...Here are some good rules of thumb. (click title to entry - thank you) It’s simplified, but it works. The first thing you must do is determine your child’s weight in kilograms, since that is how we do the calculations: 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds. Once you know that, you can calculate the average amount of calories needed to grow this way:
- Age newborn to 3 months: 100 calories per kilogram per day
- Age 3 months to 3 years : 90-100 calories per kilogram per day
- Age 3 years to 8 years: 80-90 calories per kilogram per day
- Age 8 years to 12 years: 60-80 calories per kilogram per day
- Age 12 years to 16 years: 45-60 calories per kilogram per day
These calculations assume a normally active child. A significantly more active child needs more. A reasonable rule of thumb for this extra need is for an active child (defined as an hour per day of sustained physical activity) to have about 1.25 times their baseline calories and very active children (defined as more than 90 minutes of sustained physical activity per day) to have 1.5 times their baseline calories....
To interpret the good Doctor's recommendations for the average child with no health issues that add any demand on metabolism:
For a newborn up to three months - 227 calories per five pounds per day body weight per day
For a growing baby of 3 months to a 3 year old child - 227 calories to 204.5 calories per 5 pounds of body weight per day
For children 3 to 8 years old - 204.5 to 182 calories per five pounds of body weight per day
For 8 to 12 years old - 182 to 136 calories per five pounds of body weight per day
For 12 to 16 year old teenagers - 136 to 102 calories per five pounds of body weight per day
Examples are somewhat from the cited text as the title:
A normal 6-year-old in first grade weighs about 45 pounds.45 pounds is 5 X 9. For this six year old a normal daily need is 193.5 calories for every 5 pounds. 5 pounds X 9 = 1741.5 calories per day of nutrition.
What about a 16-year-old girl who is a serious soccer player? The average weight for a girl of that age is 120 pounds, She needs about 3672 calories. Her baseline need is 2448 calories, that amount multiplied by 1.5 for her intense activity.
Finding the exact nutrition is not always a simple exercise and parents and caregivers should not beat themselves up about it, but, they do need to have regular check ups for their children and take the pediatrician's advice seriously.
