Do you give vitamin tablets to your kids?

Hi, I'm just wondering if any of you give vitamin tables to your kids daily as a supplement to natural fruits/foods?

my baby is 17 months and i started to give him some vitamin suppliements a couple of months ago as he's going through a very fussy picky eating stage and will get through a couple of days or more with very little food. So after checking with his ped, i do supplememnt with vitamins. he totally loves his vitamins, and i think they stimulate his appetite..


ped said really bad idea to give vitamins before baby is a year old...

Never given any of mine extra vitamins, but have made sure they have all had a healthy diet from birth. In fact I have never even bought jarred or tinned baby food, all home made. I think the younger they are able to experience real veggies, etc the more they will accept them as they get older. If the kids have a good, balanced and healthy diet there should be no need for extra vitamins.

To Cara and the goddess kali,


what brand or type of vitamins do you give your kids? I have a 2+ year old and although we do try to give her a variety of food, like cara, sometimes it's a fight!

Cara, I wasn't implying anything - just giving the benefit of experience in raising 3 children. They are all very fit and healthy and for some reason they have all loved fruit and veg. Mind you we have always changed the meals and mixes so none of them have got bored with anything.


I'm just very cautious about any supplements for kids, especially after seeing a friends son go into hospital after pretty much overdosing on the stuff.

Balanced diet is a good start of course and that "should be enough". But vitamin supplements certainly won't hurt if taken properly.


For our kids:

4-12 months: Tri-Vi-Sol drops. (A+D)

12-24 months: Poly-Vi-Sol drops (A+D + lots of other stuff)

2 years: ½ a Flintstone chewable every morning. At 4 years they will get upgraded to a whole tablet.


I have not seen Tri-Vi-Sol or Poly-Vi-Sol in HK but each small bottle lasts several months so when we moved from US we had plenty. There are several options at the pharmacy. The most important deficiencies to watch out for are vitamins A and D in children. This is especially important in climates where children get with less sun, like in Scandinavia, so I don't know how applicable it is in HK.



"I'm just very cautious about any supplements for kids, especially after seeing a friends son go into hospital after pretty much overdosing on the stuff."


Well yeah. Needless to say, follow the directions to the letter and keep the stuff well out of reach.

evildeeds, my baby never ate jarred foods. He was a good eather and always ate a lot of veggies, tofu, rice, quinoa, millet, barley, meat, pasta, meat and fish on the whole what i thought was a balanced wholesoem diet.


And then around 14months he went off food - eating very little and being very picky. apparently totally normal for a baby his age, so to make sure that he is getting his daily dose of vitamins at least we started with some multivitamin.


HK2 : i give mine sanatogen baby. got it from Bumps to babes and ahd it ok-ed by ped. it's refrigerated after opening so it's definitely out of reach of baby. he gets 5 ml of the stuff. he totallyloves the taste and it's like desert after breakfast.


caution is always a good thing...

OK, I get it from everyone. In the last 12 years I have been an inconsiderate father cos I have never given my kids vitamins. I hold my hands up and admit it. The fact that all my kids are healthy, top of their years at school etc does not detract from the fact that I have been failing them by not encouraging them to go round popping pills as supplements all these years. How the commercial world has spoiled us, how did people ever cope before................


Darwin, you'd turn in your grave mate...........

The reason why I asked was because my friend's mother, she's a mother of eight and a registered nurse,was horrified when I told her that I give my little girl vitamin supplements daily. So I thought I'd do a bit of research and to find out what other parents are doing as well. Here's something I found when I looked up the issue:-


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21793788-23289,00.html


Rift over vitamin tablets for kids

Experts are sounding the alarm over the increased marketing of vitamins and supplements for children. Clara Pirani reports



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| May 26, 2007

THERE isn't much that Tim Xirakis doesn't know about his children's health. The father of four monitors his children's diet and has their vitamin and mineral levels tested regularly.


"We eat good, square meals, mostly vegetarian food, and no fast food," he says. "I'm a Type 1 diabetic so we don't have a lot of sweets in the house. I've monitored the kid's levels of minerals from a young age."

Three years ago, Xirakis's eldest daughter Carly – then aged 10 – developed an iron deficiency.


"Her iron levels dropped and there were a few other slight deficiencies. So we decided that before they reach a chronic level, we would start her on a daily multivitamin."


Xirakis is one of a growing number of parents who give their children regular vitamins and supplements.


A study of 503 children by Alissa Lim, a pediatrician at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, found 51 per cent are regularly given alternative medicines, in particular multivitamins and minerals.


Although Xirakis believes multivitamins can improve a child's health, he says they should only be used to correct a deficiency diagnosed by a health professional.


"I would never advocate self-diagnosis. We spoke to a naturopath first. Unless they were showing deficiencies, there would be no need to take anything else."


However, health professionals are concerned about the increasing number of vitamins and supplements being launched, aimed at toddlers through to teenagers.


In March, Cenovis launched Kids Brain Power, a fish-oil supplement for children as young as one year. It claims the product can assist brain development, learning ability, memory, concentration and problem-solving.


Sigma Pharmaceuticals is planning to extend its range of Herron Vita-minis, targeted at children aged 2 to 17. Vita-minis brand manager Rachael Conroy says the range is one of Sigma's "top-selling lines".


The range includes six products priced between $5.20 and $15.35, including flavoured multivitamins, a sports multivitamin and a cold and flu supplement. The company plans to add a fish-oil product and an acidophilus supplement to the range.


Conroy says the demand for children's supplements is growing. "It is most definitely a growing market. One of the most worrying things as a parent is ensuring your child is getting all the nutrients they need. Including a vitamin supplement, whilst not replacing a well-balanced diet, can help get through the difficult years, particularly when fussy eating habits can make life very stressful."


However, Brisbane-based dietitian Julie Gilbert says companies are encouraging parents with children who don't like fruit and vegetables to use supplements as an alternative to a healthy diet.


"If children don't like pumpkin, or broccoli, then parents shouldn't give up on that," Gilbert says. "Children need time to develop their taste buds. If parents don't get them used to those foods when they're young, when will they offer it to them?"


Gilbert – also a spokesperson for the Dietitians Association of Australia – believes some companies are taking advantage of parents who feel guilty about their children's diet. "I think the use of supplements for very young children is really about a parent wanting to feel that they are doing the right thing for their child. I think companies are preying on the vulnerability of parents and not actually looking at why children need supplements. It's a security blanket for parents."


There is no need for healthy children to take vitamins or mineral supplements, Gilbert says. "They should only be used for a medical condition that has been diagnosed, not for healthy kids who are growing well, who can get all the vitamins and minerals they need from a healthy diet.


"They should be used for children who fail to thrive, or who have had surgery or suffer coeliac disease – not for fussy eaters."


Gilbert says calcium and iron deficiencies were the most common deficiencies in Australia.


However a review of trials involving about 3000 children, published by University of Tasmania researchers in the British Medical Journal in December (2006;333:775-778), found that giving children calcium supplements did not make a significant difference to their bone density.


"Food is the best source of nutrients to deal with any sort of deficiency," Gilbert says.


Last year Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott commissioned the National Health and Medical Research Council to conduct a $5 million review of all alternative and complementary medicines to determine whether they provided a health benefit.


The findings are scheduled to be released later this year.


However Allan Crosthwaite, technical director of the Complementary Healthcare Council of Australia, says a daily dose of children's vitamins can help fill any gaps in a child's diet.


"Unfortunately, children can develop picky and erratic eating habits and many wholesome meals are replaced with junk and fast foods that contain little or no essential vitamins or minerals.


"One of the challenges for all parents is to ensure that their children eat a balanced diet. However, with today's lifestyle pressures this may not always be possible."


Crosthwaite says that even children who have a balanced diet may not be getting enough minerals and vitamins.


"Vitamin supplementation for children must be used as an addition to, and not a substitute for, a balanced diet.


"Food is the primary source of vitamins and minerals. But economic pressure on the food supply chain forces many growers and suppliers to only replace in the soil the basic trace elements for plant growth.


"Therefore we should consider supplementation of healthy diets with the essential elements that may be missing from the food chain."


Crosthwaite says parents should make sure, however, that their child's consumption of vitamins and minerals doesn't exceed the recommended daily allowance.


"If uncertain, they should seek advice from a health professional."


However, Lim says her study, conducted in 2005, found 63 per cent of parents who gave their children complementary therapies, including vitamins and minerals, did not discuss their decision with a health professional.


"Parents should always talk to their family doctor before giving their child any treatment, even complementary and alternative therapies," Lim told Weekend Health.


"Complementary medicines can have side effects. For most well, healthy, children we would not think they would need supplements. A good diet should be adequate."


Gilbert warns that supplements used to prevent illness could do more harm than good.


"I know parents who give their children vitamin C in the hope that they won't get a cold. But children are in contact with other children and they will pick up colds and influenzas. It's just a normal part of them developing their immune systems, and we should allow them to develop that."


Parents who regularly give their children vitamins and supplements may also be sending a dangerous health message, Gilbert says. "I think some parents think, 'it's okay if my child doesn't eat vegetables because I give them a multivitamin'. That's not the message you want to be giving your children."


Xirakis agrees. "They have to learn healthy eating habits. Supplements are not a magic bullet. You can't feed your kids takeaway and junk, and think that a pill will fix it."

i quite often disagree with evildeeds on this forum, but i have to agree this time - I would not give vitamins unless the child is seriously under-norished. Our doctor says the same. I sometime do give the omega oil - but every now and then when I remember!

"I would not give vitamins unless the child is seriously under-norished. Our doctor says the same."


Sure but you'll find other doctors saying "do give supplements." So which is it? Perhaps both sides of the argument have merit. I think it also has to do with expectations. We hardly expect the supplements to keep our kids from getting colds just because they contain vitamin C.




"we do try to give her a variety of food, like cara, sometimes it's a fight!"


Indeed it is. But kids don't need the diet to be balanced every day. As long as it is balanced over several days it is fine. Children don't get scurvy if they don't have fruit and vegetables for a couple of days. ;)




"Parents who regularly give their children vitamins and supplements may also be sending a dangerous health message, Gilbert says. "I think some parents think, 'it's okay if my child doesn't eat vegetables because I give them a multivitamin'. That's not the message you want to be giving your children.""


Well, duh. It's not as if my kids can avoid their fruit and veggies just because they get a supplement every morning. The issue is hardly that black and white.




"OK, I get it from everyone. In the last 12 years I have been an inconsiderate father cos I have never given my kids vitamins. "


No need to be overly dramatic.

"No need to be overly dramatic."


True, but sometimes I find here it's the only way of getting a point across especially when everyone is just so.....right!


"Sure but you'll find other doctors saying "do give supplements." So which is it? Perhaps both sides of the argument have merit. I think it also has to do with expectations. We hardly expect the supplements to keep our kids from getting colds just because they contain vitamin C."


We are essentially animals, mammals to be more exact. We are designed to eat, drink, urinate and defecate. In this our bodies are highly complex, made to extract the highest level of nutrition or hydration from the food and drink that we provide for it. This is how it has always been. So what happened before the vitamin became tablet or medicine form? Obviously all of our parents are knarled up, bow legged freaks because they never had access to vitamins.........


"Well, duh. It's not as if my kids can avoid their fruit and veggies just because they get a supplement every morning. The issue is hardly that black and white."


Agreed 100%, but, and it is a big but, this is exactly how many parents think. There is a belief they can supplement one with another an everything will be ok. Usually because they do not want to spend the time trying out other foods which could affect their tennis club appointments, etc.

I agree with evil unless I knew my child had a deficiency I wouldn't give supplements especially a multivitamin because vitamin toxicity can be just as bad or worse than deficiency. If I did need to target a specific deficiency i would avoid things that taste like candy. But I know it's hard and we all take shortcuts sometimes. Slightly of topic but with genuine interest, has anyone tried the recipes from Jessica Seinfelds book?

"We are essentially animals, mammals to be more exact. We are designed to eat, drink, urinate and defecate. In this our bodies are highly complex, made to extract the highest level of nutrition or hydration from the food and drink that we provide for it. This is how it has always been. So what happened before the vitamin became tablet or medicine form? Obviously all of our parents are knarled up, bow legged freaks because they never had access to vitamins........."


Parents, no, but widespread malnutrition was very real in what today are modern nations even 100 years ago. My grandparents were already alive then so it is not so long ago.

.

Our ancestors lived much shorter lives and suffered, even died from any number of ailments that are eradicated in modern countries. This is not only due to modern medicine, but also public health, better diet, and yes, in some measure even supplements.



Still, I do respect your arguments. I'm not pushing supplements on anyone's kids. Just answering the question. ;)

No I don't have the book, my kids are past that age anyway but I watched the same Oprah show and thought it looked like doable thing. When all else failed I used to cover things they didn't like in cheese. It worked to varying degrees of success although I don't think dietians will be lining up to back me up on that idea. Now that they are older they will eat anything and everything which is another problem all on its own.

My kids have been taking this brand HERO, Yummi Bears for over 2 years. Since taking them, they have had less episodes of having flus and colds. It's very evident. And, they have everyday bowel movements, and eats more balanced diet.


They LOVE the vitamins as it's like Gummi Bears. I have recommended it to two other mothers, whose kids were getting colds too often... now, they also realize it's decreased the number of flu and cold episodes.


I think it's very debatable, but in my family, we all take some supplements depending on individual needs. In moderation, and in proper dosage, I think it's helpful, esp in today's diet trends, with additives, and fast foods.... and restaurant foods.... it's unavoidable, we try, but can't do it all the time to eat healthily. And everyone' immune system doesn't begin at the same level... it needs building...

so I think supplements is ONE way of helping.

I don't give my kids vitamins, and they're among the healthiest kids I know.

There are several ways of hiding veggies, I grate carrot into spaghetti bolognaise, its so small they never noticed it. One of their favourite meals is spaghetti with tune, just fry an onion, add tinned tomatoes, cook for a few mins, then blend till smooth, add tinned tuna. As the sauce is so smooth the kids don't realise they're eating veg. Works for most veg, just make a very thick veg soup, blend it and use as a sauce on pasta or rice.

Veggies can be pureed and added to all sorts of things.