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10 nutrients that every child needs
Calcium: Builds strong bones and teeth, promotes healthy nerve and muscle function, helps blood clot, and helps the body convert food into energy.
How much calcium does your child need?
Ages 1 to 3 years: 500 milligrams (mg) per day
Ages 4 to 8 years: 800 mg per day
Your child doesn't have to get the recommended daily amount of calcium every day. Instead, aim for that amount as an average over the course of a few days or a week.
Essential fatty acids (EFAs): Help build cells, regulate the nervous system, strengthen the cardiovascular system, build immunity, and help the body absorb nutrients. Necessary for healthy brain function and vision.
How much does your child need?
Ages 1 to 3 years: 7,000 milligrams (mg), or 7.0 grams, per day of omega-6 and 700 mg (0.7 grams) per day of omega-3
Ages 4 to 8 years: 10,000 mg (10 grams) per day of omega-6 and 900 mg (0.9 grams) per day of omega-3
Omega-6 fats are usually plentiful in the diet, and it's likely you only need to focus on making sure your child is getting adequate omega-3s. (Many omega-6 fats come from processed foods that contain oils such as soybean oil.)
Your child doesn't have to get the recommended daily amount of essential fatty acids every day. Instead, aim for that amount as an average over the course of a few days or a week.
Iron: important for making hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying red pigment in blood, and myoglobin, a pigment that stores oxygen in muscles. Lack of iron can cause anemia, which can result in fatigue, weakness, and irritability.
How much iron does your child need?
Ages 1 to 3 years: 7 milligrams (mg) per day
Ages 4 to 8 years: 10 mg per day
Your child doesn't have to get the recommended daily amount of iron every day. Instead, aim for that amount as an average over the course of a few days or a week.
Magnesium: Keeps bones strong and the heart rhythm steady, supports the immune system, and helps maintain muscle and nerve function.
How much magnesium does your child need?
Ages 1 to 3 years: 80 milligrams (mg) per day
Ages 4 to 8 years: 130 mg per day
Your child doesn't have to get the recommended daily amount of magnesium every day. Instead, aim for the daily amount as an average over the course of a few days or a week.
Potassium: Works with sodium to control the body's water balance, which helps maintain blood pressure. Assists with muscle function and heart rhythm and, in later years, may reduce the risk of kidney stones and osteoporosis.
How much potassium does your child need?
Ages 1 to 3 years: 3,000 milligrams (mg) per day
Ages 4 to 8 years: 3,800 mg per day
Your child doesn't have to get the recommended daily amount of potassium every day, however. Instead, aim for the daily amount as an average over the course of a few days or a week.
Vitamin A: Plays an important role in vision and bone growth; helps protect the body from infections; promotes the health and growth of cells and tissues in the body, including the hair, nails, and skin.
How much vitamin A does your child need?
Ages 1 to 3 years: 1,000 IU, or 300 micrograms (mcg) RAE (retinol activity equivalents), of vitamin A per day
Age 4 years and up: 1,320 IU (or 400 mcg RAE) per day
Your child doesn't have to get the recommended daily amount of vitamin A every day. Instead, aim for that amount as an average over the course of a few days or a week.
Vitamin C: Helps form and repair red blood cells, bones, and tissues; helps keep your child's gums healthy and strengthens blood vessels, minimizing bruising; assists with healing, boosts the immune system, and keeps infections at bay. Also helps the body absorb iron from iron-rich foods.
How much vitamin C does your child need?
Ages 1 to 3 years: 15 milligrams (mg) per day
Ages 4 to 8: 25 mg per day
This vitamin is available in so many foods that deficiencies are extremely rare.
Your child doesn't have to get the recommended daily amount of vitamin C every day. Instead, aim for that amount as an average over the course of a few days or a week.
Vitamin D: Helps the body absorb minerals like calcium and builds strong teeth and bones. Essential for reaching growth potential and peak bone mass. Also functions as a hormone with roles in immune system health, insulin production, and regulation of cell growth.
How much vitamin D does your child need?
Regardless of age, your child's requirement for vitamin D is 400 IUs (or 10 micrograms [mcg] per day).
Your child doesn't have to get the recommended daily amount of vitamin D every day. Instead, aim for the daily amount as an average over the course of a few days or a week.
Vitamin E: Limits the production of free radicals, which can damage cells. Important for immunity, DNA repair, and other metabolic processes.
How much vitamin E does your child need?
Ages 1 to 3 years: 6 milligrams (mg), or 9 IU, of vitamin E per day
Ages 4 to 8 years: 7 mg, or 10.5 IU, per day
Many children don't get enough vitamin E from diet alone, but your child doesn't have to get the recommended daily amount of vitamin E every day. Instead, aim for that amount as an average over the course of a few days or a week.
Zinc: Needed by more than 70 enzymes that aid digestion and metabolism, and essential for growth.
How much zinc does your child need?
Ages 1 to 3 years: 3 milligrams (mg) per day
Ages 4 to 8 years: 5 mg per day
Your child doesn't have to get the recommended daily amount of zinc every day. Instead, aim for that amount as an average over the course of a few days or a week.
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