I’m delighted that my letter was published in today’s Farmers Weekly (28/08/20) entitled Milk matters for our children. I wanted to raise awareness of the fact that there is a culture change towards the attitude of drinking milk during childhood. That at some point milk should be replaced with water.
Is milk perceived as a drink for babies and toddlers and that at some point children will grow out of it? Or is milk perceived as a naughty drink, only reserved as a treat? I can’t put my finger on why this is. After all, when I was younger, I enjoyed an ice cold bottle of milk each day at playgroup, drunk with a straw for added milky bubble effect. I still love a glass of the white stuff now.
I wondered how best as farmers, ambassadors, industry experts, we can reach out to the wider world and sing from the rooftops about the benefits of drinking milk. How can we best educate new parents about health and nutrition and make milk a forever drink.
Should we be talking more to Mumsnet, NCT (National Childcare Trust) and NHS health workers, working out in the community?
I don’t want to have that conversation any more about are my children STILL drinking milk. Of course they are drinking milk, and I hope they do for the rest of their lives.
