My son, 17 months old, started drinking whole milk at 12 months. I put it in a sippy cup (NUK by Gerber, which is a soft spout) and he loves it, and drinks it all up. Our doctor said he should be getting 3 cups of whole milk a day, or 15-24 ounces. Well, he drinks it well in this cup because I think it's so much like a bottle, but when I put it in a cup with a straw or hard spout, he takes a few sips but won't drink it all. Any suggestions on how to get him to drink all of it in another cup other than the soft spout?

why dont you...
autistic children use sippies for long periods of time in some cases, in my therapy center we have a therapist who to try to ween them off it she lets them decorate their own cup
or maybe
put the milk in a colorful water botttle?

I've been a mom for over 18 years, when a child didn't drink whole milk it was because the child was lactose intolerant, maybe you should use 2% milk. I used to buy chocolate or strawberry to flavor the milk, so my kids would drink it and no harm ever came to my children for that. Be creative!

you can ease him off of that particular sippy cup by cutting back how many times a day he uses it. Simply set a different cup out dinner time, he may not drink it but don't give in amd give him the other one. After a week or two start exchanging it at lunch as well, then do the same with breakfast. If he's drinking milk in between meals then slowly substitute there as well. Another way is to have him gather up all the cups he's attached too and throw them in the trash. Then give him the new cups and have him decorate them. Make a big deal over what a big boy he is for drinking out of big boy cups now. That's how I got my son to give up the bottle. He was upset for about a day and got over it. Either way, ( ask your doctor) your son will be fine even if he refuses milk for awhile, and eventually he will give in if you stick with it.

I don't think it's lactose intolerant; he loves milk, and he has always drank about 3 cups a day. I think it's that he's attached to this certain sippy cup with the soft spout, and I'm trying to get him to drink his milk out of a hard spout or a cup with a straw. It's kind of like trying to break a baby from a bottle, I guess.

Growing up as a child I absolutely hated to drink milk and still do unless it has chocolate or strawberry in it. When I was a child and my Mom wanted me to have some milk, she purchased this powder to add to milk and I would drink it that way. In Italy they also sold this type of candy that was made entirely of milk. I loved those and would eat them whenever we could find them. Now, I never drank much milk, even with flavor and to this day dislike the taste of milk so
all I can say is try and see if they sell some powder to add to milk that might make the milk taste better and your son might get his
milk quota that way.