Formula Companies Pushing Toddler Milk

This was sent to me through the ABA if anyone is interested.

:

---

Hi,

You may want to put this on your website, or send an e-mail, encourage people to vote!

http://www.parentsjury.org.au/tpj_ne...ntainerID=1967

Nomination 3: Karicare Toddler Gold Formula
Ad description: Claymation bear with toddler bear. She talks about feeding her child Karicare instead of regular cows milk. "Nature's next step."
Parents concerns:
- "Very false advertising by saying the mother didn't want to introduce the milk of another species so is giving formula instead. It is a cows milk derivative and really high in sugar so very false."
- "It vilifies regular cows milk but the product actually contains cows milk."
Fact:
- Made with whole cows milk powder.
- High in added sugar in the form of maltodextrin and dextrose.
- World Health Organisation recommends "all babies are exclusively breastfed for at least the first six months of life and together with complementary food, breastfed ideally for up to two years." (The Public Health Association of Australia, 2006)

---

I have seen the ad and think its pretty stupid to say that its better than 'milk from another species' considering it IS basically cows milk!
And no it is not natures next step AT ALL. How ridiculous that they could be claiming that!

Just to mention though I do feed Aidyn one cup of toddlers milk each night (not Karicare though LOL), but I certainly wouldnt be promoting it the same way in which the company is. For me it gives me some peace of mind that he is getting some extra vitamins and minerals which he just doesnt eat on his very fussy days. But TBH I'm sure he probably gets much more goodness out of the 1/4 tsp of InLiven he has every day! ;)

The Health Dept should really be putting out ads to encourage women to extend breastfeeding to counteract act these toddler formula 'natures next step' ads. :rolleyes:

ETA, what an interesting site... think I might just vote!

grrr this toddler milk business really has got up my nose.

after my 3rd child (you think i would have learnt by then not to listen to my mchn) she pushed and pushed toddler milk - i got to thinking that if i gave my dd cows milk or anything other than toddler milk i would be denying her of all sorts of nutrients - what did it give her NOTHING BUT A SWEET TOOTH AND AN EVEN WORSE EATER than she already was. it took a good 6mths to get her off the stuff, needless to say i have promptly changed health nurses.

my dd is not a big milk drinker (2 cups a day) and doesn't have much in the way of dairy or come to think of it anything else really lol.

i am just really angry at myself for listening to my mchn and doubting myself at the time.

i will step down off my soapbox now.

what i think makes it even more ridiculous is she has not breasts!
beckles

Brooke - I get your point but the ad being mentioned is definitely misleading. For one, it criticises cows milk when the toddler formula is in fact made out of the stuff, it implies that at 12 months women should stop BF and give toddler milk and on top of that it implies that if you do not use toddler milk you are somehow disadvantaging your child.

These companies do have the right to advertise their product but they should do so in an ethical manner, and I feel that in general toddler milk is over-emphasised as a source of nutrition for small children because these companies (not just Karicare, all of them do it), imply that toddlers need this milk as they will not get enough nutrition from food alone - which is misleading to parents and also gives them the impression that therefore it is ok for their child to not eat anything, or to only eat junk as the toddler milk will make up for it. Not saying this is true of all parents who use it, but to me that is impression the companies give across. They also use emotional blackmail in their advertising - by implying that if your child does not have toddler milk and is a 'fussy' eater (what toddler is not fussy at some time or another - it is completely normal), then you are disadvantaging them by only giving them 'regular' milk as their nutritional needs will not be met.

yup i do agree they have the right to advertise, but yes they do have to tell the truth. and i also agree that goes for every product.

just this morning i heard on the radio that uncle toby's have been told they have to remove the "real fruit" endorsement on their roll ups which is great, lets hope the governing bodies start looking into all these "fake" endorsements.

bon - you hit the nail on the head, i actually felt really bad that if i didn't give lani the toddler milk then i would be doing her some sort of harm, as she is sooooo fussy. we are getting their slowly with her and what she eats, thing is the little fusspot would quite happily go without any food if she didn't like the look, feel and taste for it.

i think i am pretty passionate about this fussiness stage as my dd #1 was actually very bad with her appetite, ds was brilliant ate anything and everything and now lani is heading down the track of her big sister, which worries me so much only because of what happened with jessie (i know that her being a fussy eater did not cause a brain tumour) but some days these things play on your mind a bit alright a lot lol.

i hope that my post re the toddler milk didn't offend anyone, i didn't mean for it to, i am just probably more ****ed off with my mchn pushing it down my throat and me thinking that if i didn't give my dd it i would fail her.

You are right, advertising in general is all about spin and how to put a good slant on things and when you look at it in context, the marketing of toddler milk can be compared to how other health or nutrition products are advertised also. And I am taking my preg vitamins every day to supplement my diet! It just really annoys me how this ad is so blatantly misleading! It is saying to parents, now that you are no longer BF or using infant formula, you need to use toddler milk because it is the "next step", like how at 6 months or so the "next step" is starting solids.

I didn't mean to criticise anyone who uses toddler milk, just the way it is advertised. As someone who FF both my babies and, to be perfectly honest, will probably FF our new baby, I am the last one who could criticise others for using formula! That ad just really ****s me

I laugh every time I see the ad. Its such a crock to say that regular milk from another animal might not cut it.
This IS milk from another animal - its not human derived, and its ridiculously misleading.
I dont care who feeds what to their kids - I think we are very lucky to have the option of toddler formula's, but I'm just happy with plain old blue top. Yes thats right - I give my kids the regular milk from another species ;)

the ad doesn't let people know the amount of sugar that is in the toddler milk either. grrrr hence i only feed my kids milk from the same species! lol

DH and I were talking about this ad last night, he reckons it's stupid too as it gives the impression that the toddler drink is made out of breastmilk - if you didn't know anything about baby formula you could be forgiven for thinking that is the case.

Anyway I said to him, if the mother bear is so concerned about giving her baby the milk "from another species" why did she stop breastfeeding in the first place? To which he said, "Bears have sharp teeth". LOL I had a chuckle (you had to be there) :rolleyes:

Brooke, I think you make a valid point here when you said

:

---

But by the time my daughter was old enough to start toddler milk., Id obviously been on formula with her for 1 yr, so why shouldnt those companies be allowed to advertise their toddler milk products - because by then they are not targeting women to not BF and FF, they're reaching women who either have not BF, or have ceased BFing.

---

I think that is very true & agree that they should be allowed to advertise their products as long as its an ethical way (which we all agree on). They are allowed to advertis their toddler milk products its just a pitty that this stupid ad sliped through as ok.


It would be interesting to see how some mothers/parents would react to the promotion of BFing beyond 12 months. I know that some FFing mothers would get offended by it. The recent post in the punching bag is a good example.
If only the funding was avaliable to be able to make the ad's and have them aired regularly & at a time slot like the toddler milks get. But unfortantly the goverment is a bit behind & the marketing of breastmilk is a non profit type of thing so where do the funds come from? I think if we did see breastfeeding ads more it would stike a nice balance between the 2 options & there wouldn't be so many people getting there nose out of joint about one or the other. KWIM?

I don't have a problem with anyone advertising extended BF or Toddler milk so long as it is ethical without the guilt trips and misleading information.

I think the formula companies just have this constant advertising push because they know that they only have x amount of years to get parents to buy their products before their children are too old to have it and are on either regular cows/soy milk etc. Because regardless of how you fed your child, there comes the time when they are too old for both BM and formula IYKWIM? Even if you only ever buy one tin, they have made their money.

I havent seen the add, and most likely wouldnt take much notice of it anyway, since DS is on cows milk, and has a very healthy well balanced diet and wouldnt need a supliment like that.

I have to say I like the adds that Liz Ellis does when she makes the smoothie. I think that is smart marketing, and I would be far more tempted to buy that brand (whatever it is ;) ) than this dumb one with the stupid bears.
And I seriously LOL when I read the comment about bears having sharp teeth :D

alot of people are offended by extended breastfeeding, saying it is disgusting, or gone too far. i have come across many comments that it is revolting to still breastfeed a toddler/preschooler, they don't need it, there are no nutritional value in it. so you guys are the minority i think. the majority of people do not want to see extended breastfeeding.

I don't think the issue is so much whether or not to breastfeed past 12 months, or whether people think it is "disgusting", as whether the formula companies (particularly Karicare) should be promoting toddler milk in the way that they do. To me it just seems silly that the mother bear in the ad gives up BF, but doesn't want to give the milk of another species. Well, that presents two choices - either continue to BF, or don't feed your baby any kind of milk. By her reasoning toddler milk should not be an option, as it is made out of cows milk, the very stuff she is implying is not good enough for her child. I don't BF but I don't go around saying I don't want to feed my baby the milk of another species, because that is completely contradictory to what I do, not to mention hypocritical.

Is toddler milk something you'd use if you stopped BFing before 12 months? :confused: I've got no idea about any of this!

I'd love to BF Cooper until at least 12 months but I'm probably going to have to go back to work. So I guess I'll need to start weaning him around 9 months? How many BF does a baby that age need per day?

So basically he'll need something until 12 months of age (as I know you can't give cow's milk to babies under 12 months). Is this when you use toddler milk? Or do you have to use formula?

There's a lot to learn for me!

Hi Fee,

Just either expressed breastmilk (in your case) or an infant formula until 12 months. Follow on formula and toddler milk are not necessary. After that, cow's milk or similar is fine.

With regard to the formula companies advertising their product and the ethics of that ... well most advertising is aimed at getting people to buy something they usually don't really need. Is that ethical? Yes, so long as you know you are watching an advertisement. Advertising is unethical when it is presented as unbiased information and the presenter's vested interest is not openly declared.

i wish i had the money to advertise breastfeeding!

Fee - If you want to wean then use infant formula until 12 months, after which it is ok to go onto regular cows milk. Toddler milk is not necessary, but some parents like to use it as it does have added vitamins etc. Toddler milk is only meant for kids aged over 12 months.

Thanks for the explanation everyone.

I guess Cooper will have to go onto formula after 9 months. :( I can't see myself expressing if I'm wanting to wean him. Won't this just create more milk?!

I'm now turned off toddler formula. I did did buy a tin and had opened it but after finding out how much sugar is in it I refuse to give it to Gemma.

fee i have returned to work and i am letting oscar self wean too so i just express at work once so my dh can feed him when i am away. although some days i don't get time to express so am just really full when i get home. i do express after feeds here and there during my home time so i have a supply for him. this way i haven't needed to use formula/toddler milk at all.

I'd give donations to help advertise BFing! FJ - get the ABA to put a call out for donations for advertising! LOL.

That ad makes me cringe tho. I don't understand why we feel we need to supplement our diets these days. If you eat healthy foods you shouldn't need to supplement. I've also seen on some doco that kids who are fussy eaters usually have some things they will eat, and often they get what they need from that.. if that makes sense. So we shouldn't stress if the kids won't eat their brocolli for a stage, coz they'll get it from elsewhere (so long as we're not offering junk as an alternative!).

I don't plan on using toddler milk at all. I don't see the benefit of it myself. Even if DS weaned early and had formula until 12 months, I'd move on to normal cows milk.. not overly processed cows milk with all that sugar! There must be other ways of supplementing their diet if it's a concern.

At the risk of sounding argumentative.. LOL - I really don't mean to be! just want to know if it's possible to supplement in the case of sore throat etc with soups like we have when we're sick? Can you boil up all the vegies to have the nutrients in the soup or mush em all up so it's easily drunk or swallowed?

Hmm.. it's all stuff I'm gonna have to keep in mind. Obviously I haven't hit this yet.. so I was just wondering how it could be tackled :)

regarding 'needing' solids, babys have an 'educational' diet from 6 months and actually get the majority of their nutrients from breastmilk therefore i tend to agree, i wouldn't be worried about my kids not having much else other than breastmilk at 12 month.

brooke also want to let you know my kids don't eat junk either, and are/were breastfed most breastfeeding mothers offer a varied healthy diet as do ff mums i presume. if it is not to be about breastfeeding and formula feeding mums lets make comments about what a mother has done and not mention how they choose to feed their baby cos imo it encourages an us and them situation which isn't helpful to anyone.
beckles

I believe there is a place for food supplements/vitamins provided you are deficient in those vitamins in the first place - but I question the sensibility in making those products sweetened and putting unnecessary additives in them.

aaagghh I just saw the print ad for karicare gold this morning :wall: . Its got a very *scientific* diagram of about 20 glasses with a caption explaining that this is how many glasses of cow's milk a toddler would need to drink a day to get all its RDI of iron as if a toddler will only be getting iron from milk not any other source :doh: