How much protein does a 7 to 12 year old need every day?

Protein is what a growing body is physically built from: muscle, bone matrix, skin, hair and the immune cells that fight off the cough going round the classroom. Between 7 and 12, children are building faster than at almost any time since they were toddlers, so the question parents ask us most is simple: how much is enough?

The daily numbers, from ICMR-NIN 2020

India's Recommended Dietary Allowances, published by ICMR and the National Institute of Nutrition in 2020, put the daily protein requirement at roughly:

These are daily totals across every meal and snack, not per meal.

What 23 grams looks like on a plate

Some everyday sources, approximately:

• A glass of milk (200 ml): about 6 to 7 g
• A bowl of cooked dal: about 6 to 9 g
• One egg: about 6 g
• A katori of curd: about 4 to 5 g
• Two rotis: about 5 to 6 g
• A small piece of paneer (50 g): about 9 g

On paper it adds up. In practice, a school day often looks like a rushed breakfast, a tiffin that comes back half eaten, and a dinner that turns into a negotiation. Vegetarian families, picky eaters and children with long activity schedules are the ones most likely to fall short.

Quality matters as much as quantity

Proteins are made of amino acids, and some of them, the essential amino acids, have to come from food. Milk protein is complete: it carries all nine essential amino acids and scores the maximum of 1.0 on PDCAAS, the standard measure of protein quality. That is one reason milk has been a mainstay of children's diets for so long.

Simple ways to close the gap

1. Anchor breakfast with protein. Milk, eggs, curd or paneer in the first meal sets up the whole day.
2. Put dal or a legume in at least one meal. It is the most dependable vegetarian source in most Indian kitchens.
3. Make the after-school snack count. A glass of milk, roasted chana or a paneer roll beats biscuits.
4. Check the label on anything you add to milk. Many traditional milk additives carry only 1 to 2 g of protein a serving; look for the protein line on the nutrition table.

Where a milk mix fits

A good milk mix does not replace meals; it fills the gap they leave. Leap of Love Double Chocolate adds 10 g of milk protein to a glass of milk. Together with 200 ml of milk, one glass gives nearly 80% of the protein a child aged 7 to 9 needs in a day, along with 29 vitamins, minerals and nutrients. See exactly what is in each scoop on the science page.

Figures are approximate and drawn from ICMR-NIN 2020 Recommended Dietary Allowances for Indians. Individual needs vary with body weight and activity.