With social distancing being a factor in everyone’s lives today, children are especially affected. Many of the activities that would let them spend time outdoors have been shut down or limited to short periods of time. This lack of sunshine is not only disappointing for them, but detrimental to their health. It can cause lowered amounts of vitamin D — which is essential for bone health, focus, and can even result in your child’s mood changes and contribute to depression.We’ll explain here the importance of vitamin D for children, how much they need, potential risks of not getting enough of the vitamin naturally and offer solutions for parents aiming to ensure they get enough daily.
Consequences of Kids Not Getting Enough Vitamin D
Vitamin D is important at all stages of a child’s life. At the start of a child’s development, moms-to-be need adequate vitamin D during pregnancy to reduce the risks of developing conditions such as pre-eclampsia, pre-term labor and cardiovascular conditions. After baby comes, as they grow up, getting ample vitamin D is vital to the child’s health in a number of ways.
Bone Building: Vitamin D helps the body retain and absorb phosphorus and calcium that’s essential for proper bone building.
Rickets Prevention: Rickets is a bone softening condition that affects children within the first two years of life that can result in bowed legs or short stature.
Preventing Depression and Mood Disorders: It’s widely accepted scientifically that the lack of sunlight can affect people, and a condition associated with this is called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Children too are negatively impacted when kept pent up indoors both physically and emotionally. Much of this is due to a shortage of vitamin D in the body, which can easily source depression and mood swings.
How Much Vitamin D Kids Need and Why They Aren’t Getting Enough
Across the U.S., pediatricians are reporting seeing vitamin D deficiencies in children. But why? Sunlight and outdoor activities are likely the key to resolving the issue as a whole. This is because according to various studies 90% of vitamin D comes from direct exposure to sunlight while only 10% hails from foods like fortified milk, oily fish and egg yolks.
So, how much sunlight exposure ensures that our youngsters get ample Vitamin D? According to an American Association of Pediatrics clinical report, adolescents need at least 600 international units (IU) daily and infants need about 400 IU per day for optimal Vitamin D consumption.
In a study conducted by Norwegian scientists and researchers, about a half hour of sun exposure is equal to getting anywhere between 10,000 and 20,000 IU of Vitamin D. Hence, our youth need only about 15 minutes of sunlight to get ample Vitamin D. With that in mind, it is advised to wait this long before applying sunscreen to children so they can absorb the right amount of this nutrient.
Looking for Year-Round Solutions to Get Kids Outdoors and Moving?
Here at Churchich Recreation, we understand that getting your children outside in these times isn’t as easy as it once was. The good news is that we are a full-service, turnkey provider of innovative, reliable and safe playground experiences, and a trusted partner for school and park administrators, and landscape architects.
We enrich communities with memorable, one-of-a-kind experiences for play, comfort, and connection. Visit our website for more information about our projects or contact us here to see how we can help you today.