Is your growing up child getting DHA for brain development?

Your child is growing up and as a mother you leave no stone unturned in making sure your kid is getting every nutrition that he/she needs for overall development. What do you do for it? Like every mother, you focus on healthy and nutritious diet, which is undoubtedly a good thing to do.

But, does diet support your child’s brain development?

The question is - does the diet that you give to your child support his/her brain development? Not necessarily. Because the building block for brain development i.e. DHA, is not present in everyday food that the child consumes like green leafy vegetables, fruits, cereals and milk. DHA-rich foods like Salmon, Tuna fishes are rarely or negligibly consumed by the child. Egg does contain DHA but has very small amount of it which is not enough to fulfill the body’s daily recommended intake of DHA of the child.

Your child is grown up. He/she doesn’t need DHA for brain development?

If you have a notion that during the breastfeeding years, your child had enough DHA through breastmilk and now your child doesn’t need it anymore for brain development, then it is not so. As your child is growing, so is his/her brain and 2-6 years is the age when brain grows to its full size. The 2 to 6-year period is crucial for development of critical brain functions in children.

But why DHA is important for your growing up child?

DHA is very critical for brain’s growth. Critical brain activities like sensory, language and higher cognitive development peak before 6 years of age. It is the period when a child’s concentration, memory and problem-solving abilities develop the most. During this phase, the rapidly growing brain requires DHA and other key nutrients to support achievement of IMEC skills.

IMEC Skills:

• Intellectual: Involves thoughts processing

• Motor: Involves body coordination or movement

• Emotional/social: Involves interaction

• Communication: Involves language

How to provide DHA to your growing up child?

Because DHA is not available in foods commonly consumed, it is important that it is provided by way of World’s no. 1* nutritional milk powders such as Enfagrow A+, which has good level of DHA. Not just Enfagrow A+ has high amount of DHA, it also has other essential nutrients like choline, zinc, iodine, iron, vitamin B and D, protein, calcium, and prebiotics which also support overall development of the child – supports physical growth and immune health, besides brain development. It helps support in crucial brain functions like concentration, memory and problem-solving skills in the child. Available in two flavors, milk and vanilla, it is easy to prepare. Just 2 heaped tablespoons of Enfagrow A+ has to be mixed in warm water, boiled for 5 minutes.

Your growing up child needs sufficient DHA for brain development. Supplement his/her food with DHA-rich nutritional smart milk, as part of a balanced diet.

For a curious and smarter child, remember food for brain is DHA!

* Mead Johnson & Company claim based in part on data reported by Nielsen for the children’s nutrition milk formula category across measured off premise retail channels in 28 countries for the 12 months ending June 201