nursery?

Unless you are Mother Earth living in Organicville, there are times when flash food has to do and the milk in the fridge has run out. This is a perfectly acceptable time to have a carton of Growing Up Milk lurking in the back of the cupboard.

The great thing about these cartons is that they will store outside of the fridge so there will always be milk available in a cows milk related emergency. This is in much the same way that many parents have a couple of jars or tubs of age appropriate baby food lurking in cupboards.

Jen Smith says: “I tested out the Cow & Gate Growing Up Milk with my own two-year-old. Unsurprisingly her head didn’t start spinning and she didn’t suddenly explode into obesity.

“The milk has that nutty, soya type taste to it, making it more palatable to those children who simply don’t like the taste of milk.

“Interestingly and from no particular scientific point of view, I did find the nights my child drank this milk she settled quickly. She also slept through the night without waking up griping. Of course this could be pure chance, but with the sleep problems she has, I think it’s definitely worth a £1.79 punt in the future.”

Best of all…
Convenient to have in the cupboard.

Could improve…
Nothing.

Basically…
Was quite impressed with getting a good night’s sleep on the evenings it was given as a bed time drink.

You can buy from…

Cow & Gate Growing Up Milk 1 litre is available from Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Boots and Morrisons for £1.79.

For more information on toddler nutrition and the role of Growing Up Milk, as part of a healthy, balanced diet, visit Growingupmilkinfo.com.