Vitamins?

[Caitlin]

Does anyone give their toddler vitamins? Are they supposed to be a certain age for them?

[Sign Of The Fish Burger]

My pedi is convinced vitamins are just a waste of money gimmick :p

We do Vit D (because we live in the land of eternal doom and gloom) and other various vitamins at different times as needed. She eats a really good diet so I'm not concerned. I'll bring it up again at her 2yr apt but I'm sure he'll say the same thing he did at 18mo.

The only one I am concerned with is calcium since she does not drink milk. She does eat a good amount of yogurt and cheese (which I've heard is a better way to get calcium) but I'm still not sure. I've considered giving her calcium fortified OJ (she loves OJ) but I'm worried about the sugar and the acidity on her teeth.

[Paula]

Randy gets flintstone vitmains on weekends, only because his dad takes a vitamin at breakfast and he always asks for one...

[Elaine]

The only one we do is Vitamin D in the late fall, winter and early spring. Flu season, basically. Ben has a decent diet so I'm not all that concerned with him getting what he should.

Candice, I think vitamins are a bit of a waste too. I guess they're ok if you don't eat well but some vits and minerals need other vits and minerals to be absorbed properly so it's kind of pointless to take one just to have to take another, kwim? Eat your fruits and veggies and you should be good. :twothumbs:

[Jojo]

Since Matt doesn't eat the pedi said we could if we want...I'm still on the fence.

[Ashley]

We do for both kids :) I'm a big proponent of vitamins. Even with a well-rounded diet.

[Jojo]

We do for both kids :) I'm a big proponent of vitamins. Even with a well-rounded diet.


which ones do you give Lily?

[lilbunnygirl]

Cash has been taking Nature's Plus brand Animal Parade chewable multiples since he was about 14 months. He loves them & I am glad he takes them because I know for a fact he doesn't get enough iron and some other nutrients in his diet.

[Elaine]

We do for both kids :) I'm a big proponent of vitamins. Even with a well-rounded diet.
Why? The extra vitamins and minerals are wasted if you're already getting what you need by eating properly so you're needlessly putting stuff into your body. Also, you can take too much of some vits and minerals so you're doing more damage than good.

[Caitlin]

Well my kid doesn't always EAT so I think I'm gonna give him some. It's not like it's rat poisoning. :p

[lilbunnygirl]

Well my kid doesn't always EAT so I think I'm gonna give him some. It's not like it's rat poisoning. :p

I agree. Unless you give him like 5 times the daily dose, he's not going to OD on potassium or anything. It's hard to get a balanced diet into a picky toddler, I feel better knowing Cash is getting is RDA of iron and calcium and stuff.

[Elaine]

And I completely agree, especially with a picky eater, but if you're eating well why overload your body with more than you need? For example too much folic acid (folate) is not good for you, taking lots of vitamin C does nothing as your body won't take more than it needs and you just pee it out, too much vitamin D can do damage and no can seem to agree on what a safe level is so sticking with the lower end of hte spectrum is the safest.

I take a multi vitamin on the days that I don't eat well because I know I'm not getting enough of the good stuff, I just don't see the need to add something else to my body when I don't need it.

[Sign Of The Fish Burger]

The only one we do is Vitamin D in the late fall, winter and early spring. Flu season, basically. Ben has a decent diet so I'm not all that concerned with him getting what he should.

Candice, I think vitamins are a bit of a waste too. I guess they're ok if you don't eat well but some vits and minerals need other vits and minerals to be absorbed properly so it's kind of pointless to take one just to have to take another, kwim? Eat your fruits and veggies and you should be good. :twothumbs:

This is pretty much our pedi's view. Plus some vits you shouldn't take with others because they block absorption etc. And a multi vit they just lump em all in together.

[bella_bella]

We haven't given anything to William, he eats pretty well and my Dr said we can talk about it at his 2 yr visit. I think that's pretty much the recommended age, nothing other than baby supplements before then (with a well balanced diet).

The only thing I give him is Vit D in the fall/winter/spring like Elaine said and I've thought about an Omega oil supplement. I heard that can be really beneficial and my Dr said it was ok to do. I haven't started it yet but I might start that with the Vit D, since they are both liquids.

[Jojo]

My MIL bought Matthew these drops...think those are okay? She also bought him pediasure with protein and fiber and holy crap the diaper loads he had that day :hehe:

[Cindy]

Conner gets a half of a flintstone vitamin every morning. He loves them and even asks for it if someone else gets him up and forgets it.

[AddiesMomma]

Addie loves her vitamins. She gets 1 gummy Flintstone a day. She prefers the sour ones.

[Farah]

Both of my boys get vitamins. John gets Tri-vi-sol (used to get Poly visol, but the iron backed him up) and Charlie gets the Flinstones total. :)

[Sarah]

We just do Vitamin D-3. We buy the adult gummies, which have 500 IU in each one, so we give two of them.

Standard multi-vitamins do not contain enough D3 to be sufficient.

In the summer, if he gets outside all day, then we skip the supplement.

I take 5000 IU daily so Elise gets ~400 IU through my breastmilk.

ETA: oh yeah, and Omega-3 gummies, which I have run out of now -- need to get more of those.

[bella_bella]

We just do Vitamin D-3. We buy the adult gummies, which have 500 IU in each one, so we give two of them.

Standard multi-vitamins do not contain enough D3 to be sufficient.

In the summer, if he gets outside all day, then we skip the supplement.

I take 5000 IU daily so Elise gets ~400 IU through my breastmilk.

ETA: oh yeah, and Omega-3 gummies, which I have run out of now -- need to get more of those.

I was going to ask if anyone else did Omega vitamins! I'm going to check out the gummies, I thought the liquid would be best but maybe a gummy would be easier to give him. Plus the Vit D! Thanks for this tip!

[Goosey]

All the boys take them.

We buy the generic, budget-friendly chewables from Walmart. They are zoo animals and similar to Flintstones. Connor and Avery have one each and we give Devinn a half a one.

[theWrap]

I think that, generally speaking, the amount of supplemental vitamins and minerals in your standard multi-vitamin is not dangerous, even if you are eating a very healthy diet. If you are somehow supplementing your diet by taking individual vitamins, eating a consistently high level of a targeted vitamin, or something else that I can't think of, then you might be more concerned about ingesting an excessive amount of one or more vitamins.

That having been said, Sam and I are both awful about taking vitamins because I forget all the time. I was much more conscientious while TTC, but since about 10 weeks, I've gotten pretty hit or miss on the pre-natals. Every now and then, I catch them.

[Sarah]

The only thing I can think of that is very dangerous in high levels is Vitamin A. That I learned when I was on Accutane for my skin -- it's super high doses of Vitamin A. This was 10 years ago and I was on it for 6 months and had to use two forms of birth control and sign something that said that it causes known birth defects and that I would be in the best interest of aborting if I were to get pregnant on Accutane. TRUST ME, we were so careful that it didn't happen. Vitamin A is nasty stuff in high quantities.

[theWrap]

The only thing I can think of that is very dangerous in high levels is Vitamin A. That I learned when I was on Accutane for my skin -- it's super high doses of Vitamin A. This was 10 years ago and I was on it for 6 months and had to use two forms of birth control and sign something that said that it causes known birth defects and that I would be in the best interest of aborting if I were to get pregnant on Accutane. TRUST ME, we were so careful that it didn't happen. Vitamin A is nasty stuff in high quantities.

But you're talking about a dosage waaayyy higher than what would be present in your general multi-vitamin.

BTW, I also took Accutane. Didn't do much long-term good for me, and I refused to do more than one round of it. What a horrible, horrible drug. A friend of mine took 3 cycles of it!!! I am pretty sure they've taken it off the market now. Sometimes it still freaks me out that I took something so destructive.

[Jenni]

The girls don't take regular vitamins but during the winter/flu months I do give them Well Child drops. We're going on our sixth winter and fifth school year without illness. :hula:

[Sarah]

The only thing I can think of that is very dangerous in high levels is Vitamin A. That I learned when I was on Accutane for my skin -- it's super high doses of Vitamin A. This was 10 years ago and I was on it for 6 months and had to use two forms of birth control and sign something that said that it causes known birth defects and that I would be in the best interest of aborting if I were to get pregnant on Accutane. TRUST ME, we were so careful that it didn't happen. Vitamin A is nasty stuff in high quantities.

But you're talking about a dosage waaayyy higher than what would be present in your general multi-vitamin.

BTW, I also took Accutane. Didn't do much long-term good for me, and I refused to do more than one round of it. What a horrible, horrible drug. A friend of mine took 3 cycles of it!!! I am pretty sure they've taken it off the market now. Sometimes it still freaks me out that I took something so destructive.


I know -- I was just saying that multivitamins are not going to hurt one bit and Vitamin A is the only thing I can think of in strong doses that is harmful.

I took 2 courses of it and yes, I at one point just wanted to die -- this was before they had the suicide risk warning out on that medication. My skin was clear for 1 year and then it came back just as strong as it was.

[theWrap]

The only thing I can think of that is very dangerous in high levels is Vitamin A. That I learned when I was on Accutane for my skin -- it's super high doses of Vitamin A. This was 10 years ago and I was on it for 6 months and had to use two forms of birth control and sign something that said that it causes known birth defects and that I would be in the best interest of aborting if I were to get pregnant on Accutane. TRUST ME, we were so careful that it didn't happen. Vitamin A is nasty stuff in high quantities.

But you're talking about a dosage waaayyy higher than what would be present in your general multi-vitamin.

BTW, I also took Accutane. Didn't do much long-term good for me, and I refused to do more than one round of it. What a horrible, horrible drug. A friend of mine took 3 cycles of it!!! I am pretty sure they've taken it off the market now. Sometimes it still freaks me out that I took something so destructive.


I know -- I was just saying that multivitamins are not going to hurt one bit and Vitamin A is the only thing I can think of in strong doses that is harmful.

I took 2 courses of it and yes, I at one point just wanted to die -- this was before they had the suicide risk warning out on that medication. My skin was clear for 1 year and then it came back just as strong as it was.

I didn't have any real side effects - my lips were dry a lot but that's it. But having to get blood drawn all the time, being freaked about the potential side effects, it was all too much. My skin got much less oily, but like yours, it was basically the same after a few years.

Meanwhile, BREASTFEEDING for almost a year changed my skin permanently! HA

[Sign Of The Fish Burger]

The girls don't take regular vitamins but during the winter/flu months I do give them Well Child drops. We're going on our sixth winter and fifth school year without illness. :hula:

Where do you find these??

[Sarah]

The only thing I can think of that is very dangerous in high levels is Vitamin A. That I learned when I was on Accutane for my skin -- it's super high doses of Vitamin A. This was 10 years ago and I was on it for 6 months and had to use two forms of birth control and sign something that said that it causes known birth defects and that I would be in the best interest of aborting if I were to get pregnant on Accutane. TRUST ME, we were so careful that it didn't happen. Vitamin A is nasty stuff in high quantities.

But you're talking about a dosage waaayyy higher than what would be present in your general multi-vitamin.

BTW, I also took Accutane. Didn't do much long-term good for me, and I refused to do more than one round of it. What a horrible, horrible drug. A friend of mine took 3 cycles of it!!! I am pretty sure they've taken it off the market now. Sometimes it still freaks me out that I took something so destructive.


I know -- I was just saying that multivitamins are not going to hurt one bit and Vitamin A is the only thing I can think of in strong doses that is harmful.

I took 2 courses of it and yes, I at one point just wanted to die -- this was before they had the suicide risk warning out on that medication. My skin was clear for 1 year and then it came back just as strong as it was.

I didn't have any real side effects - my lips were dry a lot but that's it. But having to get blood drawn all the time, being freaked about the potential side effects, it was all too much. My skin got much less oily, but like yours, it was basically the same after a few years.

Meanwhile, BREASTFEEDING for almost a year changed my skin permanently! HA

OMG, it's been since 1999-2000 that I took it but I had forgotten about the dry lips! I had lip balm on me all the time and went through SO MUCH OF IT. And yes, the skin was so dry. And initially, I got these HUGE cycstic acnes and they frigging hurt and then there were open sores. I seriously wanted to die and it was mortifying walking into the dermatology office for those appointments sans make-up. I felt too ugly for even the dermatologist. OMG, I would just cry. Six months total on that stuff, and the first 4 of those were pure torture.... seriously.

Breastfeeding is maybe what fixed my skin! I never thought about it. I've also been on "The Regimen" since 2006, I believe and that has worked wonders.

[Jenni]

The girls don't take regular vitamins but during the winter/flu months I do give them Well Child drops. We're going on our sixth winter and fifth school year without illness. :hula:

Where do you find these??

They're made by Planetary Herbals. I used to get them at Wild Oats or whatever it's called now. The Health food store here doesn't carry them so I just ordered my winter supply online.

[Sign Of The Fish Burger]

The girls don't take regular vitamins but during the winter/flu months I do give them Well Child drops. We're going on our sixth winter and fifth school year without illness. :hula:

Where do you find these??

They're made by Planetary Herbals. I used to get them at Wild Oats or whatever it's called now. The Health food store here doesn't carry them so I just ordered my winter supply online.

I looked online and just searched well child drops and couldn't find anything. I'll specifically check Planetary herbals. thanks!

[Meshell]

Candice, if you have trouble finding them you can also try Shaklee's Defend & Resist. I didn't give them to Will last year but I did take them while BF'ing. We didn't get sick at all and we all took them when needed.

[Leah]

It is very hard to get my picky toddler to eat a balanced diet, so we do the gummy vitamins as recommended by his ped. When he was younger it was the drops.

I recentely bought the Omega-3 gummies and Calcium gummies (since he doesn't drink any milk)...oh, and also the Immune Support/Vitamin C gummies. We alternate these a bit and I give them as a "special treat" for going on the potty. :hehe:

[Sarah]

Leah, I've been using the gummies as a special treat for going potty, but it's backfiring because he only gets them once, yet he wants them every time now. :hehe: He is all the way potty trained during the day but still expects gummies. :rolleyes:

[Leah]

Leah, I've been using the gummies as a special treat for going potty, but it's backfiring because he only gets them once, yet he wants them every time now. :hehe: He is all the way potty trained during the day but still expects gummies. :rolleyes:

:hehe: I'm sure that day is coming. I try to alternate the rewards and if he is distracted enough and doesn't care, then I forget the reward on purpose. ;) Otherwise sometimes it's the gummy vitamins, sometimes it's stickers, sometimes it's fruit snacks, sometimes it's matchbox cars, and sometimes it's to go do something he wants to do. ;) I think changing it up helps because he doesn't always expect one thing and he knows now that every single time doesn't equal a tangible reward but it does always equal praise, hugs and high fives. Poop on the other hand is a bit trickier. :rolleyes: