For routine toddler snack time, choose a food-based snack rather than a milkshake: the NHS advises avoiding sweet drinks, including milkshakes, because they can contain a lot of sugar. A small, child-oriented flavoured milk may be an occasional choice for a child who can have milk, but check the exact pack’s age guidance, sugars, sweeteners and allergens. Do not treat an adult-style or novelty flavour as suitable simply because it is another milkshake.
If you are choosing something between meals, the NHS advises avoiding sweet drinks such as milkshakes because they can contain a lot of sugar. Fruit, vegetable sticks, toast and plain yoghurt are food-based options to consider.
A small carton and a larger, indulgent milkshake are not interchangeable. Check the age guidance, pack size, sugars, sweeteners and ingredients of the exact drink you intend to offer.
Milk is an allergen, as the Food Standards Agency notes. Check the current product label and ask the childcare setting about its food and drink policy before sending a snack or dairy drink.
For an everyday snack, start with food rather than a sweet drink; if you are considering flavoured milk, assess the exact product and how it will be served.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday snack | Choose an age-appropriate food-based option. The NHS advises avoiding sweet drinks, including milkshakes, because they can contain a lot of sugar. | For a routine snack between meals, I would rather offer food such as fruit, vegetable sticks, toast or plain yoghurt than make a milkshake the default. |
| Sugars and portions | Read sugars per 100ml and per serving where stated, alongside the pack size and ingredients. A ‘no added sugar’ claim does not mean a drink has no sugars: Yazoo says its Kids drink contains sugars naturally present in milk. | If I occasionally choose flavoured milk, I want to know how much is in the carton and what the label says about sugars, not rely on a front-of-pack phrase. |
| Age and flavour | Check the exact variant’s age guidance, size and flavouring. Tesco lists a lower age limit of 3 years for its 400ml Mars milk drink; Müller UK & Ireland lists jalapeño chilli flavouring in FRijj Chilli Chocolate. | A drink for my 1–2-year-old needs its own age check. I would not assume that a larger or novelty-flavoured milkshake fits toddler snack time. |
| How drinks are served | Consider an open or free-flow cup rather than prolonged sipping from a bottle or teat cup. The NHS warns that comfort sucking sweetened drinks from a bottle causes tooth decay in young children. | When I offer a drink, I want to avoid leaving a sweetened one in a bottle for comfort sucking. |
| Allergens | Read the current ingredients and allergen declaration for each flavour, including milk and any other declared allergens. Check the childcare setting’s policy before sending food or drink. | If a child must avoid milk, or I am packing a nursery snack, I need to check the exact product rather than assume all flavours have the same ingredients. |
| Medical nutrition | Do not treat a nutritional supplement as an ordinary snack purchase. Abbott describes PaediaSure as a food for special medical purposes for use under medical supervision. | If a child has a medical nutritional need, I would discuss an appropriate product with their clinician or dietitian instead of substituting an ordinary milkshake. |
Milk in a drink does not remove the concern about sugars. The NHS advises avoiding sweet drinks, including milkshakes, because they can contain a lot of sugar.
Start with a food-based snack for routine use, and make any flavoured milk an occasional, deliberate choice.
Yazoo says its Kids drink contains sugars naturally present in milk. Tesco’s listing for the Mars no-added-sugar milk drink gives 6.5g sugars per 100ml, lists sweeteners and specifies a lower age limit of 3 years.
Check sugars per 100ml, ingredients, sweeteners and age guidance on the exact current pack.
Müller UK & Ireland lists 11.4g sugars per 100ml for FRijj Chocolate and jalapeño chilli flavouring in the separate Chilli Chocolate variant. Neither detail establishes that another flavour has the same recipe.
Check the variant you are buying rather than treating an adult-style or novelty flavour as a default toddler snack.
The Food Standards Agency identifies milk as an allergen. Separately, the NHS warns that comfort sucking sweetened drinks from a bottle causes tooth decay in young children.
Read the current allergen declaration, check childcare rules where relevant, and use an open or free-flow cup when offering a drink.
Yazoo describes its Kids range as flavoured milk in 200ml cartons.
The range includes a 330ml Chocolate milkshake and a separate Chilli Chocolate flavour.
Tesco lists a 400ml Mars chocolate flavoured milk drink labelled ‘no added sugar’.
These are packaged toddler snacks to consider instead of a routine milkshake. Check each pack’s age guidance, ingredients and allergen information, and supervise young children while they eat.
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An individually portioned food-based option rather than a milkshake. The product is labelled for ages 9 months and over; follow its guidance about firmer textures, seated eating and adult supervision, and check the current allergen declaration.
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A multipack food snack for children aged 12 months and over, with four 15g bags. Have young children sit down and be supervised while eating, and check the current pack’s allergen declaration before serving or sending it to childcare.
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A savoury finger-food option in four 12g packs, labelled for ages 9 months and over. The product guidance calls for experience with firmer textures and seated adult supervision; check the current ingredients if the child must avoid milk.
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A food-based snack in four 4g portions, labelled for ages 6 months and over. Follow the product guidance on firmer textures and upright, supervised eating; check the current pack for milk and gluten-containing cereals if those allergens matter to the child.
Choose a food-based option for routine snack time instead. The NHS advises avoiding sweet drinks, including milkshakes, because they can contain a lot of sugar; fruit, vegetable sticks, toast and plain yoghurt are alternatives to consider.
No. Yazoo says its Kids drink contains sugars naturally present in milk, while Tesco lists 6.5g sugars per 100ml for the Mars drink labelled ‘no added sugar’. Check the sugars line and ingredients on the current pack.
Do not assume an adult-style flavour is suitable for that age. Tesco lists a lower age limit of 3 years for its 400ml Mars milk drink, and Müller UK & Ireland lists jalapeño chilli flavouring in FRijj Chilli Chocolate. Follow the exact pack’s age guidance and choose an appropriate food-based snack for routine use.
Avoid using a bottle for comfort sucking on sweetened drinks. The NHS warns that this causes tooth decay in young children and advises moving away from bottle feeding after age 1; an open or free-flow cup is an alternative when offering a drink.
Read the exact product’s current ingredients and allergen declaration, then ask the setting about its food and drink policy. The Food Standards Agency identifies milk as an allergen; other ingredients can differ between products and flavours.