Do Your Kids Need Vitamins?

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics kids don't need extra vitamins. If you are feeding your little one a diet based on the Food Guide Pyramid then they should be getting all of the food that they need. 

However sometimes you end up with a kid who is a picky eater (such as my little boy who won't eat anything but tomato soup and bananas) and supplementation is necessary.  Some kids will stick to eating just one or two foods for months or even years so it is necessary to make sure that they are getting all of the nutrients that they need. Also if you are a vegetarian and raising your child to be one you don't have a diet that meets all of your child's nutritional needs as your child may be lacking in B12 or iron. Babies that are breastfed only may also need 200 IU of Vitamin D each day as breast milk is not fortified with Vitamin D. This is especially crucial if you live in a climate where there is not a lot of sun or if your child is confined to the indoors because of an illness.  

Older children who don’t drink at least 500ml (about 17 ounces) of Vitamin D fortified milk will also need Vitamin D supplements if they don’t get regular sunlight exposure.  Iron is very important to prevent anemia. Those most at risk of iron deficiency are infants who are not given extra iron after six months of age (usually in the form of an iron fortified infant cereal), and babies who drink low-iron formula, cow’s milk or goats milk. Good sources or iron include meats, fish, legumes, and fortified foods, such as breads and cereals.

Adolescent girls are also at risk of anemia once they begin having their periods so make sure your daughter is getting enough folic acid and iron. Your child also can't grow healthy bones with out calcium. It is an essential mineral that is necessary for healthy teeth and bones.

Kids who drink enough milk and eat enough yogurt, cheese and ice cream are never calcium deficient. Calcium supplements are poorly absorbed by children so you need to give them orange or grapefruit juice that is fortified with calcium.  Look for a juice that his high in calcium as many of them only have 20% of a daily value added.  You can also get chewable candies with calcium in them like Calcium gummy bears or Herbasaurs Calcium for Kids. Multivitamins for infants are available as drops and usually contain Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D. They may also have iron, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin E.  Good brands are Poly-Vi-Sol Drops, Gerber Vitamin Drops and Tri-Vi-Sol Drops.   

Keep in mind that many ‘complete’ multivitamins do not have all of the recommended amounts of the vitamins and minerals that your child needs each day and most don’t have enough calcium so you might have to look at supplementing your supplements depending on what brands are available. 

Stupid Mom Moments

Just like there are 'blonde moments' and 'senior moments' I suffer from 'mom moments.'  A mom moment can be defined as kind of a moment of mental fatigue caused by too much stress caused by caring for children that in turn can cause you to do something really stupid. Here is a run-down of my stupidest mom moments that I have experienced in the last few weeks since I have had my fourth child. Mom Moment #1 – I went to the store and bought groceries. I brought the groceries out in the shopping cart and parked the shopping cart in the adjacent parking lot. As I was buckling the kids in another car pulled up and wanted to use the parking place. I was kind and moved my shopping cart out of the way. Then I got in the car and drove away leaving about $150 worth of groceries free for the taking in the parking lot. Luckily one of the store managers was around so by the time I remembered I was able to recover all of my groceries. Mom Moment #2 – I am a bit long sighted so to read medicine bottles I take my glasses off and shove them up on my head to read the fine print.  The other day after feeding my twins their daily dose of vitamins I spent hours looking for my classes, swearing and accusing every one in the family (including the dog and cat) of hiding them until I realized they were on top of my head. Mom Moment #3 – While trying to dress my daughter up in her outfit for pre-school the twins starting acting up. After I took care of them I quickly put on her coat and shoes, because we were in a big hurry. Once we got to school I realized she was the only girl there wearing only a tee-shirt and tights and no skirt. Mom Moment #4 – After a long evening of attending to colicky babies and a little girl having nightmares I discovered I had put my blow-dryer away in the kitchen drawer and my hand blender away in the bathroom vanity drawers. Mom Moment #5 – One day I was so sleep deprived that I forgot the names of my sister's kids and kept calling them the name of my own kids instead. This of course made me look incredibly thoughtless. Mom Moment #6 — The phone rang the other day and instead of saying 'Hello, how are you?'  I said 'How are woo?'  After so many days of talking only to people less than six years old, I forgot how to speak English. Mom Moment #7 – When my husband tapped me on the shoulder the other night inquiring gently if there was any sexual activity to be had I got mixed up and called him the name of my pediatrician.  Thank goodness he is not the suspicious type. One day I will get more than three hours of sleep in a row and all this nonsense will stop.Â