Should You Give Your Child Growth Supplements? Here’s What To Know.
Inside: Wondering if height-boosting drinks and vitamins for kids really work? Find out the bottom line and whether they’re worth it.
Seeing commercials and ads for special drink mixes and vitamins claiming to help kids grow?
I remember noticing them several years ago. As a petite mom with two boys who were on the smaller side, I had a mix of emotions. The marketing seemed to imply that there was something wrong with being small, something that needed to be fixed. That obviously didn’t sit well with me.
But as a registered dietitian, I couldn’t help but be curious. So I looked into the fine print and the science behind these products. If you’re wondering about them too, here are five things to keep in mind.
1. Being small isn’t the same as having a growth issue.
Some kids do have medical issues that impact growth, like hormone deficiencies or conditions that make it harder to absorb nutrients from food, like inflammatory bowel disease.
But other kids are just naturally small. According to the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP), “Most children who have short stature have no medical condition and are healthy.”
According to the AAP, reasons a child might be short include:
- Having one or both parents who are short
- Later onset of puberty
- Simply being short with no identifiable cause
Needless to say, a pricey shake mix or vitamins won’t change these factors.
Read more: Here’s how pediatricians predict a child’s adult height.
2. The fine print is important.
The labels and websites make some big claims, but the details are more important.
For example, one company highlights a pilot study of kids that found a “statistically signifiant increase in height” for those who drank the shake five days a week.
But when you crunch the numbers, you can see that overall, kids who drank the shake every day for six months had a .281 centimeter growth difference (that’s about .11 inches) than kids who didn’t drink it.
Nourishing a child so they can reach their full growth potential makes sense. Kids need nutrients like protein to grow.
But despite ads showing boys taking growth gummies to excel at basketball, supplements won’t magically give your kid an extra three inches for sports or to be the tallest in their class.
3. Real food still wins.
These drinks are often packed with protein and fortified with nutrients like zinc and iron, all involved in growth. Gummies and capsules may contain calcium and vitamin D, as well as herb blends.
But you can also get these nutrients through food. And whole food works as a package to deliver a lot perks, like disease-fighting plant compounds.
Here are food sources of key growth nutrients:
- Protein: Beans, quinoa, yogurt, beef, tofu
- Zinc: Beef, fortified cereal, pumpkin seeds, cheese, milk
- Iron: Fortified cereal, beans, lentils, beef, tofu
- Calcium: Yogurt, fortified orange juice, fortified soy milk, cheese
4. Supplements aren’t a fix for picky eating.
When your kid is a picky eater, it’s natural to feel worried that they aren’t getting what they need. And in some cases, they may not be.
If your child eats very few foods, a high-protein drink mix and/or vitamin and mineral supplement might be needed. Check in with your pediatrician or dietitian first and let them know any other supplements your child takes, so you’re not overdoing it.
What I don’t like is that these products are sometimes marketed as a solution to picky eating–that you can check the box and be done with it. A special drink or supplement can help your child get needed nutrients, but it isn’t a replacement for consistently offering all kinds of foods, even the ones your child has refused before.
Read more: Why Pressuring Kids To Eat Doesn’t Work (And What To Do Instead)
5. It can be expensive (and boring).
To see any benefits, these drinks are supposed to be consumed everyday–sometimes twice a day. In one study with a leading brand, differences in growth were only seen when kids drank more than half the serving. Your kids might get tired of drinking the same shake everyday.
It can also be expensive. Expect to pay at least $2-3 per drink serving and as much as $50 per bottle of “growth” gummies. One brand’s kit, which includes a tub of drink mix plus growth and sleep gummies, costs $120 per month.
My two-cents as a registered dietitian
Full disclosure: I’ve always been the smallest person in the room. Not surprising, since my mom is very petite as well.
I was also a late bloomer, and so were my kids. I worried when they didn’t grow as quickly as their peers, but both eventually caught up and ended up even a smidge taller than our pediatrician predicted years ago.
If you’re wondering whether growth supplements could help your child, here’s my advice:
- Talk to your pediatrician. They’re tracking your child’s growth and can tell you if everything is on track or if there’s need for further testing.
- See a pediatric dietitian. If you’re worried your kid isn’t getting enough nutrients for growth, a dietitian can assess your child’s diet and help you come up with a plan.
- Have realistic expectations. These products might help kids who are falling short on nutrients but they won’t magically make your child tall.
Most of all, try not to make your child feel like their height is a problem. Kids (and adults) come in all sizes, and that’s a perfectly good thing.
