How-to: Get Your Child to Eat the Protein They Need
Protein-rich foods have been prioritized by parents for a very long time — and with good reason! Protein is an important part of a balanced diet.
Protein is important because it is in almost every part of our body. Protein breaks down into components called amino acids, and those amino acids make up bone, muscle, skin, blood, enzymes, hormones, and so much more!
Parents of picky eaters or kids who have sensory needs come ask important questions about meat and protein:
“How much protein does my child need? Are they getting enough? Help! They won't eat meat!"
Eating meat can be difficult for many children who have sensory needs or who do not have the skills yet for chewing meat yet. Some kids also decide at an early age that they do not like meat - and that's okay! Protein needs for children are much lower than most parents think and can be easily met by meat-free foods.
With all that said - a 25 lb child only needs about 13g protein every day. That is quite easy to reach just with 1.5 cups of milk or with 2 eggs. So, yes, protein is important, but don’t stress! Most children can reach their protein goals easily.
Here’s a hack to calculate how much protein your child actually needs:
Take their weight in lbs and divide by 2.2 (to get kg).
Multiply this number by 1.1g/kg and that’s about how much protein in grams a 1-3 year old needs daily.
Is your little one 3+? Reach out to Pediatric Registered Dietitian Danielle Zold to learn more about your child’s protein needs or to get more ideas on how to make sure your child is getting enough nutrition.
We collaborated to create some more tools for our parent communities on protein options for kids.
Watch more from Danielle Zold, RD, CLC and Leah Foreman, OTD, OTR/L as they share the basics on protein in the video below! There is also a free handout resource to download! It’s the same information we share with our clients, and we are happy to share with you now too.
