As parents we tend to be worried for our children in ensuring that they are growing right- and that’s only natural. Some of you may notice that your child is smaller or shorter compared to other kids his/her age and that gets you a little worried. So you ask yourself;
IS MY CHILD ACHIEVING HIS/HER MAXIMUM GROWTH POTENTIAL?
Some of you may think that it’s all in the genes and that it’s normal for your child to be smaller or shorter than their peers. But not many of us know that during the first 5 years of our child’s life, the gene factor only contributes 20% of a child’s growth, whereas nutrition plays a whopping 80%1!
Recently, Parenthood spoke to two experts regarding this issue during a virtual interview session that was broadcasted live on Parenthood’s Facebook page. We spoke to Dr Tan Eng Kian, Consultant Paediatrician, Avisena Women’s & Children’s Specialist and Ms Celeste Lau, Dietetics Manager, Sunway Medical Centre who enlightened us more in regards to this topic.
What’s Considered Normal Growth in Children?
Stunting is prevalent among Malaysian children and remains a public health concern, 1 in 5 children in Malaysia are stunted based on National Health & Morbidity Survey 20192. The prevalence of stunting and underweight amongst these children is a concern as it reflects widespread malnutrition issues that need to be tackled to arrest this situation.
According to Dr Tan Eng Kian, a child should reach triple his birth weight when he reaches 1 year old and double in height when he reaches 4 years old. From age 3 onwards, the increment of height should be about 5-7cm per year with a minimum increment of 4cm per year before puberty.
“A child should reach triple his birth weight when he reaches 1 year old and double in height when he reaches 4 years old.” – Dr Tan Eng Kian, Consultant Paediatrician, Avisena Women’s & Children’s Specialist
Parents should also check their growth at the very minimum once a year to ensure that their child is growing normally. Parents’ height will also be calculated and considered when determining if a child is growing as he/she should.
Importance of Nutrition in Your Child’s Growth
Nutrition is the foundation in ensuring children grow to their full height potential as during the first 5 years, up to 80% of a child’s growth is contributed by nutrition and it is also during this period that children achieve approximately 60% of their final adult height.
That is why it is important to ensure the right quality and quantity of nutrients to support his/her final adult height potential. The development of strong bones & muscle tissue is critical during these early years to ensure timely achievement of developmental
milestones. Nutrients such as Arginine, Natural Vitamin K2 and Calcium support the development of longer & stronger bones, aiding in height gain and overall growth.
To find out if your child is on the right track to achieving his/her optimal adult height, head on to https:// pediasure.com. my/watchMeGrow/ height-predictor and discover your child’s adult height potential.
Tips to Improve Your Child’s Nutritional Status
According to Celeste, our parenting style plays a vital role in ensuring our children receive sufficient nutrients for their growth. Every child is different, some can accept and adapt to new foods very fast but some might take time and lots of tries before they are willing to touch, smell, chew or swallow the food you served, and hence are called as ‘picky eaters’.
“Our parenting style plays a vital role in ensuring our children receive sufficient nutrients for their growth.” – Celeste Lau Dietetics Manager, Sunway Medical Centre.
When this happens, it becomes a little tricky getting picky eaters to eat and try new foods. Some of the ways to improve this problem is by:
- Getting your child involved in meal preparation – Your child will be more likely to eat something if they are familiar with the food.
- Try presenting food in an appealing way such as separating food groups by colours, shapes, or textures.
- Space meals 2 to 3 hours apart as small frequent meals will encourage appetite.
If your child refuses a meal or only eats a very limited type of food for a long period of time, consider feeding him/her complete nutritional milk supplement to support his/her daily nutritional needs for optimal growth.
PediaSure- A Complete & Balanced Nutritional Supplement
PediaSure now available in Plain flavour with 0% sucrose, is a complete balanced nutritional supplement that comes with Arginine, Natural Vitamin K2, and 36 key nutrients with probiotic to help children achieve visible growth in 8 weeks3,4 .
PediaSure offers measurable and demonstrable results of children’s physical growth, backed by scientific studies. Parents can see the improvements in their child’s appetite in 4 weeks3, visible physical growth in 8 weeks3,4 and less sick days in 16 weeks3.
This makes it the number 1 choice for healthcare professionals4. Beyond that, PediaSure also improves gut health and addresses issues around picky eating, leading to more holistic development of children.
The new PediaSure Plain flavour with 0% sucrose offers a great taste that is approved by mums and children and provides the same benefits as the current PediaSure Vanilla and Chocolate variants.
