At 4 and a half, my daughter has decided to stop drinking milk (white, chocolate, strawberry)....she also does not like cheese. She occassionally eats yogurt, but not enough to count on it as a reliable source of calcium/vitamin d. Does anyone have suggestions for making sure she still gets the calcium she needs for her growing bones from other sources? Normally, how much milk should preschoolers drink anyway/how much calcium do they need everyday and at what age do they need less? Thanks mommies!
Most orange juice is calcium fortified...also, there are calcium gummy bears for children. Look for calcium citrate because it absorbs better than calcium carbonate.
We don't drink any milk. I stopped at 14 while doing a non-biased research project on dairy. I read too much. Thankfully, I did. My kids have never had milk and my oldest is 10.
Organic leafy greens are the best source of calcium (and phosphorus for the assimilation of calcium), NOT synthetically fortified juices and food.
Your intestines make vitamin D. If people would stop slathering chemicals on their largest eliminatory organ (skin), they wouldn't have to buy D. We only use natural sunscreen if we can't help being out in the sun for long periods of time between 11 and 3. Otherwise we never use sunscreen and our D levels are perfect.
http://www.healthresearchforum.org.uk/reports/sunlightrob...
We give them Bluebonnet blueberry flavored Calcium/Magnesium when they are little and then my daughter was able to swallow vitamins by the time she was 3.
NO CALCIUM CARBONATE. It neutralizes stomach acid, which you need a high concentration of stomach acid to breakdown and absorb calcium. Tums is calcium carbonate and the adds say "a great sour of calcium." They are right it IS a big source of calcium, but they never say it's good for you.
Standard Process has calcium lactate which is easy to swallow AND not coated with a bunch of junk.
A child your daughters age should be getting between 600 and 800 mg of calcium a day. My son doesn't eat or drink any dairy and has not for 2 years. I make sure to give him a variety of supplements throughout the day because the body can not absorb too much at one time. Give her fortified juice, veggies and eggs if she will eat them, and supplements and she should be fine. Try to encourage dairy products from time to time since they are important assuming they don't make her sick. Have you tried fortified rice/almond/ soy milks?
She will probably need to take supplements.
For that age, the chewable calcium for kids.
There are lots of sources for calcium. Greens etc. But in order to get the daily requirements, you'd have to eat a lot of it.
My daughter is like your daughter.
She is a good healthy eater, but needs the calcium supplements. She does not like dairy.
I give her Calcium citrate.
My daughter per her age needs 1300 mg per day.
And she can swallow it. But only since she was about 7 years old.
I had previously tried, many different brands/types of chewable calcium. Because generally, my daughter does not like the taste of chewables.
For a child 4 years old, they need 800 mg of calcium a day.
Here are some good links about it:
http://teachkids2eat.com/2012/04/how-much-calcium-does-yo...
http://www.americanbonehealth.org/tools-and-resources/bon...
What about making fun milk shakes for her using a low-fat ice cream or frozen yogurt and then the milk? While I wouldn't use it as a sole source or calcium, you could make sure her daily vitamin is a good source of calcium too. GOod luck L.!
There are other sources of calcium and vit D is sunshine - with summer around the corner, no shortage of sunshine!
check out this list. some good stuff on there:)
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/25-vegan-sources-for-cal...
