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Home > Milk Means More Blog > Should Children Drink Chocolate Milk?

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05/09/2018

Should Children Drink Chocolate Milk?

Lois McBean, MS, RDN  |  11 Comments  |  Milk

Are you wondering if it’s okay for your child to drink chocolate milk? If your child enjoys drinking chocolate milk, rest easy. Drinking real dairy milk, including chocolate milk, provides many health benefits to kids and can be a part of a healthy diet for them. In fact, taking away the option of flavored milk can actually do more harm than good if it means they stop drinking milk altogether.

Keep reading for answers to your questions about chocolate and other flavored milk, including the scoop on sugar.

Does chocolate milk have the same nutrients as white milk?

Flavored milk can help meet children’s nutrient needs. It has the same nine essential nutrients found in white milk that are needed for good health. These nutrients include calcium and vitamin D, which contribute to good bone health.

Since childhood and adolescence are a key time for bone growth, it’s especially important that kids get enough calcium and vitamin D during this time. However, research shows that kids older than two years fall short of these nutrients.

While they can get calcium and vitamin D from other foods, milk and dairy products are the most commonly eaten food sources of these nutrients.

Will chocolate milk help my children drink more milk?

For children who do not like white milk, flavored milk offers a tasty option to help them get the two to three servings of dairy they need each day.

When offered both types of milk at school, children drink more chocolate milk than white milk and consume more milk overall, with less milk waste. This is important considering children’s average intake of dairy is less than what it should be. Even skipping just one serving of milk a day can put kids at a nutritional disadvantage since many of the essential nutrients milk provides are difficult to replace.

What about the sugar content of chocolate milk?

The first thing to know is that all milk naturally contains a type of sugar called lactose. Flavored milk also contains added sugar in the form of sucrose. So the amount of total sugar you see on the Nutrition Facts Panel of chocolate milk reflects both the naturally occurring and added sugar content.

Flavored milk contributes only a minor amount of added sugar to children’s diets. Soft drinks and non-carbonated sweetened beverages contribute more than 40% of the added sugars to the diets of children ages two to 18. Flavored milk contributes only about 4% of added sugars.

Since 2007, the added sugar content of chocolate or other flavored milk served in schools nationwide has decreased by about 55%.

While health professionals recommend reducing intake of added sugars, they also say that there is room in the diet to include limited amounts of added sugars to improve the taste of some highly nutritious foods, such as chocolate milk.

Will chocolate milk make my child overweight?

Research doesn’t show a link between drinking flavored milk and children becoming overweight. Like any food or beverage, moderation is key. Encourage children to enjoy other dairy foods, too, such as yogurt, cheese and white milk.

What about cavities?

The majority of studies have not found a link between drinking flavored milk and tooth decay.

To enjoy flavored milk while still maintaining healthy teeth, follow these simple tips:

  • Drink flavored milk with meals rather than between meals.
  • Drink, rather than sip, flavored milk and other sweetened beverages to decrease the time teeth are exposed to sugar.

Bottom line.

Drinking flavored milk, like chocolate milk, can help children improve their diet quality and meet recommended daily servings of dairy –  3 cups per day of fat-free and low-fat milk and milk products for those age nine years and older and 2 1/2 cups per day for children four to eight years.

Lois McBean, MS, RDN
About the author

Lois McBean, MS, RDN, is Technical Advisor for Nutrition for the United Dairy Industry of Michigan, Dairy Council of Michigan. Among her roles in this position, Lois monitors and critically evaluates nutrition research as it relates to the health benefits of dairy foods, writes and edits nutrition articles and educational materials, and responds to requests for technical information from a variety of audiences.

Comments (11)
  • Addy Brown says:
    May 9, 2018

    Flavored milk can help meet children’s nutrient needs. Flavored milk is a nutrient-dense beverage providing nine essential nutrients important for good health, including three nutrients (calcium, vitamin D, and potassium) often low in children’s diets.

    Reply
  • Priyanka says:
    Aug 27, 2018

    Flavored milk can help meet children’s nutrient needs. Flavored milk is a nutrient-dense beverage providing nine essential nutrients important for good health and thanks for this information

    Reply
  • jonathan king says:
    Mar 25, 2019

    i think we should have flavored milk

    Reply
  • George Willis says:
    May 6, 2019

    Chocolate milk can be a recovery drink

    Reply
  • Perseus Jackson says:
    Jan 6, 2020

    Plus it won’t even cause cavities.

    Reply
  • bob says:
    Feb 20, 2020

    Chocolate milk is bad

    Reply
  • Jeff says:
    Feb 20, 2020

    u right

    Reply
  • nathan says:
    Feb 20, 2020

    hello nice to be in this chat

    Reply
  • Brynn says:
    Feb 26, 2020

    it’s tasty and healthy
    BOOM DREAM MILK!

    Reply
  • PopaPlayz_YT says:
    Mar 9, 2020

    chocalate milk is good for you if you don’t believe me look at this video from the dairy association —>

    Reply
  • Melanie says:
    Apr 1, 2020

    What about me I’m lactose intolerant

    Reply

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