Strengthen Your Child’s Bones With These 5 Essential Tips

5 essential tips to improve your child’s bone health, this is what every parent should know.

Our bones are easy to take for granted. After all, they do all their work in the background. But it’s kind of important when you break a bone. Even for children, bone healing takes time. Parents often worry about their children’s physical and mental well-being and cannot afford to neglect their children’s bone health. Strong bones in childhood provide an excellent foundation for a healthy life.

Dr Jagdish Kathwate, Consultant Neonatologist and Pediatrician, Motherhood Hospital Kharadi Pune says: ‘In our childhood and adolescence, we almost fully developed our bone density. By age 20, most people have stopped developing bone. Adults continue to gradually replace old bone with new bone. Our bones deteriorate over time as we age as adults. Parents can help by making sure kids get the three essential nutrients for strong bones: calcium, vitamin D, and exercise.’

5 essential tips to improve your child’s bone health

1. Make sure your child gets adequate calcium: Calcium is well known to be essential for maintaining heart health, building muscle, and building bones. Calcium can be found in dairy products, such as milk, cheese, and yogurt. To support the development of a child’s bones, parents should ensure that their children drink at least 2 glasses of milk a day. Also, you should include green vegetables like spinach, kale, and okra in your child’s diet, as well as a bowl of curd or yogurt at least once a day. Fish and soy products, such as soy milk and soy yogurt, are other prominent sources of calcium.
2. Supplement children’s diets with vitamin D: Calcium absorption is aided by vitamin D, sometimes known as vitamin D3. However, most young people do not eat many foods rich in vitamin D. All children should take a vitamin D supplement if they do not get enough in their diet because vitamin D is so important. Even newborns require vitamin D supplements unless they consume at least 32 ounces of formula per day.
3. Magnesium and Vitamin K for Optimal Bone Density: Higher levels of vitamin K and magnesium have been linked to good bone density and a lower risk of bone conditions, such as rickets and osteoporosis. Along with calcium, these vitamins help build strong bones in your child. It’s a good idea to get your child into the habit of eating cereals and hearty breakfasts from an early age, since green vegetables like spinach, kale, cabbage, and green sprouts are rich in vitamin K and magnesium. Young children can help them get all the magnesium and other nutrients they need.
4. Avoid carbonated drinks, as they often contain some phosphoric acid. Because it prevents calcium from being absorbed, this acid is bad for your bones. Try to replace your child’s drink with a healthy drink, such as orange juice.
5. Increased activity strengthens our bones, so exercise more regularly. Like muscles, your child’s bones will get better the more he uses them. When you apply pressure to your bones with your muscles, your bones become stronger. The physical exercise potential in children is greater than in adults. If your child participates in more weight-bearing activities, her bones will get stronger. Children often choose to exercise by running, walking, jumping, and climbing. Your child’s screen time and physical exercise should be kept in balance.