Given the abundance of food misinformation online, making healthy decisions about our children’s food can seem like quite a task. This is especially true when we consider how their dietary needs may differ from our own. Milk has long been understood to be an important ingredient in a healthy diet for a growing child, but how much of a role does it play in a child’s development?
Why Milk is Important for Children
Milk is incredibly high in calcium and vitamin D, two nutrients that are essential for those who are growing bones and developing. While other forms of dairy, such as cheese or yogurt, also contain these nutrients, there is nowhere near enough to fully satisfy a child’s recommended daily requirements.
“Kids need so much calcium and vitamin D for their bones to grow that they could literally eat cheese and yogurt 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and never come anywhere close to what they need,” says board-certified Pediatrician, Carol M. Steiner of TPMG James River Pediatrics in Newport News.
Children should have at least 16 ounces of milk each day, which would only get them about 50 percent of the calcium and vitamin D they need. Kids can get the rest of the nutrients they need from their diet with things like yogurt packs, drinks, or food. Children typically need this much milk until they finish growing—for girls, that means until they begin menstruation, and for boys, it means into college.
Without enough calcium and vitamin D, children can end up with bones that aren’t as strong as they should be. In severe cases, this can lead to rickets, a condition in which our bones soften and weaken, resulting in delayed growth, delayed motor skills, bowlegs, muscle weakness, and pain. To avoid harsh complications, kids must get their daily recommended allotment of vitamin D and calcium.
What If My Child has Difficulty with Nutritious Foods?
As parents, we often find ourselves thinking outside the box to ensure our children receive the essential nutrients they need to grow strong and live healthy lives. It may be a battle to ensure your child is drinking enough milk. Maybe you can only get them to drink 8 ounces of milk a day, that’s okay! Multivitamins can help pick up the slack in these instances. Keep in mind that most gummy vitamins only have vitamin D and leave out the calcium, both of which are crucial for development. To avoid losing calcium, try chewable vitamins like Flintstone vitamins for younger kids and swallowable pills for older children.
Similarly, for other foods your kids may not particularly enjoy, think about incorporating healthy, nutrient-dense ingredients to the dishes they already love. Maybe that means blended carrots and zucchini in spaghetti sauce, add some spinach and peppers to an omelet, add some lentils to taco meat, or get creative with a pot pie or casserole.
What Other Nutrients Does My Child Need?
Children require a balanced diet that goes beyond just calcium and vitamin D for optimal health and development. Ideally, kids should receive seven to nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Protein and carbohydrates also play crucial roles in a child’s diet. Be sure to prioritize lean proteins, whole grains, and a colorful array of fruits and vegetables. Stay away from caffeinated drinks, saturated fats, or added sugars. Caffeine can have an incredibly negative impact on a growing brain, causing addiction, sleep issues, and heart palpitations in extreme cases.
Children & Adults Need Different Nutrients
One issue parents have when developing a nutrition plan for their children is that they use an adult lens when assessing their child’s nutritional needs. The problem? Children and adults have far different needs when it comes to nutrition. With developing bones, brains, and everything in between, there are a lot of differences between the needs of an adult and a child. To provide the best, balanced diet for a child, one must remove their preconceived notions about nutrition from the conversation and focus on what health experts and pediatricians recommend.
Nutrition & Pediatric Care in Hampton Roads, VA
At TPMG, our board-certified pediatricians work alongside parents to monitor child growth throughout infancy, childhood, and adolescence. A trained pediatrician can ensure your child is growing and gaining weight as they should for their age, sex, and other factors. As parents, sometimes it feels as though we need to have all the answers ourselves, but relying on the advice of skilled, caring health professionals can help you find answers to the questions you haven’t thought to ask.
For help developing a nutrition plan for your child, contact TPMG James River Pediatrics in Newport News, TPMG Holland Road Family Medicine in Virginia Beach, or TPMG Yorktown Family Medicine.
About Carol M. Steiner, MD, FAAP
TPMG board-certified pediatrician, Carol M. Steiner, MD, FAAP has over 22 years of experience caring for patients from the first days of life to young adulthood. A premature infant herself, Dr. Steiner’s experience with a devoted pediatrician inspired her to enter the medical field. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology and earned her medical degree from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. TPMG welcomed Dr. Carol Steiner to TPMG James River Pediatrics in 2019.
