Why does my child need zinc?
Zinc is an essential nutrient for your child's growth and development.
Zinc is needed for all cell growth and plays a role in immunity and healing. Your baby will get enough zinc if he or she is breastfed or formula-fed. When breastfed babies start eating solid foods, they need a good source of zinc because the content of breast milk is not enough to match your growing baby’s requirements. Make sure you select first foods that are good sources of zinc, like pureed meats, mashed beans, and zinc- and iron-fortified baby cereal.
For an older child, zinc remains a critical nutrient for growth and development. In children who do not receive enough zinc, growth failure may occur, resulting in short stature or lack of expected height growth.
Reviewed by Dr. Sara Connolly, September 2020
Is there such a thing as too much zinc in a child’s diet? My son is 8 Months old, what type of growth developments does zinc help or aide in besides what you have written?
Yes! There is such as thing as too much zinc. According to the National Institute of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements, babies aged 8 months need approximately 3mg of zinc per day. The upper limit of what is acceptable is 5mg. As a result we do NOT recommended taking a dietary supplement (ie. vitamin) with zinc.
Zinc works on the cellular level keeping our bodies healthy by it’s interaction with our immune system. Proper levels of zinc allow our bodies to heal when wounded and when ill.