Ideally, your children are eating a balanced diet consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamins and minerals they need for their growing body. But when this is not always the case, choosing the right vitamins for kids may be helpful to fill these nutritional gaps.
As parents, we try our best to serve our children healthy meals whenever possible, but knowing they get the right dose of vitamins and minerals they need every day is a load off our back.
Why should you buy vitamins for kids?
A nutrient-rich diet facilitates your child's mental and physical growth. However, not all diets provide all of the nutrients and minerals necessary for a child's healthy growth and development.
Diets that are heavy in fat, sugar, and salt can unfortunately result in nutritional deficits in youngsters. Excessive fat, sugar and salt can often be found in the form of sweets (chips, chocolates, lollipops, soft drinks) or processed foods (such as take-away food).
Children who do not eat a balanced diet are prone to being picky eaters as well. But while many young children are usually picky eaters, this does not necessarily mean they are nutritionally deficient.
However, the intake of a limited amount of nutrients can, over time, prevent the child from getting the supplements they need for their body’s ideal function and well-being. Children who do not eat a varied diet rich in fresh and whole foods are also at risk for long-term health problems.
Therefore, multivitamins are necessary to fill up these nutritional gaps and they must be taken on a regular basis to ensure a consistent healthy development and growth.
As children grow up, they require more multivitamins and minerals to guarantee that they grow up to be healthy and strong. Let us look at some key areas on how multivitamins benefit children.
Why are vitamins for kids important?
Children's growth and development require a variety of vitamins and minerals because multivitamins are thought to boost their health, curb bad eating habits, while also lowering their risk for chronic diseases. Multivitamins are supplements that contain all the essential vitamins and minerals in various amounts.
They come in a variety of forms including pills, capsules, liquids, powders, and even sweets and gummies that are absolutely meant for kids.
Vitamins and minerals are plentiful in foods such as milk and milk products. Whole grains, such as wheat and oats, fish and seafood, poultry and meats, eggs, dairy products, like milk and yogurt, leafy green vegetables, beans and peas are all great sources of multivitamin and minerals that should be included in the child’s diet.
However, these food sources can also be allergens to a lot of kids. When they cannot get the vitamins and minerals from the food source, drinking multivitamins can be the next best thing so their nutritional needs are met.
What to consider when choosing the right vitamins for kids?
Content and ingredients
It is important to know the ingredients of these supplements. There are two types of ingredients that supplements usually come with, medicinal and non medicinal ingredients.
Medicinal ingredients are the active compounds in a product that support the claims on the label. Vitamin D3 as a bone-supporting supplement, for example.
Non-Medicinal or non-pharmaceutical ingredients are the ones necessary to manufacture a product such as fillers, flowing agents, binders, colour, flavour, and/or preservatives.
Suitability
When choosing vitamins for kids, it is important to see that the vitamins are designed exclusively for children and are suited to their age. You need to ensure that they don't contain large doses that exceed a child's daily nutrition requirements.
Taste and sugar content
It certainly helps when your kids' multivitamin tastes pleasant so they will enjoy taking it. However, you need to ensure that they contain less sugar and/or do not include artificial sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup. Look for vitamins for kids that have less than 3 grams of sugar per serving.
Allergen-free
You need to ensure that the multivitamin does not include any allergens, as they might be harmful to your child's health. Yeast, dairy, soy, corn, and artificial substances including preservatives, flavourings, and colours are all common allergens.
No artificial additives, hydrogenated oils, and synthetic dyes
Whilst this applies to both adults and children alike, it is especially vital not to expose your children to potentially harmful additives and substances included in supplements. An organic children's multivitamin from a reliable supplier will be an ideal option.
Best Vitamins for Kids
Taking all of the above factors into consideration, below are our top picks for multivitamin supplements that will boost your children’s growth and immunity:
Why It's Great
Scott's Multivitamin Gummies come in a variety of packaging and sizes. There’s the three- and 15-piece sachets, as well as an easy-to-open plastic bottle with 60 pieces of gummies inside.
Scott's Multivitamin Gummies come in two pleasant flavours: Apple and Tropical, making them easy to consume on a daily basis for kids.
Parents comment that their kids had no stomach aches, nausea, dizziness, or allergic reactions on the first week of taking these gummies every day.
There is a batch production and expiry date printed on top of the plastic bottle so it’s easy to monitor when it has to be consumed. It can however be addictive, and one parent was worried that the kids will keep asking for more and more gummies.
Features We Love:
- Carefully formulated for children aged 5 and up.
- High in five vitamins (Vitamin A, B6, C, D, and E) as well as Zinc that help childrens’ growth and development.
- Scott's MicroEncapsulation Technology in gummies locks in the benefit of Zinc and 5 vitamins while providing youngsters a delicious taste.
Ingredients:
Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Gelatin (bovine), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate), Sorbitol, Flavour (Apple), Vitamin C, Zinc, Vitamin E, Vitamin B6, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Colour (Allura Red) (Contains permitted flavouring, colouring and acidity regulator and food conditioner)
Why It’s Great
Llama Naturals are sugar-free multivitamins made from plants, unlike most gummy vitamins that are high in sugar and include synthetic chemicals. They're also vegan, so there's no soy, gelatin, or beeswax in them.
This supplement is made up of 13 natural vitamins derived from fresh fruits and vegetables, and tastes great!
Parents using Llama Naturals Plant Based Vitamin Bites comment that their kids who used to be finicky about the flavour of gummy vitamins now cheerfully take their vitamins with breakfast every morning.
Features We Love:
- Organically certified and slow-cooked to preserve all of their nutrients.
- Each mouthful contains co-nutrients that aid in absorption.
- No synthetic vitamins, sugars, sweeteners, artificial colours, or toxins.
- Vegan.
Ingredients:
Organic Apples, Organic Strawberries, Organic Baobab Powder, Fruit & Vegetable Based Vitamin Blend, Contains < 2%: Organic Sunflower Oil, Apple Pectin, Organic Flavour.
Why It’s Great
Olly Kids Vitamin Boosts are available in four smart flavors, including "Super Brainy" and "Happy Tummy," to meet your child's specific needs.
Olly gummies make it simple for your child to get the vitamins and minerals he or she needs. One serving of Olly vitamins includes a dose of Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Zinc, and other nutrients.
Your children may start yearning for their daily dose of Olly gummies since they are so tasty. These vitamins are gluten-free and contain no artificial flavours or colours.
Many parents comment that Olly gummies help children with passing motion easily and give relief to children with constipation.
Features We Love:
- Olly Kids Multi + Probiotic gummies are gluten-free, naturally sweet, and scientifically produced.
- It shouldn't be a hassle to take nutritious supplements, which is why Olly chewable vitamins and supplements are as effective as they are enjoyable.
- Olly Kids Multi + Probiotic gummies are comparatively much soft and chewy and sugary outside.
Ingredients:
Active ingredients: Vitamins A, C, D, Bs and Zinc
Other ingredients: Cane Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Water, Gelatin, Colouring from purple carrot juice, Natural Flavours, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Mixed Tocopherols (antioxidant), Tartaric Acid,
Why It’s Great
Bluebonnet Nutrition Rainforest Animalz Whole Food Based Multiple Chewable Tablets support childrens’ growth and development.
They do it by offering a comprehensive combination of super fruits and vegetables rich in key vitamins and minerals in pleasant, delightful flavoured chewable tablets.
One parent says, “My son likes only this vitamin and he eats it as a treat."
The supplement is free of milk, egg, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts and wheat. It is also free of yeast and barley.
Features We Love:
- Comes in 90 animal-shaped chewable tablets, makes 45 servings.
- Vegetarian-friendly, gluten-free, kosher-certified, and dairy-free.
- Free from most common allergens.
Ingredients:
Natural grape flavour, EarthSweet [juice concentrates (wild blueberry, cranberry, prune, cherry, strawberry, grape, raspberry and bilberry fruits, grape seed and raspberry seed extracts), cane crystals], xylitol, natural flavour, citric acid, red cabbage juice (colorant), stearic acid, vegetable magnesium stearate, brown rice powder.
Why It’s Great
MegaFood Kids One Daily Multivitamin comes in powder form that does not contain sugar, sweeteners, flavorings, and preservatives. It's packed with all-natural ingredients, including turmeric!
Since it's created with real, whole food, it provides so much more than simply vitamins. The antioxidant-rich plants that go into the Kids Daily Multi provide your children with all of the phytonutrients they need. You can mix the powder into any smoothie, shake, or beverage that your children enjoy.
One of the users had this feedback on MegaFood One Daily Multivitamins:
“The moment I got my hands on MegaFood Kids Daily Multi, I was ecstatic. It’s got everything a mum could hope for to provide authentic nourishment for her kids and nothing she wouldn’t want added in."
Features We Love:
- Contains 17+ vitamins and minerals that help improve overall health.
- Supports cardiovascular and metabolic health and performance.
- Encourages the growth of healthy skin, hair, and nails.
Ingredients:
The tablets have no sugars, flavourings, and food colourings and are made from a range of fresh, raw whole foods.
