Why 4yo still need milk? My daugther started with breast milk until 1, then formula milk until 3yo, slowly phase out. My son now 1yo 6 months on oat milk, now phasing out. Only before night sleep time as "supper". The kids already have their proper meals.

My eldest daughter stopped formulated milk at the age of 9. She had sufficient amount of solid food. The formulated milk is basically drank once she is awaken in the morning and before she goes to sleep at night.

I don't think you will find a right answer. There are many ways to do this.

First of all, Ive seen some people drinking formulated milk until their teens. All of them are 6 feet tall or taller. If it works for everyone, i think its worth the investment. LOL

Anyway, read up on the calcium intake required by kids. Everyone is slightly different but the baseline is approximately 1000mg of calcium. You will quickly realised that if you do NOT take formulated milk, it is quite difficult (not impossible) to reach that figure.

Again, like i said, there are many ways to do this. My son refused formulated milk at 3yo and only drinks UHT milk. For me, its not a big problem. Its worse to force it formulated milk down his throat. We just pay more attention to his food, gives him children supplements to cover the rest. We consistently hit the required vitamins/calsium he needs and on the normal growth trajectory.

Dairy milk has a significantly lower calcium content relative to formulated milk. As many has said before this, formulated milk is basically an engineered meal for kids. Its meant to be convenient. If you can go around it and do all natural, it is better-ish. FWIW, i would've continue formulated milk if my kid is okay with it even with proper meals/solids/etc.

Good luck.