How much calcium do children need every day?

Children's physical development is very fast, but this growth requires the consumption of a large amount of nutrients. For example, calcium is a very critical substance in the development of children, and calcium needs to be supplemented in time every day to help bone growth. Generally, children can get enough calcium from their diet to supplement their body needs. Let’s take a look at how much calcium children need every day. I hope everyone can understand this.

How much calcium should babies take a day?

According to the "Nutrient Reference Intake for Chinese Residents (2013 Edition)", the appropriate daily calcium intake is: 0-6 months old: 200 mg; 7-12 months old: 250 mg; 1-3 years old: 600 mg; The appropriate intake (AI) refers to the intake of a certain nutrient in healthy people obtained through observation or experiment. For example: For healthy full-term babies who are exclusively breastfed, all their nutrients come from breast milk from birth to 4-6 months, so the nutrient content in breast milk is the appropriate intake for the baby. In other words, an adequate intake can meet the needs of almost all individuals.

How to supplement calcium for babies of different ages?

1. Babies under 1.6 months old: Babies under 6 months old need to consume about 200 mg of calcium every day, which is equivalent to 600 ml of breast milk and 400 ml of formula milk. Even babies who are exclusively breastfed can usually meet their calcium needs easily. Moreover, the calcium requirement for infants under 6 months old is calculated from breast milk. As long as the breast milk intake is sufficient, the child will not be calcium deficient, and there is no need to supplement calcium indiscriminately.

2.2. Babies aged 7-12 months: Babies aged 7-12 months need about 250 mg of calcium per day, which is easier to achieve. They only need about 700 ml of breast milk and 500 ml of formula milk. It is recommended that babies aged 7-12 months should ensure that the daily milk intake reaches 800-1000 ml, not only to ensure sufficient calcium, but also to ensure sufficient intake of other nutrients. Therefore, it can be seen that as long as the amount of milk is sufficient to meet the calcium requirement, there is no need for additional calcium supplementation.

3. Children aged 1-3 years: After the age of 1, children’s diet begins to gradually transition to that of adults. To approach or reach 600 mg of calcium, a reasonable diet needs to be arranged. If you can breastfeed, continue to do so. The amount of breast milk should be above 600-800ml. It doesn't matter if you cannot estimate the amount of breast milk, it's just a matter of how many times you feed your baby. The best amount of formula milk is 400-500ml or more. This way you can take in close to 200-25 mg of calcium. Additional calcium can come from other foods. Other calcium-rich foods include pure yogurt, pure milk, tofu, green leafy vegetables, sesame paste, etc.