Nutrition Needs of Children

By Karen Myers
Copyright © 2006 All Rights Reserved

"A child's nutritional needs differ dramatically from those of a full-grown adult. Beginning at the moment of birth, the internal environment of a child’s body is in a constant state of growth and change. Vitamins are assisting to convert food into energy. Minerals are forming strong bones and teeth. Enzymes are working to break down protein, fat and carbohydrate into amino acids, essential fatty acids and simple sugars. Friendly flora are beginning to establish a healthy intestinal environment. These unique demands require a special profile of nutrients -- nutrients that a low-potency version of an adult multi-vitamin simply cannot deliver!"

FreeLife International®

About Nutrients, Both Vitamins and Minerals, that Children Need

How often does your child eat fresh Broccoli? ...raw spinach? ...Brussels sprouts? If they're anything like my son, these are probably the foods they avoid, and unfortunately, they're also chock full of nutrients that a young growing body needs.

According to Dr. Kenneth Ellis, a professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, most girls begin their growth spurt between the ages of 10 and 11 and reach about 95 percent of their adult height between the ages of 15 and 16 ...however, her bones keep growing in thickness and strength until her mid-20s. Boys experience a similar growth spurt, but it begins about two years later and lasts until age 17 or 18.

Since a child's body goes through many important growth changes, a child's nutrition needs are different, and change significantly, on their journey to being a full grown adult.

Vitamins A and C, iron and calcium have clearly defined recommendations for children. For example, 1- to 3-year-old children need 500 milligrams of calcium each day, while their 4- to 8-year-old siblings need 800 milligrams a day.

On the other hand, the nutritional recommendations for saturated fat and total fat are linked to a child's caloric intake, while calorie recommendations are based on a child's age, sex, height, weight, and activity level. The recommended total fat intake for children ages 1 - 3 is 30 - 40% of total calories and for children over the age of 3 and adults, the recommendation is no more than 25 - 35 percent of total daily calories from fat.

Children who are very active (more than 1 hour per day on most days) need more calories, while those who are relatively inactive need less.

Free Online Tools Help Meet Your Child's Nutrition Needs

When shopping for food for your children, it's become more and more important to read the labels... but understanding what the labels mean can be difficult if you don't know what to look for. Here's a great quick table produced by the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center (CNRC) which may help - check out the table "How Food Label Reference Values (DV)Compare to the Nutritional Recommendations for Children".

For additional help, you might enjoy trying out the CNRC's new Interactive Healthy Eating Calculator designed to determine the calories needed for children based on their activity level and giving a breakdown of recommended servings per day of basic food groups where your child should be getting those calories for optimum nutrition.

Also available through this excellent Government resource site, a free Children's Calorie Needs Calculator with an additional link to check your child's BMI Percentile.

Children's Vitamins and Dietary Supplements

Without a doubt, our best selling product for children is Dr. Mindell's "Dino Pals" ...formulated precisely to meet the nutrition needs all growing children require daily. These tastey chewable vitamins are chock full of nutrients, including 16 which aren't found in any of the other leading brands in the marketplace.

In addition to "Dino Pals" we highly recommend Dr. Mindell's Himalayan Goji Juice. With over 2.2 lbs. of the best goji berries on our planet, Goji Juice is a pure juice product with no sugar added. Help boost your child's immune system and give them the energy they need for busy days.

For athletic children, particularly those involved in afterschool sports activities, you will also want to check out both -- MSM Ultra Power Punch -- and -- Soy Miracle Ultimate Shakes -- to give them that extra endurance and replace much needed protein.

Also Great For Children

As a parent of a young kindergarten aged child, I know how difficult it can be to find sanitizing hand soap that is a safe cleanser with no harsh, drying, or toxic chemicals. I finally found the perfect solution that eliminates the dirt, pollutants and other “grimies” that he comes in contact with at school each day. FreeLife’s exclusive BioEnhanced Grapefruit Seed Extract™ has been put to good use in their Purifying Hand Wash.

This multi-purpose product can be used for a wide range of applications. You'll want to keep a bottle on hand.

Sources:
USDA/ARS Children's Research Center - How do the Daily Values found on food labels compare to the nutritional recommendations for children?
USDA/ARS - When do kids quit growing?
FreeLife International® - COUNT THEM! DinoPals® are more than 16 ways better than other children's supplements!
FreeLife International® - DinoPals Order Information