The most important kids’ vitamins for your child health

Kids’ vitamins supplementation is important for almost every kid now days. As the majority of their food intake is unhealthy foods and sweets that contains nothing but sugar and chemicals.

Most of the essential vitamins and minerals for your kid can be obtained from healthy foods, but lets be honest, most kids hate spinach along with any type of vegetables and fruits.

So, you need an easy way to get these essential vitamins for your kid other than forcing him or her to eat spinach.

Here are the most important kids’ vitamins and minerals  that you should consider giving as a  supplement to your growing child:

1-Vitamin D

One of the most important kids’ vitamins is vitamin D.

A growing child needs vitamin D more than adults to help his body absorb calcium and phosphate from the diet. These minerals are important for healthy bones, teeth and muscles.

In children, the lack of vitamin D (vitamin D deficiency) can lead to rickets. It’s a disease that causes the  bones to become soft and weak, which can lead to bone malformation and deformities.

Food sources

Getting vitamin D from food is hard as it only exists in few types of food, including oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines, as well as red meat and eggs.

Our bodies create vitamin D from direct sunlight on our skin when we are outdoors. But young children may still have vitamin D deficiency, even if they get out in the sun due to the greater demand of vitamin D.

Therefore, supplementing with vitamin D may be critical for the growing children to maintain healthy bones without any delay or deformities.

Dosage

The Department of Health recommends that:

Babies from birth to 1 year of age who are being breastfed should be given a daily supplement containing 8.5 to 10 micrograms (µg) of vitamin D to make sure they get enough. This is whether or not you’re taking a supplement containing vitamin D yourself.

Babies fed infant formula shouldn’t be given a vitamin D supplement if they’re having more than 500ml (about a pint) of infant formula a day.

Children aged 1 to 4 years old should be given a daily supplement containing 10µg of vitamin D.

2-Vitamin B complex

vitamin B is one of the crucial kids’ vitamins in your child growing years as it helps in boosting their mental as well as physical growth.

The family of B vitamins, includes:

Vitamin B1 (thiamine), Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (niacin), Vitamin B5 (pantothenic), Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), Vitamin B7 (biotin), Vitamin B9 (folic acid) and Vitamin B12 (cobalamin).

A combination of these vitamins will aid in

  •  
  • Energy production.
  • A Healthy circulatory and nervous systems.
  • Promoting healthy muscles, connective tissue, and skin.
  • Promoting bone and tooth formation.

Food Sources

Some good food sources for vitamin Bs will be dairy products, eggs, fish, fortified breads and cereals, fruits (bananas, watermelon, grapefruit), leafy green vegetables, legumes (beans, peas), liver, meat (beef, veal, pork), nuts, potatoes, poultry, whole grains, yeast.

When your child is not eating an adequate amount of the foods listed above, it’s a good idea to give him a kid’s vitamins supplement that contains vitamin B complex to meet his deficiency of these vitamins.

Dosage

B vitamin recommendations for children 4 years of age and older are as follows:

  • Vitamin B1—1.5 mg/day.
  • Vitamin B2—1.7 mg/day.
  • Vitamin B3—20 mg/day.
  • Vitamin B5—10 mg/day.
  • Vitamin B6—2 mg/day.
  • Vitamin B7—300 mcg/day.
  • Vitamin B9—400 mcg/day.
  • Vitamin B12—6 mcg/day.

The adequate intake of B vitamins in infants/children younger than 4 is:

  • Vitamin B1—0.5/0.7 mg/day.
  • Vitamin B2—0.6/0.8 mg/day.
  • Vitamin B3—8/9 mg/day.
  • Vitamin B5—3/5 mg/day.
  • Vitamin B6— 0.1–0.3/0.5 mg/day.
  • Vitamin B7—50/150 mcg/day.
  • Vitamin B9—100/200 mcg/day.
  • Vitamin B12—2/3 mcg/day.

3-Vitamin C

As for immunity system and general health, there is no better kid’s vitamins to take other than vitamin C.

Without the vitamin C the body would not be able to heal itself. This is because vitamin C is vital for the formation of collagen. Whenever your kid has a cut or an injury, it is the collagen that helps repair the damage and without sufficient vitamin C this would be almost impossible.

The vitamin C is also an antioxidant for the body and helps other vitamins and minerals to be absorbed better. Folic acid and iron, for example, need the vitamin C to maximize their usefulness.

The more vitamin C that the body has, the better its defense against colds and other common ailments and it may not prevent a person catching a virus but it does help speed up the recovery process.

Food sources

Vegetables in general contain plenty of vitamin C, some examples are: broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower, green and red peppers, spinach, cabbage, turnip greens, and other leafy greens.

Also, fruits like oranges, kiwi fruit and strawberries can give your kid enough vitamin C for the day.

However, if your child begins feeling tired or lethargic then kids’ vitamins with vitamin C will help overcome this. And don’t worry, there is no danger of having too much vitamin C as the body simply excretes the excess.

Dosage

According to the Daily Recommended Intake on the Baylor College of Medicine website:

-Ages of 2-3 years need 15 mg of Vitamin C a day.

-Ages between 4-8 require 25 mg a day.

-Ages of 9-13 need 45 mg a day.

4-Vitamin A

Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin that is best known for its positive effects on helping the eyes adjust to changes in the light.

Vitamin A benefits don’t just involve the eyes, it also promotes normal growth and development, strengthens their immune system and keeps skin healthy.

Children lacking vitamin A has a dry and rough skin. Their hair is sparse and dull. Their nails are so fragile that their shapes would be easily changed.

Such children usually suffer from pathological changes in cornea and conjunctiva. Photophobia, nyctotyphlosis or even blindness will occur.

So, make sure that your kid is getting enough of vitamin A to avoid these serious complications.

Food sources

Vitamin A is highest in liver, fish oils, milk, eggs, leafy green vegetables, orange, yellow vegetables, tomato products, fruits and some vegetable oils.

Dosage

According to the world health organization (WHO):

-Infants 6–11 months of age should take100 000 IU (30 mg RE) just once.

-Children 12–59 months of age need 200 000 IU (60 mg RE) every 4-6 months.

5-Calcium

Calcium is a mineral stored in bones and teeth in our body. Therefore, It is essential for growth and development of children and adolescents as it maintains strong bones and teeth while also assisting in muscle contractions, nerve stimulations and regulating blood pressure.

Food sources

Milk and dairy products are the main source of calcium, but there are other calcium rich foods, like: Leafy Green Vegetables, bok choy, chinese cabbage, sardines, canned fish, nuts and seeds.

It’s best if kids get most of their calcium from food. If that’s not possible, health care providers might suggest kids’ vitamins that contain vitamin D or just a calcium supplement.

Dosage

-Babies younger than 6 months old need 200 mg of calcium a day.

-Babies 6 to 11 months old need 260 mg of calcium a day.

-Kids 1 to 3 years old need 700 mg of calcium a day (2–3 servings).

-Kids 4 to 8 years old need 1,000 mg of calcium a day (2–3 servings).

-Kids and teens 9 to 18 years old need 1,300 mg of calcium a day (4 servings).

6-Iron

The body needs iron in order to make hemoglobin (an iron-containing protein in the red blood cells). Hemoglobin helps your blood carry oxygen and deliver it to all of your other cells.

Without hemoglobin, the body will stop producing healthy RBCs. Therefore, without enough iron, your child’s muscles, tissues, and cells won’t get the oxygen they need.

Breast-fed babies have their own iron stores and usually get enough iron from their mother’s milk for the first 6 months. But when your older infant switches to eating more solid foods, they might not be eating enough iron-rich foods. This puts them at risk for iron-deficiency anemia.

Iron deficiency can affect your child’s growth. It may also cause other issues, such as: social withdrawal, delayed motor skills, muscle weakness, learning and behavioral issues.

Food sources

A well-balanced diet will give your child all the iron he needs. Here are some of the foods that you should include in your kid’s diet:

-Red meats, including beef, organ meats, and liver.

-Turkey, pork, and chicken.

-Fish.

-Fortified cereals, including oatmeal.

-Dark green leafy vegetables like kale, broccoli, and spinach.

-Beans.

-Prunes.

Some children are at a higher risk of iron deficiency and may need to take an iron supplement.

Dosage

-Infants ages 7–12 months need 11 milligrams of iron a day.

-Toddlers ages 1–3 years need 7 milligrams of iron each day.

-Kids ages 4–8 years need 10 milligrams a day.

-kids ages 9–13 years need 8 milligrams a day.

-Teen boys should get 11 milligrams of iron a day and teen girls should get 15 milligrams.

At the end of the day, our kids’ health is the most important thing, and with their horrible eating habits these days, kids’ vitamins might be the best available option to make sure your growing child has a healthy life.