12 - 18 months: your toddler’s bones

Learn how your toddler's bone structure is changing and which nutrients encourage healthy bone growth.

At 12-18 months, while your toddler is still growing rapidly, there is also a lot of strengthening to do when it comes to their bones. Therefore it's important to make sure they get plenty of the bone-building minerals they need, like calcium and vitamin D. 

Also known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is essential for normal bone development. However, getting enough can be tricky due to both the ever-changing British weather and the small amount of vitamin D-rich foods. This means that, on average, children in the UK only get 27% of their daily dietary vitamin D1. Find out more about the importance of vitamin D in our baby club article here.

1. From food sources alone. Bates B et al. National Diet and Nutrition Survey: headline results from Years 1-4 (combined) of the Rolling Programme (2008/2009-2011/2012). London: HMSO, 2014.