The proper care of a child requires constant daily decisions. You need to decide what they wear, what they eat, what toys they use, how they are disciplined, and on and on. It can be really overwhelming at times as you struggle to meet their needs every day. There is one daily decision that might be easier than most, and that is whether or not your child should be taking a multivitamin.
Daily multivitamins are popular among many adults. You can find them in any drugstore or supermarket and their benefits for adult health are generally well known. The benefits for a baby or young child are less familiar. Here are a few reasons why a multivitamin may be the best choice to ensure your child is getting the proper nutrition. Of course you should always ask your doctor first before giving your child a daily multivitamin.
First of all, if you are exclusively breastfeeding your baby, you should be congratulated. It is very well known and scientifically proven that this is the absolute best thing for your baby. By breastfeeding, you are providing your baby with the necessary nutrients for your baby’s brain development and physical growth. Even though this is the best option for a nutrient-rich diet, your baby could still be lacking in Vitamin D. Breast milk doesn’t contain much of this and an important source of Vitamin D is actually sunlight. You should let your baby get plenty of play time out in the sun to help with this deficiency. A good multivitamin can be very useful in this area as well.
Another potential deficiency is Vitamin B12 if your diet is primarily vegetarian. Breast milk relies on your diet to supply nutrients to your baby. If your diet isn’t providing enough Vitamin B12, then your breast milk will also be lacking. A multivitamin that contains B12 is an excellent way to combat this problem.
For children between the ages of 2-5, several factors can contribute to the need for a multivitamin. Any parent knows, meal time can be a real struggle. If your child is a picky eater, they may not allow you to feed them the nutrients that they need. Multivitamins definitely help in this scenario. Many doctors recommend a mostly vegetarian diet for children 2-5 due to the many health benefits of this diet. This type of diet will be deficient in Vitamin B12, however, so a multivitamin is a great safeguard against this.
A few precautions should be taken when selecting a multivitamin for your child. Avoid too much beta carotene (should be less than 2500 UI). High doses of beta carotene supplements have been linked to higher cancer and heart disease rates. You should also make sure there isn’t too much Vitamin A in your supplement as well. It can lead to a loss of calcium in the urine. Instead, make sure that your child gets plenty of orange and yellow colored vegteables, these natural beta carotenes allow their body to produce Vitamin A naturally.
Overall, a good multivitamin may be an excellent way to balance our your child’s diet. Consult your doctor if you’re considering a multivitamin and if you choose this option, be sure to disguise that vitamin in something yummy- it is a great feeling to see your child enjoying something that is so good for them.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://articlepile.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites