Strong Bones for Your Kids

Strong bones start in childhood. As kids grow, calcium and other key nutrients help build and maintain strong bones and teeth, making nutrition an important part of their development. Dairy foods like milk, cheese and yogurt are convenient sources of calcium and other essential nutrients that can help support growing kids.

Why do kids need calcium?

Kids need calcium to help build strong bones and teeth. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate recommends kids eat 2-3 servings of low-fat, fat free or lactose free dairy foods each day, depending on their age.

How much calcium do kids need daily?

Kids Ages	Amount of Calcium They Need1	Milk Servings Each Day2
2-3 years	700 milligrams	2 Servings
4-8 years	1,000 milligrams	2 1/2 Servings
9-18 years	1,300 milligrams	3 Servings

All milk — whether low fat, fat free, flavored or lactose-free — have the same 13 essential nutrients, including calcium, phosphorus, protein, vitamins A, D and B12, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, niacin, zinc, selenium, iodine and potassium.³

How much is a serving of dairy?

Each of these have a similar amount of calcium: 1 cup of milk, 1 1/2 – 2 oz of cheese and 8 oz of yogurt.

How to do a calcium check-up

Are your kids getting enough calcium? Check the things your kids usually do each day:

• Start the day with cereal and milk
• Sprinkle cheese on a soup or salad
• Grab yogurt or a cheese stick for a quick snack
• Drink chocolate milk after sports practice
• Drink milk at lunch of dinner

If you could answer “yes” to three or more options above, your kids are doing a great job getting enough calcium! If you answered “yes” to only one or two, there are still plenty of ways to add more calcium to your kids’ daily meals and snacks.

Try these easy tips for adding calcium

• Make tomato soup with milk and top with cheese
• Have a cheese quesadilla with a side of salad
• Make hot or overnight oatmeal with milk
• Use yogurt as a base to dip fruits and veggies in

Families who drink milk together grow healthy together

Drinking milk sets a good example for kids. After all, if mom or dad drinks milk, kids are more likely to do the same. All milk —whether lowfat, fat free, flavored or lactose-free — has the same 13 essential nutrients, including calcium, phosphorus, protein, vitamins A, D, and B12, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, niacin, zinc, selenium, iodine and potassium.

Citations:

1. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) ↩︎
2. One serving = 8 ounces ↩︎
3. Source: USDA FoodData Central online at https://fdc.nal.udsa.gov/. Mean values calculated from database entries across all fat levels of plain vitamin D-fortified fluid milk in Legacy, Foundation, and Survey (FNDDS) data ↩︎