eating tip: a word about vitamins

Should children take multivitamins?  That question itself seems up for debate, depending on who you talk to.  One side says that children in America get adequate nutrition from the foods they eat, others say our over-processed diet is not providing the proper nutrients.  Depending on what kind of diet the individual child eats, I can see both sides of the argument.

I have one child who eats a very balanced diet, one who does OK, and one who is a fairly picky eater.  The picky eater has had an iron deficiency in the past.  I often feel like we do lack some variety in our diet, leaving out some foods we should probably be eating.  That's something we're working on!  So, our family has opted for vitamins for now.

Finding a good children's multivitamin is pretty tricky.  Most of what you see on the shelves these days have artificial flavors and boast a rainbow of artificial colors.  A few gummies are more natural, but often lack the full range of vitamins and minerals a growing child needs.

We have tried two vitamins that are all-natural.  There is a chewable version made by Freeda Vitamins.  My kids tried these with varying opinions about flavor.  Carob is pretty gross, but my youngest (who eats carob regularly) loved it.  My daughter got used to the fruit flavors although she didn't like them much at first.  My oldest would not touch them with a 10 foot pole.

The other kind we have tried and still use are capsules.  They are not cheap (I'm starting to wonder if vitamins really should be), but recently I found them for sale from this website for a reduced price and free shipping. Kirkman's is a great company to work with and we've found that although Josiah has many sensitivities to added vitamins even in food, he does well with this brand.  Even at 4, he can swallow these whole.  When he first started taking them, we mixed them into juice or yogurt.  For the older kids, swallowing pills was no problem and they preferred them to the chewables.  Kirkman also has chewable vitamins for children.  They make great vitamins for adults as well, with no fillers or other additives.

One great thing about both Freeda and Kirkman is that if you call the company directly, they will send you samples either for free or a small fee.

If you decide to give your children vitamins, take a look at the label of what you're currently using.  Then make the decision about what you would truly like for them to be ingesting.   Those with added colors and flavors may be doing more harm than good.