Magnesium for Children: Why It’s the Calm & Sleep Mineral

Anna Ritan, APD, Paediatric Dietitian and Nutritionist

Magnesium is one of the must-have minerals for your child’s growing body and busy brain. While it doesn’t always get the spotlight like other nutrients iron or calcium, magnesium plays a big role in helping kids grow up healthy, happy, and strong.  

Let’s take a closer look at how magnesium supports children and how to make sure your little one is getting enough.

The Benefits of Magnesium for Children

Magnesium is a mineral involved in hundreds of processes in the body, and is essential for building strong muscles, healthy nerves, and sturdy bones in children .

Some of magnesium’s key jobs in the body: 

• Helps muscles (including the heart) relax properly after contracting

• Supports the nervous system by helping messages travel smoothly between the brain, nerves, and muscles. 

• Acts like a calming shield for brain cells, protecting them from getting overworked or damaged

• Supports a steady mood and emotional regulation

• Works with calcium and vitamin D to build strong bones and teeth

How Magnesium Helps Kids Sleep Better

Magnesium plays a key role in calming your child’s brain and body for sleep. It supports the production of brain-messengers like GABA, which may help children calm down, and fall into a restful sleep . Magnesium is also helpful to relax muscles for sleep, and supports the production of melatonin, the hormone that helps set your child’s natural sleep-wake cycle .

If your child takes a while to settle or wakes often during the night, magnesium could be the missing piece of the sleep puzzle.

How Magnesium Can Support Emotional Regulation in Children

If your child is often feeling overwhelmed, irritable, or emotional, magnesium may be the missing nutrient they need. 

Magnesium has been shown in studies to support emotional regulation by helping to calm the nervous system and reduce the effects of stress on the brain, and it plays an important role in regulating brain functions and the production of feel-good brain chemicals . 

Best Food Sources of Magnesium for Children

Luckily, magnesium is found in lots of everyday whole foods. Here are some magnesium rich foods to include daily to support magnesium intake in children: 

• Green leafy vegetables – spinach, silverbeet, kale

• Nuts and seeds – especially almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds

• Wholegrains – brown rice, oats, quinoa, wholemeal bread

• Legumes – chickpeas, lentils, black beans

Tip: Magnesium is sensitive to processing, so processed foods and grains like white bread or white flour contain very little magnesium. Instead focus on whole foods, and less processed grains to help keep magnesium intake up.

Simple Ways to Boost Magnesium in Your Child’s Diet

• Oats made with milk, topped with banana and sunflower seeds

• Wholemeal wrap with hummus, spinach, grated cheese and chicken

• A smoothie with yoghurt, almond butter, oats and berries

• Brown rice stir fry with tofu, broccoli and sesame seeds

• Homemade bliss balls with dates, cashews and cacao

Final Thoughts on Magnesium for Kids

Mighty magnesium might not be the most well-known nutrient in the room, but it’s definitely one of the most important, especially when it comes to sleep, mood, and muscle function in children. Between busy days, growing bodies, big feelings, and important sleep needs, magnesium might just be the helper your child needs to feel calm, strong, and well-rested.