Tips for Adding a Multi-Vitamin for Children into a Well-Balanced Diet

If you’re like most parents, you occasionally struggle with getting your kids to eat a well-balanced diet on a consistent basis. A multi-vitamin for children can be a helpful solution for making up for the nutritional deficiencies that are so common today.

One of the biggest threats to children’s overall health now is poor nutrition. With a growing obesity problem and children eating more processed and fast food than ever before, offering healthy meals and natural vitamins for kids can go a very long way in ensuring their health and well-being as they grow.

Many mothers and fathers wonder just how and when to start giving a multi-vitamin for children. The following guidelines can help you incorporate a multi-vitamin into your child’s daily routine.

Determine What Is Lacking In Your Child’s Diet
Does your child utterly dislike leafy greens or can’t tolerate drinking milk? Perhaps, they are just inconsistent in their eating habits. Before doling out vitamins, consider where they might be nutritionally deficient, and start your search for a supplement that addresses these deficiencies.

Opt for Natural Vitamins for Kids 
While there are countless vitamin choices out there, your best bet is to choose a high quality multi-vitamin for children that is hypo-allergenic, gluten-free, and vegetarian. The best will contain organic whole foods and natural flavoring. Nature’s Plus is one trusted brand that specializes in natural vitamins for kids. Their Animal Parade Gold Multi Children’s Chewable is a favorite of kids!

Let Your Child Choose the Form of Vitamin
Kids uniquely have their own preferences when it comes to the form of multi-vitamin for children that they prefer. Some will enjoy chewables or gummies, and others prefer getting their supplement in the form of a shake or other type of liquid. Be respectful of their preferences because the goal is to get them to want to take their vitamins on a regular basis. You don’t want to make this a battle!

Start a Habit
Good habits are essential when it comes to health and nutrition. And, this definitely applies to natural vitamins for kids. To get your child to take a supplement on a regular basis, it is a good idea to determine a set time each day for it. Whether this is after dinner or before school, pick a time and stick with it so that they get into a habit that is easy to remember.

Regularly Assess Their Nutritional Needs
Your child’s nutritional needs will shift over time. For example, they may require more calories and different types of nutritional supplements as they become more active in sports or during times of growth spurts. You will want to closely monitor these changes and even talk with their pediatrician on how best to adapt to them to make sure that dietary requirements are being met.

A multi-vitamin for children can help round out a healthy diet and establish good nutritional habits at an early age. By using the above guidelines, you can help to ensure a lifetime of healthy nutrition for your child.

When Is the Right Time to Introduce a Multi-Vitamin for Children into Your Child’s Diet?

Many medical organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Dietetic Association recommend that healthy children should obtain their vitamins and minerals from their diet. However, they also stress that there are many health reasons that would necessitate a multi-vitamin for children.

Some of the reasons to introduce a multi-vitamin for children include:

• Being underweight
• Restricted diets
• Illness
• Exclusively breastfed 

Before you begin looking for the best multi-vitamin for children, it’s important to first take a close look at your child’s diet. You will want to ensure that they are getting plenty of fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts. You will also want to minimize saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt, and sugar.

If there are gaps in adequate nutrition levels, it may be time to consider a multi-vitamin for children. Of course, it’s always a good idea to first consult with your child’s pediatrician prior to giving supplements. If a supplement will be helpful, you will want to look for a natural multi-vitamin for children that doesn’t consist of synthetic vitamins. These should be derived from natural food sources.

The top vitamins to look for in a multi-vitamin for children

• Vitamin A - Promotes growth and development, bone and tissue repair, healthy eyes, skin, and immune response. 
• Vitamin Bs – B vitamins help energy production, metabolism, as well as the circulatory and nervous systems. 
• Vitamin C – Promotes immune response and healthy muscles, skin, and connective tissue.
• Vitamin D – Promotes tooth and bone formation.
• Calcium – Promotes bone growth and strength.
• Iron – Builds muscles and is necessary for red blood cell production. 

Ideally, it’s best for your children to get these nutrients from the foods that they eat. This can only be accomplished if they are eating a wide range of whole, fresh foods and staying away from fast or processed foods. The most high-vitamin foods are fresh fruits and vegetables followed by low-fat dairy, whole grains, and lean meat.

Sadly, many children today are both overweight and malnourished because of poor diet. Shifting eating habits can be challenging, and a multi-vitamin for children can help with the transition towards a healthier lifestyle that includes a balanced diet, exercise, and nutritional supplementation.

Nature’s Plus has created a line of vitamins and supplements that are for a variety of specific dietary needs. Nature's Plus Animal Parade® supplements are designed to make nutritional supplementation easy for both parents and kids. Considered the best multi-vitamin formulas for children, Animal Parade promote good health with whole foods and green super-foods extracts and concentrates, bioflavonoids, botanical extracts, and naturally derived essential vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and amino acids.  And, they taste great which can enable your child to easily incorporate taking a supplement as part of their daily life.

Can Multi Vitamins for Kids Help My Kids Stay Healthy?

Multi vitamins for kids are a source of much debate for many parents. Some prefer to give them to their children to ensure that they’re getting their daily requirement of vitamins and minerals. Others believe that simply eating a balanced diet is enough.

The reality is that there is no right answer when it comes to vitamin supplements for kids. Every child’s needs are different, and determining if it’s a good idea to incorporate multi vitamins for kids into their daily routine should depend on a number of factors including their overall health, their activity level, and what they’re eating.

No pediatric dietician or nutritionist will tell you that vitamin supplements for kids can replace balanced meals. Rather, they are designed to supplement an otherwise healthy diet or to augment diets for those children who have special nutritional needs. Thus, the primary focus when it comes to healthy eating is to start with providing the fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains that truly support good health in a child. Vitamin and mineral absorption is better in food, so healthy eating should always be a top priority for parents and their children.

Interestingly, many children are getting too much of certain nutrients due in large part to enriched and fortified foods like flour, orange juice, and milk. And, this should definitely be taken into account when you consider multi vitamins for kids. Before giving vitamin supplements for kids, it’s a good idea to go through your pantry and refrigerator to check all other sources. These often include cereals, breakfast bars, waffles,  juice drinks, and snack foods.

While not providing complete sources of nutrition like multi vitamins for kids, fortified foods often help supplement deficiencies in iron, folic acid, zinc, and vitamin C. However, there are also other nutrients that are not commonly found in enriched foods that are essential to a child’s health. These include calcium, potassium, and DHA.  In fact, many children fall short in these nutrients. This is when vitamin supplements for kids can come in particularly handy. Thus, it makes good sense to look for vitamin supplements for kids that contain the nutrients that are lacking in fortified foods and in your child’s everyday diet.

What to Avoid in Multi Vitamins for Kids
The sweetener used in vitamin supplements for kids is something to definitely consider before deciding on a particular brand. Many of the most popular grocery store brands contain either high fructose corn syrup or aspartame as a sweetener. Neither of these is a smart option for a child – or an adult for that matter! The best brands will be sweetened with xylitol which can help reduce the risk of tooth decay.

Animal Parade® GOLD Multi Children's Chewable from Nature’s Plus is one choice that has a sugar-free formula that doesn’t contain aspartame. With a range of features including all essential vitamins & minerals, probiotics, 20 certified organic whole foods, and more, they are also delicious with a variety of shapes and flavors. Animal Parade vitamins are also hypo-allergenic, gluten-free, and vegetarian – making them the right option for children with or without food allergies and sensitivities.

What Nutrients Can Be Found in the Best Vitamins for Kids?

Good nutrition for any kid starts with a healthy diet. But, when supplementation is needed, you want to make sure that you’re choosing the best vitamins for kids. Not all vitamins are created equal – especially when it comes to natural vitamins for kids. However, the right formula can help ensure that you child is getting the nutrients they need to thrive.

A healthy diet is obviously the foundation for overall health in every child. Kids should be getting the bulk of their vitamins and minerals from the following:

• Milk and dairy products including yogurt and cheese
• A wide variety of fresh vegetable and fruits
• Lean protein from chicken, meat, beans, legumes, and eggs
• Whole grains such as oatmeal and brown rice

Certainly, it can be a challenge to get kids to eat all of these foods day in and day out. And, as busy parents, we don’t always have the time to prepare home-cooked meals. This is when it makes sense to incorporate natural vitamins for kids into their daily routine. Kids who can definitely benefit from a multivitamin include:

• Finicky eaters and those who are eating lots of fast food or processed food
• Kids with chronic medical conditions including asthma and digestive problems
• Kids who are very active in sports
• Kids on a vegetarian diet
• Kids who drink lots of carbonated sodas which tend to deplete vitamins and minerals from the body

When searching for the best vitamins for kids, you should look for some key ingredients that are particularly important to growing children:

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin Bs (B2, B3, B6, and B12)
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin D
• Calcium
• Iron

While vitamins are healthy, your children can get too much of a good thing! The best vitamins for kids will not contain mega-doses. Too much of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) can be dangerous. As well, iron in too large of a quantity can be risky.

Animal Parade® GOLD Multi Children's Chewable is a unique formula that contains exactly what your child needs. These natural vitamins for kids contain all essential vitamins and minerals, along with 20 certified organic whole foods for synergistic health promoting activity, and many more health-supporting nutrients all in fun, animal-shaped chewables that your kids will love!  Animal Parade Gold also contains probiotics for intestinal health, lutein for eye and skin protection and is sweetened with xylitol to help reduce the risk of tooth decay.

When you want to ensure that your child is getting the nutrients they need during these very important growing years, it’s essential to choose the best vitamins for kids. With Animal Parade Gold, you can feel confident that you’re giving them a highly effective supplemented formulated just for their unique needs.