Milk at 12 months: switching to whole milk and a cup

Work it out for your family: Feeding calculator. How much and how often by age and weight, for breast milk, formula or both.

The short answer

From 12 months, whole cow’s milk can be your toddler’s milk. Whole, not reduced-fat, until age 2 [1][2].
About 16 to 24 oz (2 to 3 cups) a day. No more than 24 oz. Too much milk crowds out iron-rich food [2][3][4].
Breastfeeding can carry on for as long as you and your child want, to 2 years or beyond [5][6].
Aim to be off the bottle by 12 to 18 months. Open cups and straw cups both count [7].
Water is the other everyday drink. Juice, if any, stays at 4 oz a day or less [2][8].
Toddler formula and “growing-up milks” aren’t needed for most children [9].

The goal for the second year is simple to say and messier to do: plain milk and water, from a cup, with food doing more of the work.

Switching to whole milk

Before 12 months, cow’s milk isn’t a drink. From 12 months, it can replace formula [1]. The AAP advises whole milk from 12 to 24 months, then low-fat or nonfat from age 2 [1]. Reduced-fat milk before 2 is an option only with your pediatrician [2].

You don’t have to switch overnight. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia suggests [10]:

Mix equal parts whole milk and breast milk or prepared formula.
Shift the mix toward whole milk over time.
Don’t stir whole milk into powdered formula in place of water.

Serve milk from a cup, at meals or snacks [2].

How much milk, and why not more

The AAP says no more than 16 to 24 oz (about 475 to 710 mL) a day after the first birthday [3]. A consensus panel that includes the AAP puts it at 2 to 3 cups [2]. The AAP’s drinks page lists 16 oz, but the panel table it draws on gives 16 to 24 oz for 12 to 24 months and 16 oz from age 2 [1][2]. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia calls 8 to 10 oz a reasonable minimum, especially if your toddler eats other dairy [10]. The sources differ on the lower end. They agree on the ceiling: no more than 24 oz [3][4][10].

Why the ceiling:

Iron. Milk is low in iron. It also fills small stomachs fast, so a milk-heavy toddler eats less iron-rich food. That can lead to iron-deficiency anemia [3][4].
Teeth. Teeth constantly bathed in milk or juice can get cavities [3].
Picky eating. The AAP notes that a toddler living on milk may keep rejecting anything but smooth, soft foods [3].

If your toddler drinks a lot more, the AAP suggests offering milk with meals only, after some solid food, and water between meals [3]. If they won’t eat iron-rich foods such as meat, beans or tofu, ask your pediatrician about iron [3].

Plant milks

Fortified soy milk is the one plant milk that’s nutritionally close to cow’s milk [1][2]. The AAP calls soy milk an acceptable alternative [1].

Other plant milks, such as almond, rice and oat, often lack protein, vitamin D and calcium. The AAP doesn’t recommend them in place of dairy milk [1][2]. If your child has a dairy allergy or your family doesn’t drink dairy, an unsweetened, fortified non-dairy milk may be a good choice. Pick it with your pediatrician [2].

Breastfeeding past the first birthday

Keep going if it works for you both. The AAP supports breastfeeding after solids start “as long as you and your baby desire, for 2 years or beyond” [5]. Its 2022 policy says the same: as long as mutually desired [6]. The AAP’s drinks guidance treats breast milk, cow’s milk or both as the milk in a balanced toddler diet [1]. If you want to breastfeed or chestfeed past the first birthday, the AAP says to get support [5].

From bottle to cup

The AAP suggests offering a cup from about 6 months, then cutting bottles slowly so the switch is done sometime between 12 and 18 months [7].

Why it matters [7]:

Teeth. Early childhood caries, or “baby bottle tooth decay,” happens when teeth are constantly bathed in milk, formula, juice or other drinks.
Appetite. Toddlers who sip bottles all day often aren’t hungry at meals.
Habit. Toddlers tend to cling to bottles more fiercely as time goes on.

The AAP also says not to give a bottle at bedtime or naptime [3].

Which cup. A spouted cup or a cup with a straw both work. Some children go straight to an open cup, which is fine. Skip sippy cups with a valve: your child has to suck, just like a bottle. Use sippy cups only while learning, and aim for an open cup by about age 2 [7].

Making the switch [7]:

Start with whatever they drink already, breast milk or formula, in the cup.
Offer cups mainly at meals. A cup carried around all day means a lot of sipping.
At bedtime, swap the bottle for snuggles, a story or soft music. A pacifier may help.
Tell every caregiver, so everyone follows the same routine.

If your child has a chronic illness, physical differences or a fine motor delay, ask your pediatrician for a schedule that fits [7].

Juice: not yet, then not much

No juice before 12 months [8]. For ages 1 to 3, the AAP limits 100% juice to 4 oz a day at most [8]. It also says [8]:

no juice from bottles or easily carried sippy cups
no juice at bedtime
whole fruit beats juice

You don’t have to offer juice at all. Flavored milk and other drinks with added sugar are out before age 2 [1].

Water

From 12 to 24 months, the guidance is 1 to 4 cups (8 to 32 oz) of water a day [1][2]. Fluoridated tap water also helps prevent tooth decay [1]. If your toddler carries a cup around between meals, put water in it [2].

Toddler formula and growing-up milks

You can skip them. A 2023 AAP clinical report found toddler drinks, sold as “transition,” “next stage” or “growing-up” milks, are generally unnecessary and nutritionally incomplete [9]. For most children over 12 months, they offer no benefit over cow’s milk or breast milk in a balanced diet [1][9]. They cost more, some are high in sugar, and no US standard says what goes in them [9].

Medical formulas for conditions such as food allergy are a different product. If your child has special nutritional needs, follow your pediatrician’s advice [9].

When to talk to your pediatrician

Your toddler drinks more than 24 oz of milk a day and won’t eat much else [3].
You’re choosing a plant milk or reduced-fat milk [2].
Your child has a dairy allergy or special nutritional needs [2][9].
Cup drinking is hard because of a health condition or motor delay [7].

Sources

HealthyChildren.org (AAP), “Recommended Drinks for Children Age 5 & Younger,” by Natalie D. Muth, MD (updated October 2023). healthychildren.org
Healthy Eating Research, “Healthy Drinks, Healthy Kids: Parents and Caregivers.” Consensus recommendations from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American Academy of Pediatrics and American Heart Association (2019). healthydrinkshealthykids.org
HealthyChildren.org (AAP), “Your Toddler Only Wants Milk? How to Ease a Milk Dependency Habit,” by Barton Schmitt, MD (updated September 2025). healthychildren.org
HealthyChildren.org (AAP), “Iron Deficiency and Anemia in Babies, Children & Teens” (updated June 2026). healthychildren.org
HealthyChildren.org (AAP), “Where We Stand: Breastfeeding,” by Lori Feldman-Winter, MD. healthychildren.org
Meek JY, Noble L; AAP Section on Breastfeeding, “Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk,” Pediatrics 2022;150(1):e2022057988. doi.org
HealthyChildren.org (AAP), “From Bottle to Cup: Helping Your Child Make a Healthy Transition,” by Jennifer Shu, MD (updated July 2023). healthychildren.org
Heyman MB, Abrams SA; AAP, “Fruit Juice in Infants, Children, and Adolescents: Current Recommendations,” Pediatrics 2017;139(6):e20170967. doi.org, and HealthyChildren.org, “AAP Recommends No Fruit Juice for Children Under 1 Year” (May 2017). healthychildren.org
Fuchs GJ III, Abrams SA, et al.; AAP Committee on Nutrition, “Older Infant-Young Child ‘Formulas’,” Pediatrics 2023;152(5):e2023064050. doi.org, and HealthyChildren.org, “Why Most Toddlers Don’t Need Toddler Formula” (October 2023). healthychildren.org
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, “Making the Switch to Cow’s Milk for 1-year-olds” (September 2024). chop.edu

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