**Originally published 8/3/2011**
I am at my friends house tonight. We have eaten dinner, have had great conversation and our 6 kids have happily played – loudly -throughout the evening. We decided before I got here this evening that this would be a sleep over. That way, I could indulge in adult beverages and not have to worry about driving home.
I got the children into their pajamas, two hours late for bedtime, and curled them up on their respective couches to have some milk and, hopefully, doze off into a happy, tired sleep.
I gave Megan hers, filled Sarah’s with her allotted amount of bedtime milk and then filled Katie’s cup.
To which I added chocolate syrup.
To my friends dismay!
She asked, confused, if I was really giving Katie chocolate milk at bedtime.
I said yes and she burst out laughing, confusing me with her guffaws, sending me into the world of questioning what I had done to cause such a reaction. This is our nightly routine. I know no different. I beg habitual pattern that we have fallen into as an excuse.
When she calmed down…. many, many moments later, and wiped the tears from her eyes, I asked her if she thought that was a bad thing. She loves me and is a dear friend and so she said something about teeth. And then she said that though she knew other mothers who also gave their kids chocolate milk at bedtime, she was shocked that I did.
Now I beg the question: Is it really terrible to give my 5 year old chocolate milk at bedtime?
Her dental reports are wonderful, she has never had a good diet, so I will pass on that one, but she, in general is in great health. So why is it so wrong to give it to her, besides the obvious affects that it could have on her teeth? Which are baby teeth. And will fall out. At which time no nightime drink will be allowed!
Now, I realize I am opening up a whole can of throw down on Lori conversation, but I really want to know if I am permanently damaging my daughter by allowing her to have the milk at night. So, please, be nice!
And if you are like me and do this too, I want to know!
Did you let a child have chocolate milk at bedtime and there were adverse affects? Were there no affects?
Chocolate milk at bedtime: YAY or NAY?
Nay, to my son’s dismay. He suddenly loves chocolate milk. But he can only have it before dinner. Otherwise, my awful sleeper becomes an even worse sleeper. I’m so afraid of giving him anything sugary after dinner because he already doesn’t sleep well. But that’s my main reason. I don’t judge those who do give it. :)
I never really related the drinking milk and chocolate milk after dinner to bad sleep patterns. Now I kinda see it so I agree… I am going to have to change this to a nay :(
Hey – my little guy gets milk at bedtime. Warmed and with either with a little honey or a small spoon of Ovaltine in it. It’s our routine! He does brush his teeth afterward, though. Those baby teeth may fall out, but damaged baby teeth can (and will) lead to damaged adult teeth before they even come out! Though, if your little one’s dental reports are coming back fine, I wouldn’t worry.
Our routine for bedtime goes like this: bath time, help mommy make ovaltine, drink Ovaltine while we read a story, brush teeth, go to bed. If he says he’s thirsty after that, he has a choice: water or nothing.
Hmmmm – I am thinking of using brushing their teeth as a way to stop the milk madness here…
I say nay, but just to the chocolate. The caffeine combined with the sugar in the chocolate will prevent your child from getting a good night’s sleep.
As far as the milk goes, as long as they brush their teeth afterwards – I don’t see the problem!
My other 2 get milk… and they all get it in bed… at night…. :(
ok as far as the chocolate milk.. go for it!!! if its what the little one wants… as long as you dont over do it and make sure that you are not actually sending them to bed with it.. (although I am just as guilty my 2 yr old will ONLY drink milk… no juice, no water.. just milk). there have been nights that i will for the lack of any better ideas send him to bed with a cup of milk if he is really really fussy. Daddy works out of town 8 months out of the year and is the only one that doesnt have any problems putting the little bundle of joy down for the night. But honestly, I really dont see that much harm in it. once they are out of diapers and if they have issues with bedwetting like my 7 yr old does he gets cut off of all liquids right after dinner. broke his poor little heart the first few nights but he got use to it. as far as the chocolate goes… yeah well really???? whats the old saying… if you deny a child something when they get out of the house and its offered to them then they go hog wild on it… case in point, i never let my oldest have much candy cuz hes always been so hyper but when he gets out and its offered he goes crazy will eat a whole entire big bag of fun size candy bars if you let him…. Both of my boys love milk and its what they would prefer to drink unless offered rootbeer… LOL… but i refuse to give that much sugar to them before bed… (oh yeah and they do have the sugar free hershey’s syrup if your worried bout sugar intake).
Yes she gets the sugar free. Although last night I took the regular. I really did not mind giving it to her but there are a lot of reasons not to. I was super jealous that my friend got her kids to sleep last night with nothing to drink and they did not get up at night. Mine have never done that. Maybe its time to play bad mommy for a few nights!
Milk has lactose, which is sugar. So if your giving even “just milk” your still giving a good amount of sugar just before bed. So their bodies will spend all night trying to to use up the extra calories. I know it’s a struggle to get kids to bed sometimes but a sugary drink rewarding going to bed is only teaching them how they need to act to get it.
My vote is nay. The sugar in the chocolate will sit on her teeth all night. I am also against the milk. Milk has lactose….which is sugar too. This will also sit on her teeth all night. Plaque begins to build up a mere 30 minutes after exposure to sugar (food). I realize that baby teeth do fall out, but some won’t fall out until she is a preteen. Baby teeth with cavities need to be filled…this can be both traumatic and painful. I respect that she has had, thus far, stellar dental reports, but you are tempting fate. But even beyond this, think about the habit you are creating. (At what point would you decide to end the chocolate milk? After the first permanent tooth? Or the last? ….just curious). This is effectively setting her up to want something sweet just before bed….every night. A difficult habit to break.
I am not against chocolate milk….but I do believe there are better times to give it. Maybe it could take the place of dessert after dinner? Or could even continue to be a bedtime ritual (though I still disagree because of the habit it’s creating), but it could just come before she brushes her teeth. My son, for example, insists on a glass of warm milk in order to fall asleep, so he chugs the last gulp just as he heads into the bathroom to brush his teeth and then heads to bed….a bottle of water in his hand. This is true for both my kids.
Will your daughter be damaged for life because she has chocolate milk before bed each night? I think not. As parents, none of us can claim perfection. Heck, we had ice creams sundaes for breakfast the other morning because, after all, it was Sunday. We do the best we can for our kids, and that’s not the same thing for everyone.
But maybe weaning her off the chocolate milk slowly, or changing the moment of delivery, might be worked into her routine. Or maybe not. The world won’t end either way. Guilt, uncertainty, worrying……yay parenthood! Thank goodness it is balanced by resilient kids who love us as much as we love them….and survive both because and in spite of us! :-)
Thank you so much for your response Karen! I do agree that I might as well stop it now before it gets to a point where it is even more difficult to change! Yes, isn’t parenting the most fun you have ever had in your life!? LOL It is actually, but being the “bad guy” is hard sometimes!
i did give my daughter chocolate milk at bed time up until christmas time this last year the reason we stopped is bc she stopped asking for it and now a majority of the time she simply wants white milk i didnt think it was good for her to be drinking it but it was what she was used to and i wasnt going to change it bcother people said i should…
Yea, my other 2 daughters get white milk. But I do think I need to stop it. Not because of others but because I can’t afford to keep them supplied! LOL
Since I am the laughing, gwafing friend…I should comment. 1st, I do love you terribly, and you are a wonderful, loving mother! 2nd, I just feel like you are making a difficult task (bed time), a more difficult task and once you do decide to stop, you will have a huge fight on your hands…early morning kindergarten days are upon us….maybe you could change it to an after school treat? As I said friend, I love you much and only want the best for you and your sweet girls….please forgive my overly outspoken self!
Oh I am sure that the chocolate milk is contributing to the difficulty of bedtime. In fact, it never occurred to me that it could affect it until you said it! SO – we are going hard core! No more liquids (again) at bedtime at all. Starting tomorrow! Love you TONS and thanks :)
My son gets it every night…and during the day for that matter. I was worried at first but after talking to our pediatrician and other dr’s who all agreed that as long as he is getting milk and taking care of his teeth it doesn’t matter. My son is Autistic though and a horridly picky eater. So we’re all just happy that he’s getting milk at all. He’s healthy and active (overactive, lol) so we’re not worried about him drinking chocolate milk.
My ped said it was ok too – but I omited the part about bedtime! LOL
Thank you for posting this. I give my 3 year old daughter milk with chocolate carnation breakfast before bed, and she has always been a night owl, now I see why, I didnt realize this before, we are going to stop starting today. Thank you!
I don’t let my kids have anything to drink at bed time except for water. Once they brush their teeth, that’s it for the night. Water or nothing. :) Milk is loaded with sugar, and can rot their teeth. That’s why the “experts” say not to send your baby/toddler to bed with a bottle. My 4 year old had his four back molars (top and bottom) crowned when he had just turned 3. Not from decay from milk or drinks at bed time–he had some condition where his molars came in with extremely soft enamel and were prone to decay. The rest of his teeth are beautiful, but just the molars were bad. I asked his dentist if they could just be pulled because they were only baby teeth, and I thought he would faint, lol Apparently they keep their molars until they’re 12ish. oops…guess he needs them. :) At any rate, if the sugar from the milk isn’t doing any damage to your kids teeth, then I say go for it–if it helps them sleep, and gives them extra nutrition, then it’s not hurting anything. But baby teeth ARE important!! :)
WOW!! Your poor baby!! I can not imagine such serious dental work on a toddler. If I had that, yea, nothing at night! LOL Thank you for reading and commenting!!
In my opinion chocolate milk should be a treat, not a staple. Even when you make it with syrup, look at that list of ingredients, there is hardly any chocolate in there. Unless it is make with real cocoa( unsweetened) you are only giving her a lot of sugar, and let’s not get started about sugar free. Next time you are at the supermarket check those half gallons of chocolate milk when they have not been shaken or moved for a while. You will see all the sugar content on the botton, and it does cover at least 1/3 of the bottle. Haven’t anybody wondered why chocolate milk is sooo much cheaper than regular milk? My kids have never been big fans of flavored milk, but when they do want strawberry or chocolate milk they get the real thing mixed in the blender. As for the teeth, milk is probably one of the worse things to drink before bed if they are not going to brush their teeth after. The sugars will create cavities. I learned mmy lesson when my oldest was 2. He developed cavities in the front teeth from having a bottle right before bed.
Yea – mine get tru moo as the ingredients are a ton better but I hear you!!
My mum use to give me my sippy with chocolate milk before I went to bed and I was out like a light after I brushed my teeth. I don’t see a thing wrong with it. I mean, their teeth are gonna fall out and they’ll get new teeth.
Yep! I wrote this years ago and all of my girls have teeth falling out and are growing in new ones. And the chocolate milk habit is no longer! So it all works out! :)
Hey! I recently had a conversation with my aunt (who is a dentist in the USA) about this subject, we both come Latin countries and we both had our moms give us the bottle with milk, with my mom actually adding the chocolate. It was my routine, could not go to sleep without it, I remember actually feeling a soothing feeling after I drank it (I’m talking about 1990s) and I stopped drinking from the bottle until I was like 6 or 7 (it was common in Latin countries to stop at the age, the saying was, that if the bottle was the only thing they drank milk with then let them, of course the thinking is different now) so I remember it well. My aunt said that the milk already has a natural sugar added so whether it has chocolate or not doesn’t really matter. As long as you have them rinse or brush before going to bed.
That is such a great insight on this! My kids have grown out of the phase and, years later, we have had one cavity at all in all three kids. So I, personally, think if it soothes kids to sleep, it’s no biggie :)