How Much Protein Does Your Child Need Daily? A Simple Guide for Parents

P in Protein stands for “Power”. Do you want your child to be powerful? Protein is one of the essential nutrients that comes into play. It is the nutrient your child needs to build muscles and keep them strong, supporting growth, development, and overall health. It’s common for parents to be concerned about how much protein is needed per day for their child. Do not worry, we’ve got you here!

Table of Contents

• Why Protein is Essential for Kids?
• How Much Is the Protein Requirement Per Day For Your Child?
• What foods are rich in protein and how much protein do they have?
• How to Make Sure That your Child Gets Enough Protein?
• Signs of Protein Deficiency in Children
• Conclusion
• FAQs on Daily Protein Requirement for Kids
  

Why Protein is Essential for Kids?

Protein for kids helps in building muscles and strong bones. Adequate protein intake by your child is crucial in achieving optimal weight and height gain. Protein allows your child to be active and strong. It is responsible for wear and tear of the body, aids in healing those tiny scratches and bumps from playtime, making them ready for more fun. Protein is also important for synthesis of hormones, blood cells, and body’s fighter cells (immune cells, antibodies) keeping sickness away.^1,2 With all these benefits, you might think about how much protein is required daily for your child.

How Much Is the Protein Requirement Per Day for Your Child?

Your child’s daily protein requirement varies age and gender-wise. How much protein to eat per day by your child, is given below³:

B-boys, G-girls

This table suggests how much protein to eat per day and as you can see daily protein requirements change with age. Protein requirement per day of your child may go up, if he/she is physically active, is underweight or stunted, or has some infection or disease where the body’s needs goes up and protein intake per day needs to be augmented. Now that we know how much protein to eat per day, let us understand what foods to eat to achieve protein intake per day.

What foods are rich in protein and how much protein do they have?

Protein-rich foods- milk and its products- curd, cottage cheese (paneer), cheese, eggs, poultry, fish, meat, dals and pulses, soybean and its products, and nuts contribute to protein intake per day. From the above you know, how much protein is required daily, here are the protein contents of foods to help you meet daily protein requirements for your child:^4,5

1 katori: 100ml

How to Make Sure That Your Child Gets Enough Protein?

• Try and include at least one dairy food in the main meals to meet protein requirement per day. Most kids do well with milk at breakfast and curd/yogurt at lunch and dinner.
• Upgrade plain roti/parathas to paneer paratha or paneer/soya/egg wrap, dal or sattu parathas, etc. for a breakfast packed with protein for kids.
• Pair vegetable parathas with curd or transform curd into a flavourful healthy dip by mixing hung curd with favourite spices like oregano, garlic powder, etc.
• Trade unhealthy chips with crunchy yet healthy and protein-packed nuts. Fruit yogurt parfait is a dual protein-powered healthy snack, with yogurt and nuts both adding to the daily protein requirements of your child.
• Without a hassle, you can include, eggs as boiled/omelette – at breakfast or even as a mid-meal snack. These are protein-rich, fulfilling and contribute to protein intake per day.
• Include dals, pulses, chicken/fish with roti or rice. Examples include delicious rajma chawal, chana pulao, dal makhani with rice, and some enjoyable finger foods like chicken wrap, fish fingers or cutlets, etc.
• Protein-rich snack bites such as moong tikki, rajma chole tikki, soya tikki, can also be a source of protein for kids.

Signs of Protein Deficiency in Children

Inadequate weight and height gain, slow wound healing, dry skin, brittle nails, discoloured and easily pluckable hair, hair loss, getting tired easily, prone to getting infections more often are some signs of protein deficiency.^6,7 Watch out for these signs, understand how much protein is required daily, and speak to your doctor if they get severe. Monitoring for adequate growth, especially height and weight is important to prevent it from reaching an irreversible stage.

Conclusion

Protein for kids supports adequate growth, strong muscles, immune system, and overall development. Include protein-rich foods like dairy foods, dals, pulses, eggs, nuts, chicken, and fish in your child’s diet as per how much protein is needed per day. Often you may be unable to meet the recommended protein intake per day due to food preferences, or your child is unable to eat all of it to get enough protein.

Here is where nutritional drinks like Complan come in as an excellent solution. Complan is easy to consume, provides a total of 34 vital nutrients including 100% milk protein, and contains 63% more protein than leading malt based drink for a powerful childhood.

A powerful childhood cultivates a resilient adulthood!

FAQs on Daily Protein Requirement for Kids

1. How much protein does my child need per day?

Your child’s protein needs will vary depending on the age and gender. The above table 1 elaborates on how much protein to eat per day for children aged 1-15 years.

2. Can my child get enough protein on a vegetarian diet?

Your child can meet protein needs on a vegetarian diet with careful planning. Including a combination of cereals and pulses, dairy foods, soybean and nuts can help. However, if you are unable to meet the daily protein requirements, nutritional drinks like Complan can be included to meet needs of important nutrients including protein.

3. What will happen if my child eats too much protein?

Proteins after digestion are excreted through the kidneys. So excess protein intake can strain the kidneys and may be harmful in the long run. Do not go overboard with protein, its best to follow the recommended guidelines to understand how much protein is required daily for your child.

4. Are there situations when extra protein may be needed?

Yes. Illnesses such infections, certain diseases, being underweight and/or stunted, if your child is involved in sports in addition to regular playtime are a few circumstances where protein requirement per day may go up.  Seek advice from a medical professional.

Source

¹Uauy, R., Kurpad, A., Tano-Debrah, K., Otoo, G. E., Aaron, G. A., Toride, Y., & Ghosh, S. (2015). Role of Protein and Amino Acids in Infant and Young Child Nutrition: Protein and Amino Acid Needs and Relationship with Child Growth. Journal of nutritional science and vitaminology, 61 Suppl, S192–S194. https://doi.org/10.3177/jnsv.61.S192

²Mısırlıoğlu, M., Yıldızdaş, D., Ekinci, F., Horoz, Ö. Ö., Özkale, Y., Özkale, M., Yöntem, A., Arslan, İ., & Tümgör, G. (2023). The Effects of Protein Intake on Clinical Outcome in Pediatric Intensive Care Units. Turkish archives of pediatrics, 58(1), 68–74. https://doi.org/10.5152/TurkArchPediatr.2022.22108

³Revised Short Summary Report 2024, ICMR-NIN Expert Group on Nutrient Requirements for Indians, Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) and Estimated Average Requirements (EAR), 2020. Available at: https://www.nin.res.in/RDA_short_Report_2024.html

⁴T. Longvah, R. Ananthan, K. Bhaskarachary and K. Venkaiah, Indian Food Composition Tables 2017.

⁵Ntuitive app, nutrition software, India. Available at: https://www.ntuitive.in/.

⁶Benjamin O, Lappin SL. Kwashiorkor. [Updated 2023 Jul 17]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507876//?utm_source=chatgpt.com. Accessed on 5^th March 2025.

⁷Kesari A, Noel JY. Nutritional Assessment. [Updated 2023 Apr 10]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK580496/. Accessed on 5^th March 2025.