The Lowdown On Children's Vitamins (age5 to 8)

Should I give my grade-schooler a vitamin supplement?
Experts disagree on whether a daily multivitamin/mineral supplement is a good idea for all children. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), for example, advises giving your child a supplement only if your pediatrician recommends one. Because so many common foods are fortified, most children don't need supplements, the AAP argues. On the other hand, the AAP acknowledges that a multivitamin/mineral supplement won't hurt as long as it doesn't exceed the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for any vitamin or mineral. Other experts say that a daily supplement is a good way to fill in any gaps in your child's nutrition.

Most experts do agree that:

• As long as you don't overdose your child on supplements (exceed the RDA for any one vitamin or mineral), a daily won't hurt.

• Some children — like vegetarians, or those with sensitivities to certain foods, for example — might need a vitamin/mineral supplement to meet their RDAs.

• Supplements are not a substitute for good food, and they should never be used to justify a poor diet. If your child isn't eating well, give him a supplement, but also take steps to improve his eating habits.

The bottom line is that if you're concerned that your grade-schooler isn't getting a balanced diet by meeting all the requirements in the Food Guide Pyramid, a multivitamin/mineral supplement is probably a good idea. Just don't give your child more than one a day or neglect to focus on good nutrition at the same time.

Shoul I give my grade-schooler a vitamin if he's a picky eater?
If your child's a great eater, meaning that he averages a minimum number of servings from each of the food groups in the Food Guide Pyramid, congratulations! But if you're concerned that he's lacking in any area — because he won't put anything green in his mouth or because he goes on food jags when he seems to eat nothing but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for days — then you might want to give him a supplement for your peace of mind.

It provides a little extra insurance that he's getting what he needs, says Debby Demory-Luce, a registered dietitian with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, a nutrition arm of the agency, and an instructor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. As long as you give your grade-schooler just one daily multi, he won't "overdose" on a particular vitamin, even if he's already getting more than he needs of any vitamin from his food.

What kind of vitamin should I give my child?
Any generic type of children's multivitamin/mineral (chewable or liquid form) will do, unless your grade-schooler has special needs. For example, if your child is a vegetarian, you'll want to make sure that the supplement contains vitamin B12, which will be lacking in his diet. And if your doctor has decided that your child is anemic, she may recommend a supplement with a particular amount of iron.

Note that supplements often don't contain 100 percent of every vitamin and mineral, so you'll still want to make sure your child gets the needed vitamin or mineral from food sources. If your grade-schooler doesn't drink milk or eat enough dairy, for example, and only gets about 15 to 20 percent of the RDA for calcium from his supplement, then you'll need to find other, food-based sources, such as calcium-fortified orange juice.

An important caution: Smaller children often view vitamins as candy and may eat several at a time if given the opportunity. But an overdose of iron, in particular, could be fatal, so treat vitamins as medicines. Make sure the caps are childproof, but don't depend on them; always keep them well out of the reach.

Registered dietitian Demory-Luce, mother of two, learned this the hard way: "My youngster got his hands on a bottle of vitamins, opened the safety top, and ate ten vitamins before I got to him," she says. "Luckily, the vitamins didn't have iron in them." Now she keeps vitamins locked away in a cabinet. (To be safe, call poison control if you suspect that your child has taken vitamins on his own, even if they don't contain iron.)

Should I give my grade-schooler more than one vitamin a day if his diet is especially bad one week?
No. There's never any reason to give your child more than the recommended daily dose (usually one pill per day). "Some people think that a little is good but more is better," says Demory-Luce. This is a dangerous way to approach vitamins. Not only could it hurt your child, as with too much iron, but an overdose of certain vitamins could also prevent the absorption of others, creating a nutritional imbalance.

source from http://parentcenter.babycenter.com