Helping kids to attend the optimum height is one of the most important concerns that parents have. Nutrition is one of the closely linked factors in kid’s height. It is time you must know about the foods for kids to grow taller.
One of the favorite cartoons of our time, Popeye The Sailor Man eat a lot of green spinach to get the strength. It was both for height increasing and strength imparting food that helps him to become stronger and fight the powerful opponents. Don’t you think that gives us a very good learning indeed that we must also ensure to give nutritious food to increase height in children?
Parents are usually bothered a lot about kid’s height and health. Did you know that your children’s height is determined by genetics? Usually, the kids end up as an average of the parent’s height or parents of the same sex. They can also follow the pattern of growth as per your growth spurt n later teens and my shoot up around the same time. No kids want to be shortest in his class. There are possibilities that your child can get bullied for being short. Children lack self-confidence because of the height factor too. Starting from not being allowed in a ride in the amusement park to facing difficulties in clearing the basic criteria of getting into various sports, everything turns out to be awkward and frustrating due to short height. And especially when your kid is being poked by their friends for using a booster seat in the car is even more painful. A mentality amongst kids is no one wants to be shorter than their friends.
Parents are usually ready to do anything that makes their children grow taller. But the most important bit that they miss in all of this fight is the fact that they have already set the height of the child when they passed their genes. The only hope of making sure for your kids to attend the best height possible is to ensure the kid’s diet is right. Keeping track of what they eat or what they shouldn’t is one great way to make sure of the above. There are foods that help to increase height in children. Healthy food for height increase gives them the right nutrition and taking them to the fullest potential of growth.
Let us first understand when height gain happens in children. It is very interesting to know the various steps in the human body and how it grows since childhood. You will be shocked to know that we grow the fastest when we are babies. Babies grow about 10 inches in the first few years. And ever since then, the growth in the height is only about 1 to 2 inches each year. Next growth in the height of the kid starts at the age of puberty especially when the body hormones start their role. Puberty in a child usually starts at the age of 8 to 15 years and would be different for different children. However, the girl’s puberty ages start earlier.
This is the reason why you would find girls suddenly taller as compared to a boy of the same age. However, growth in the girl child’s height attains its peak earlier too. And by the end of puberty which is in the late teens, they reach the maximum height after which it is very rare for the girls to grow in height. Or they could be a marginal height gain thereafter.
Height gain in our body is mainly to increase the skeleton length. The longitudinal growth in our bones is the right height gain. Bones require a lot of nutrition for this growth. And that is the reason why we emphasize on healthy food for height increase in children. Post requirement in calcium for the growth and various other nutrition like protein, phosphorus, vitamin D etc. are required for other parts of the body too.
Foods to Increase Height in Children:
1. Eggs:
The egg is full of protein and hence it plays the biggest role in increasing the height of your child. You must make sure that they eat 1 egg every day as part of the breakfast or any other meal. You could make a yummy omelette for your child for breakfast or French toast or boiled egg which is a great way to start the day with lots of protein in the body.
2. Milk:
Milk is rich in calcium, boosting your child’s bones to grow. If not only keeps your kids bones stronger but also prevent them from breaking easily. Milk has vitamin A present which lets the bones to absorb calcium better. Milk is one of the best sources of protein too for kids helping them to grow the cells in the body. Your child must have at least 2 to 3 glasses of milk each day to increase their body strength. You can also make various dishes out of milk which is delicious and kids would love to enjoy. It lists one of the best foods to grow taller for kids.
3. Fruits and Vegetables:
Fresh fruits and vegetable intake for kids is very important and Critical for growth and development. The amount of fiber, vitamins, folates, and potassium present in fresh fruits and vegetable make it one of the best foods to get taller. Vitamin A helps in the development of the bones of children along with tissues. There are few good sources of Vitamin A like carrots, papaya, broccoli, mango, sweet potato, spinach, watermelon, and apricots. Citrus fruits which are rich in vitamin C are also great foods for kids to grow Citrus fruits which are rich in vitamin C are also great foods for kids to grow the tissues.
4. Soybeans:
Soybeans is rich in protein, folate, carbohydrates, and fiber which act as a good alternative for those who are vegetarians. Soybean helps in improving the growth of bones and muscles in children. One of the highest content of protein in plant-based food is soybean. It contains protein in pure form. Tofu is a product of soybean as well, which could be used by you to make a delicious sandwich for the cute one as their breakfast. Soybean is rated as the best one in the list of height increase food supplements.
5. Oatmeal:
A great food for kids which is rich in protein and has very low-fat content. One of the healthiest breakfast options for anyone can be made in various ways. Eating oatmeal regularly boosts height growth in children.
6. Chicken:
If you are a non-vegetarian, you are tired and have the benefit of eating a lot of protein-rich food. Chicken has one of the highest content of protein in animal-based food sources. This helps kid’s development of muscles tissues and overall child. There are plenty of recipes for kids to enjoy chicken.
7. Spinach:
The green vegetable which is a great source of strength with the iron and calcium content in it making it the kid’s best foods to grow taller. The two nutrition above – calcium and iron is a great combination that you find it only in spinach.
8. Diary Based Food:
These foods are great ones for kids to grow taller. Cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt etc. are rich sources of Vitamin A, B, D, and E as well as calcium and protein. This is the main reason why it must be included in the kid’s diet for their proper growth.
9. Beef:
For the non-vegetarian eaters, beef becomes an important animal-based food that contains the highest amount of protein. Your kid can have beef occasionally in their diet. Excessive intake of beef can lead to cholesterol issues and hence it must be limited.
10. Fish:
Salmon and tuna are two types of fish which are the best food for height growth in children. These two types of fishes are extremely rich in vitamin D and proteins. Intake of tuna helps in boosting up the baby’s height growth.
You can always include all of these 10 above mentioned foods for kids to grow taller regularly into their diet and ensure their healthy growth. You can plan and prepare the meals of your child according to the above information. It ensures that they take in healthy food that is required for the right growth. Stress is another important factor which must not be ignored. Also, posture and daily routine workout/ playtime or exercise are important for the kids to grow right.
Foods to Avoid:
While we have spoken about the foods for kids to grow taller above, there are some which are detrimental to the growth as well. Intake of excessive salt, sugar, coffee, fat on aerated drinks should be completely avoided by children. This food is known to have calcium inhibitors, which impacts the absorption of calcium by the body in a very negative way.
Smoking and consumption of drugs down the line in the growing years can also stunt the growth and harm the body overall taking a negative toll on health. Kids with poor eating habits could also develop health problems and other complications in the long run like heart disease, Type 1 diabetes, obesity, arthritis, and osteoporosis.
Additional tips that you must follow in addition to give foods to increase height in children and to boost development and growth would be:
1. Help your kids to have proper sleep and a regular routine. Kids need at least 10 to 12 hours of sleep at night to grow properly. You must monitor the sleeping habits by putting them to sleep at the right time early to bed. You must also make sure that the child sleeps at the same time every night and get up at the same time every day even if it is a holiday so as to make a strong habit.
2. Start the day with protein. Breakfast is the best and the most important meal of the day which must be eaten properly for the growth in children. Fish and meat is a great option.
3. Encourage the kids to exercise and do outdoor activities. It is important that the child must go out and be active. Let them go out and do cycling, walking, running in the playground, outdoor sports or anything that keeps them happy and active.
4. Serve your child a balanced diet always. The key to health and proper development is proper diet. Encourage kids to have fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.
5. Help the child to follow a healthy lifestyle. The lifestyle that a family leads have a huge impact on the child’s development and growth. Instead of leading a sedentary life, have them to step out for the daily family fun activities. Make them join a hobby class or any activity camps like rock climbing, martial arts, swimming, tennis and more together.
6. Ask your family doctor to recommend some good supplement that would boost your child’s health and immunity. Mineral supplements and Vitamins can help your child to get a good balance of nutrients in the body. However, they should be recommended only by doctors and not buy any self-prescriptions. Neither should you buy anything over the counter as the product marked as height enhancers for kids might not work. Avoid giving your children anything without consulting the doctor first.
How Do you Measure Your Child’s Height at Home Accurately?
- Have your child barefoot in order to check the height. Any heavy clothing or hair decorations must also be avoided. In case you have braided the hair of your child, open it so that it does not hinder the measurements.
- Let your child stand on the floor directly. Your child has to stand on the wall which does not have any moldings.
- Ask your child to stand with their feet a bit apart but more together against the wall. The kids should stand straight and the arm should be at the sides and the shoulders should be at the same level.
- Your child must look in the front straight in the line parallel to the floor.
- Take your kids measurement in such a way that the shoulders head, buttocks and heels touch the flat surface of the wall. Not all the parts of the body might touch the wall, depending on the shape of the body.
- Taking a flat headpiece, use it to make the right angle on the wall. Get the headpiece down until it only touches your child’s Crown of the head. Your eyes must also be at the same level as that of the headpiece.
- Make a light mark where the bottom part of the headpiece connects to the wall. With a metal tape, measure the base and take it up to the marked portion of the wall to get the child’s measurement.
- Record the child’s height accurately to the closest 1/8th inch or a 0.1 cm.
Which Element in The Body Helps in Growth and Health Gain?
- Bones are made up of calcium and other minerals. When it comes to the height of your child, the focus is mainly on the kid’s calcium intake in the diet. Calcium has a very important role to play in skeletal development. Hence, during childhood when the bones of the longitudinal growth, the requirement of calcium is the most. The peak bone mass occurs at the age of around 18 years of age. And during the puberty years around 11 to 14 years, the growth in the bone is the highest. On average, the bone extremely around 150 grams of calcium every year during the age of 8 to 18. And, milk is the first food that comes to mind which is rich in calcium for kids.
- Next, phosphorus contributes to the building of the bones. Phosphorus contributes 50% of the bone mineral by weight and hence it is a very important component. This is generally largely available in our diet, however, calcium to phosphate ratio has to be pretty much maintained in the body. Component beverages hands must not be recommended for kids as it displaces the vital minerals in our body.
- Magnesium helps in developing the bone scaffolding or bone crystal lattice. It gives the physical structure, about 50% magnesium is stored in a body bone. It is also required to activate vitamin D which can further play a role in the calcium absorption for the body. Magnesium is apparently again present in our daily staple diet however its deficiency is there unless the child is malnourished.
- Vitamin D helps the body in the absorption of the calcium which is needed by bones. Yogurt is rich in vitamin D and other dairy products like milk, cheese etc. also work well.
- Protein acts as the most important role in our body development. It is not only required for the kids but also for the elders. The building of blocks of our body muscles is done by protein. The supply various amino acids which are required for the healthy growth of our bones.
Let us know if you have any further suggestion on the food for kids to grow taller. We love to hear from you, write to us via the comment section.
