营养方面,奶粉有它的好处,但性价比肯定不及鲜奶。并且奶粉是加工食品,营养素是人工添加的,人体对其的吸收恐怕不如天然食材如鲜奶,并且加工食品对人体的坏处也未可知。
配方奶是母乳的替代品,如果孩子可以断母乳了,也就可以断配方奶了。American Academy of Pediatrics推荐一岁以上就喝鲜奶了。
1岁以上的孩子应该吃全面均衡的食物,奶不再是主角。过度使用配方奶,会减低孩子对其他食物的兴趣从而影响营养的摄取与吸收,喝太多奶也有可能造成缺铁性贫血。
年纪再大些的孩子,也可能从配方奶摄取过多的卡路里而造成肥胖。
Formula is unnecessary in children who are older than 1. At this age, children are expected to have a full/complete diet which may or may not include full cream fresh milk.
Fresh milk is the standard dairy recommendation for children older than 1 who are no longer breastfed, and the American Academy of Pediatrics actually recommends low-fat milk for ALL children (Except malnourished ones) older than 2.
As infant formula was originally designed to be a breastmilk replacement/alternative, children who have weaned naturally and no longer require breastmilk should not require formula either.
In most countries, formula sold is really only for babies 1 and below. It is only in countries like ours where the commercial demand is strong that formula manufacturers take advantage and try to create an even bigger demand through marketing, etc.
The average toddler formula is higher in calories than full cream fresh milk and this is not a good thing. These extra calories are usually from sugar and fat, not from any added 'special nutrients'. In fact, toddler and preschool formula is often the culprit in young children who are obese and who have poor diets. The typical caloric requirement for a toddler is 1000-1200 kcal/day and the majority of this should be coming from solid food. The recommended limit for dairy/milk intake for children older than 1 is 16-24 oz or 2-3 cups a day only. This means that a toddler taking 3 cups of milk a day will already consume 40-50% of his calories in milk, leaving 50% for food. Giving your child toddler formula almost always ensures that he/she will get more fat, sugar and calories than he/she needs.
Also, it is common for children who exceed the recommended milk intake to develop iron-deficiency anemia. This is because cow milk protein causes a little bit of bleeding in the gut and larger amounts of milk translates to bigger blood loss. Many parents don't know this but this is a common concern of well-trained pediatricians and is found in all our medical textbooks.
There is a lot more information available in books and online. If you look at the recommended Food Pyramid for children, you will see that there is no recommendation for formula here either.