“I was wondering just how much Iron does an 18 m. old need? My son is about 25 pounds and 32.5 inches tall. My husband and I are vegetarians, and though we would let our son eat beef etc. (like at grandmas) we just don’t have it around the house. We take vitamins and eat a well balanced diet. I just need to know how to calculate our toddlers need for iron if he is getting the right things.”
Children and adults need different amounts of iron at different times in their lives. Rapid growth increases iron needs. So does blood loss. Children ages 1-10 generally need about 10 mg. per day of iron. Since your child is only getting the occasional beef, other good sources of iron that he might like are lentils, prunes, tomato paste (oysters if he likes them). Click here for a complete discussion on iron and more food sources.
Dr. Jim