As children grow, they become increasingly self-conscious and often start comparing themselves to their peers. One of the most common comparisons they make is that of height.
Growing taller is often considered an indication of being strong and healthy. It also means being more athletic and even admission to the big rides in amusement parks! While of course taller parents tend to have taller kids, there are some things you can do to help your child grow taller.
Apart from confidence and sporting abilities, a child’s height is an important indicator of their general health. If a child is not growing in accordance with the height guidelines for his or her age, it could be a sign of malnutrition or a compromise on well-being.
How To Help Your Child Grow Taller
So here are some ways to help your child grow taller and stronger!
Stretching Exercises
Did you know that even simple stretching exercises go a long way in helping your child grow taller? Stretching helps to elongate the spine and improve your child’s posture. Teaching your child some simple stretching exercises from early on and getting them into a habit of stretching regularly will facilitate their height growth in the long run.
There are many stretching exercises that you can easily find with a quick search on the Internet. Get your child to start stretching for a better tomorrow! If you want to take it to the next level, your child can even try some yoga.
The Surya namaskar, chakra asana and tree poses are incredibly easy and beneficial for growth due to the stretching and balancing involved. It can even be a fun bonding activity for you and your child!
Skipping
No childhood is complete without a skipping rope. The best part is that this simple and fun exercise is right up their street. In all the fun of skipping, the entire body stretches and this promotes vertical growth.
Furthermore, skipping is a great form of cardiovascular exercise so it helps to keep your child active and healthy. Here’s a bonus for mums – if you join your child, you can burn some serious calories too!
Swimming
Everyone knows swimming is one of the best all-round exercises. It is a full-body exercise that works all the major muscle groups in the body.
In addition, swimming does involve a whole lot of stretching so along with all the benefits of exercising, it strengthens your child’s spine and helps them to grow taller.
A Balanced diet & proper nutrition
If you want to help your child grow taller, stronger, and healthier you’ve got to start with the basics. All the exercise is for naught without a balanced diet of proteins, carbohydrates, fat, and vitamins in the right proportions.
Here’s the thing – children are often picky eaters. In fact, about 50% of Singaporean children are picky eaters1. As such, as much as we try, their diet might lack important nutrients. This is not something to take lightly for nutrition is one of the three major factors that impact a child’s development.
Having sufficient nutrition ensures that your child doesn’t fall behind their growth curve. Furthermore, nutrition also plays an integral role in their academic development as insufficient nutrition causes children to have less energy and less interest in learning2 while malnutrition impairs cognitive development3.
The solution for your picky eater? A good choice of growing-up milk to support your child’s growth and development.
S-26’s Gold Ascenda Milk Formula contains 38 ingredients to provide your child with complete, balanced nutrition for growth. It includes High Quality Protein (+15% more^) and Calcium to support physical growth, and also DHA (+50% more^) for eye and brain development. Lastly, it has no added sucrose!
*^ When compared to similar products under the catch-up growth category.
Learn more about the benefits of Wyeth Ascenda and get your free milk sample now!
Sufficient Sleep
Last but not least, never underestimate the importance of a good night’s sleep for your child’s growth.
Sleeping releases the Human growth hormone (HGH), which plays an integral role in increasing your child’s height. So do ensure that your child gets nothing short of the required 8 hours of sleep every night.
Mums, while there is nothing wrong in being petite, it’s important to do your best to ensure that your child reaches his or her full growth potential.
Being strong and healthy also helps to build your child’s confidence. With good nutrition, sufficient sleep, and regular exercise, you can help your child soar to greater heights, in every sense of the word!
Resource:
1. https://www.brightpath.com.sg/why-1-in-2-singaporean-children-are-picky-eaters/
2.https://www.ausmed.com/cpd/articles/nutrition-for-children