Toddler Multi-vitamin Recommendations

My husband heard something on the Today show that the gummy vitamins were not good and that Flinstones were the best at that age. We started by breaking one in half and letting him eat 1 half at a time. Now he'll eat the whole thing at once and he is 18 months.

The gummy vitamins don't have iron in them. There are some liquid vitamins with iron you could try! Also some cereals (like Cream of Rice) have tons of iron in them - my son eats a huge bowl every morning.

Hi J.
Looks like you got a lot of good info already but if you want to compare options, I have given you a link for Reliv Kids. My 3 year old son has been using this since he was 3 months old. It absolutely amazes me how healthy he is - never been to a Dr. for a sick visit!!! These products have everything your body needs (at cellular level) and allows our bodies to be nurished as God intended :)
Blessings,
L.
http://www.reliv.com/US/EN/KidsHealth-NowforKidsCoolPunch...

Our 2 kids (now 4 and 2) have been using Nordic Naturals Nordic Berries for the last year or so. They are slightly chewy but NOTHING like gummy bears. They taste great and are all natural ingredients. If you compare what is in these to most others, this will beat them! They do cost more than Flinstones though. But I feel it is worth it.

Good luck.

I know that Flinstones does make a multivitamin geared for younger children (under age 2). I know I found them for my kids when they were younger, I bought them at Target. They were a bit smaller and broke apart easier than the regular Flinstones. You could also crush the vitamin and put it in yogurt or something if she has a hard time chewing them.

You could try to crush up the vitamin and put it in her food.

Hi J.--
We have a super liquid kids vit that actually tastes good called kindermins.
If you want- email me and I"ll send you all the info on it - labels and such.
You can also look it up at thinkslim.org and do a search for it.

About me: 48 yo perfusionist, nationwide wellness coach and mom to 7 yo twin girls

B. J
____@____.com

My 17 month old daughter currently takes Flinstone vitamins and also only has 6 teeth. She tries to bite the vitamin as well as sucking on it to help it dissolve. You could try to break it in half so it is smaller. Good luck.

About Me: SAHM to 3 kids, 2 boys (almost 6 and 3) and a 17 mo girl. Have been married for a wonderful guy for almost 10 yrs.

There is a liquid vitamin that uses a dropper. You should be able to find this at any store. It will be a lot easier at her age and will not pose a choking hazard.

Whatever vitamin you decide to try, please read the labels first. FLINTSTONES, and I'm sure others, have ASPERTAME in them! Can you even believe it! I was shocked to say the least. Please be sure they are natural. My kids use the Lil Critters gummies, because they are all natural. I know you said your son didn't like gummies but you might be able to find something from Lil Critters that isn't gummy.
There is also the liquid drops for little kids. I don't know if they are natural or not, you'd have to check.
Best Wishes,
J.
Mother of 4, and right now 8 including foster kids :o)

J. - not all vitamins are greated equally. A lot of them contain lots of sugar and not a lot of nutrients. A multi-vitamin is really important these days due to the amount of processed foods, toxins, and lack of nutrition in our food.

I represent one of the top supplement companies - USANA Health Sciences. Not just because I say it's one of the top but because we have 3rd party verification of our product - http://www.comparativeguide.com/. They rate our product as one of the best and have awarded us the Editor's Choice. They also rate us as one of the best for children's chewables.

If your daughter isn't able to chew the vitamin yet, you can crush it and put it in apple sauce or cereal.

You can contact me if you're interested in learning more or check out this website - www.BeyondYourNow.com

Good luck,

D.

It is OK to use a chewable vitamin with your child. You can cut it in half or you can give it less often. Even for a 2 year old, most vitamins say to give it every other day for that age.
6 teeth are plenty for chewing a vitamin. But the most likely way to be able to get it eaten is to crush it up and put it in something tasty, like fruit yogurt.

Hi J.! By FAR the best kids vitamin is by Juice Plus. It's a whole foods vitamin. Otherwise Mannatech also has great kids vitamins. If you are going to buy one from Wal-Mart you might as well just throw your money away.
I do NOT recommend Melaleuca vitamins. They are not the best quality and taste horrible.
Definitely Juice Plus, Mannatech kids vitamins or any other whole food vitamin. These vitamins will aid in absorption of vitamins derived from food also. It's called promoting bio availability.
Also, my kids are now using Nordic Berries from Nordic Naturals. They are pretty good and more affordable than Juice Plus. They are really yummy, like a gumdrop and totally suitable for your 17 month old. Go to www.vitacost.com

Happy vitamin shopping!

Poly-Vi-Sol made by Enfamil is less than $8 at Target. I looked at the Target store brand one since it is cheaper but the Target one did not have iron at all, so watch the labels if you go for one other than Enfamil. Otherwise you could try pediasure or a toddler formula, or buy the chewable kids vitamins and grind them up and add it to food. Also fortified cereals have plenty of vitamins and minerals and I try to make sure my 17 month old son gets cereal each morning [and for snacks] so that I don't worry so much. My son used to love multi-grain Cheerios [100% daily iron] and now he likes Corn Flakes [45% daily iron]...there are plenty of options out there.
One thing I've noted when buying spinach to add it to salad is that it really did not have a ton of iron in it like I thought it would since I've always heard that...apparently it has no more than other leafy green vegetables. The fact that it is "non-heme" meaning it comes from plants not from blood also means that your body only absorbs 3-8% of what you ate, and depending on how much vitamin C you are eating with it, it could be even less [iron from plants is more easily absorbed with vitamin C]. The iron in meats is better, with your body absorbing about 23% of the iron in what you consumed....but still, that is not very much iron! If you eat 3 ounces of hamburger, it only has 1.8 mg of iron, so you would only be absorbing about 0.4mg if you get 23% of it. But still you could try giving her more meat along with the other things.
As for how much she needs, I looked it up because I need to know for my son as well! :
"Children ages 1-10 generally need about 10 mg. per day of iron"
http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/fn8.asp
"The RDA for iron for both toddlers and preschoolers is ten milligrams (mg) per day"
http://www.wholesometoddlerfood.com/toddlercalcium.htm

Here is a link to Harvard's site regarding iron content in specific foods http://huhs.harvard.edu/assets/File/OurServices/Service_N...

And here is a link to the CDC's site that tells how much iron in milligrams people of different ages and genders should be getting each day:
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/nutrition/nutrition_for_e...

And one more site: http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/nutrition/iron_requirement... , which explains daily values:
"DV = Daily Value. DVs are reference numbers based on the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). They were developed to help consumers determine if a food contains a lot or a little of a specific nutrient. The DV for iron is 18 milligrams (mg). The percent DV (%DV) listed on the nutrition facts panel of food labels tells adults what percentage of the DV is provided in one serving. Percent DVs are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Foods that provide lower percentages of the DV also contribute to a healthful diet."

So based on this, one cup of Cheerios has 18 mg of iron...half a cup has 9mg. If toddlers need 10 mg it is completely doable just with eating cereal every day along with the other foods you will be feeding her

You may want to try Isotonix Might-a-mins. This supplement is in the form of an isotonic fluid, which ensures that the nutrients are efficiently absorbed. It is usually taken on an empty stomach and when the isotonic fluid enters the body, it is delivered to the small intestine, nutritionally concentrated. Then it is quickly absorbed into the blood stream maximizing the amount used by the body. Taste great. Kids love it. Let me know if you have any questions.

My son was in exactly the same boat. He is now 21 months and we are still giving him Poly Vi Sol. We buy it at Target. It tastes (and smells) nasty, but we give it to him in yogurt mixed with blueberries, and he gets it down fine. We asked our doc whether we should continue giving it to him when he went for his 18 month well-child, and she said yes, until they test him again at 2 years. He eats a very well-balanced diet otherwise (fruits, veggies, dairy) but meat is hard for him to chew, and I hate giving him tons of processed meat...ergo, he is mildly iron deficient. I'm not sure whether it's a complete vitamin or not, but I am pretty sure it's more than just iron.

Hi,
I strongly encourage you to do your research on children vitamins. I wrote a blog post - link below - on lead being found in kids vitamins.

http://toxicfreecleaners.blogspot.com/2009/03/lead-in-chi...

L.

My son is 15 months old and takes liquid vitamins. They are in with the other vitamins. I get ours at Walmart. It's made by Enfamil. It's called Poly Vi Sol. I just mix it in with a glass of milk, yogurt or applesause since he doesn't really like the taste of it.

I am with a company called Eniva and they have a vitamin drink and a kids vitamin drink called Vibe. Like the other response it to has everything your body needs on the cellular level and you could put a few drops probably at her age in water or cereal and it would probably taste like juice or mix it into the juice.