5 Reasons Why Your Child May Need a Kids Multivitamin

Not every child needs kids multivitamins to stay healthy, but some do. Here’s a rundown of five of the top reasons why kid’s multivitamins might be beneficial for your child.

1. Your Child Is a Finicky Eater
Picky eating is a common problem that parents face when trying to provide a balanced diet for their children. Fruits and vegetables are essential for obtaining sufficient nutrition to support healthy, growing bodies. Unfortunately, not all children are willing to load up on these healthy foods. While there are plenty of processed foods on the market that are vitamin and mineral fortified, these products can be loaded with sugar, fat, sodium, and preservatives. An easy way to ensure your child is getting sufficient vitamins and minerals is to provide a daily kids multivitamin with a balanced formula.

2. Your Child Has Asthma
According to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine, daily usage of inhaled steroids for asthma can often be reduced when combined with a vitamin D supplement.  This nutrient can easily be provided with a daily multivitamin.

3. Your Child Is Active in Sports
Very active children and adolescents often need more than just the daily recommended requirements for vitamins and minerals. These can be challenging to obtain from just a healthy diet. For young athletes, a kids multivitamins can be beneficial to supporting their physical activities.

4. Your Child Has a Slower than Normal Growth Pattern
Children who are thin or short in comparison to other boys and girls their age many need additional supplementation. Your pediatrician will track your child’s height, weight, and BMI (body mass index) and will make recommendations based on these numbers. In many cases, if there is a slower-than-normal growth pattern, kid’s multivitamins will be prescribed.

5. Your Child Is a Vegetarian
A growing number of children and teens are choosing meat-free diets. This can lead to a vitamin B12 deficiency. If you have a child on a meatless diet it’s worth discussing with your pediatrician to determine if supplementation is necessary.

Choosing the Right Kids Multivitamin
A few guidelines for choosing vitamin supplements for your kids:
• Choose a high quality brand of natural kid’s multivitamins
• Read the label carefully
• Look for a formula that offers a full range of vitamins and minerals including calcium, iron, and zinc
• Choose a supplement with no artificial colors, sweeteners, or flavors

Does Your Child Need Vitamin D3 Supplements This Summer?

In days gone by, children received plenty of sun during the long school break. By simply playing outside, sun exposure was not a challenge. These days, in the age of video games and movies-on-demand, many children spend their summer vacations indoors. This can lead to a lack of exposure to natural sunlight which is necessary for the production of vitamin D. If you have a child who is spending more time indoors than out this summer, vitamin D3 supplements might be necessary to ensure healthy vitamin production.

Vitamin D deficiency is significantly more common today than it was in past decades. And, our increasing use of computers and other electronics indoors can be partially to blame. However, we’re also far more aware of the dangers of too much sun exposure. Most children do not spend hours in the sun as their predecessors did. Sunscreen is now part of most children’s daily routine. However, this protection can also lead to vitamin D deficiency. Protection from the sun can also mean an insufficient amount of sun exposure to produce the vitamin. This is yet another reason why a children’s vitamin D3 supplement can be beneficial – even during the summer months.

What Vitamin D3 Supplements Are Best?
When choosing vitamin D3 supplements, it’s important to read labels. They’re not all created equal. The best formulas contain the bioavailable active form of vitamin D3 such as Animal Parade Vitamin D3 supplements by Nature’s Plus. This form best supports optimal growth and long-term health in growing children.

Children's Liquid Vitamins to Keep Kids Health This Summer

Just when you think you’ve made it past cold and flu season, the kids come down with a fever, sore throat, and cough. Growing research suggests that children’s liquid vitamins can help fight off viruses during the warmer months of spring and summer?

Colds and Flu Viruses Don’t Just Spread in the Winter
While the late fall and winter months are notorious for being the time of year when school age kids pick up viruses, the reality is colds and flu can be transmitted any time of the year. And, when school is out and it’s time for outdoor fun, being stuck in bed with an illness is no fun for kids – or parents!

It’s simply a reality that the majority of children do not get ample vitamins and minerals in their daily diet to support a healthy immune system. Thus, many are susceptible to picking up common cold and other easily-transmitted viruses.

Children’s Liquid Vitamins to Support Healthy Immune Systems
Ideally, a child should get the nutrients they need from their diet. However, when that’s not possible, liquid vitamins for kids can help bridge the gap to strengthen their immune systems.

Interestingly, some parents use children’s liquid vitamins as insurance during cold and flu season to help stave off illness, and then discontinue supplements during the spring and summer. However, viruses spread all year long. Because of this, children who are given multivitamin formulas throughout the year receive a steadier source of nutrients they need to support their immune systems.

Daily requirements of vitamin A, C, D, and other nutrients found in balanced formulas of children’s liquid vitamins can help support healthy immune response in children. And, regular usage can be beneficial to help fight off illness throughout the year.

Natural Kids Vitamins for Stronger Bones

Has your child suffered from multiple fractures from injuries? A Mayo Clinic study has shown that forearm fractures have increased by more than 32 percent in boys and 56 percent in girls in the past three decades. This same study also linked these early forearm fractures with hip fractures and osteoporosis later in life. Obtaining proper nutrients from a balanced diet and natural kids vitamins can be beneficial in preventing fractures in children and can help build bones that will be strong for a lifetime.

Peak Bone Mass Is Reached before the Age of 25
According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, nutrients are very important to bone health because peak bone mass is obtained by the mid-20s. And, dietary and lifestyle factors during childhood can have a profound effect on the level of bone mass in young adults. These factors include:

• Poor dietary choices – especially many processed foods and beverages that can actually deplete nutrients
• Hypercalcuria – A disorder that leads to minerals being excreted too fast
• Lack of sunshine – causes vitamin D deficiency
• Lack of exercise – insufficient weight-bearing exercise to strengthen the bones
• Poor quality nutritional supplements – leads to malabsorption of nutrients

A Healthy Diet and Natural Kids Vitamins – A Winning Combination
While calcium commonly found in milk is an essential vitamin for bone health, there are also other nutrients that work synergistically with this important mineral to help build healthy, strong bones in children. These include vitamin D3 and vitamin K2. These can be obtained through a balanced diet and from a high quality formula of natural vitamins for kids.

By combining a diet rich in nutrients and natural kids vitamins, you can help provide the healthy foundation your children need to have strong bones for a lifetime.