Children's Vitamins

I recently spent half a day with my 8 year old cousin, Lea. For 5 hours straight she was a ball of energy, she came home from school, did her homework, played with the dog, took a walk, played cards, barley stopping for 5 minutes to eat dinner, still standing up, and continued to buzz around even as I was leaving. Most children are lucky enough to have this energy from well balanced meals and a healthy diet. However, if your child is a picky eater, has food allergies, or is a vegetarian, supplementing their diet can be beneficial. WedMD lists 6 of the top vitamins and minerals for children:

Vitamin A promotes normal growth and development; tissue and bone repair; and healthy skin, eyes, and immune responses.
Vitamin Bs. The family of B vitamins -- B2, B3, B6, and B12 – aid metabolism, energy production, and healthy circulatory and nervous systems.
Vitamin C promotes healthy muscles, connective tissue, and skin.
Calcium helps build strong bones as a child grows.
Iron builds muscle and is essential to healthy red blood cells.
Vitamin D promotes bone and tooth formation and helps the body absorb calcium. Vitamin D is so important that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) just doubled the recommended daily value of vitamin D for kids this past week.

A daily chewable vitamin will not replace the nutrition found in well-balance homemade meal but finding your child's favorite character may make taking vitamins easy and fun. There are now multiple children's vitamins on the market, but I will always hold a special place in my heart for the Flintstones Vitamins I took as a kid.
-Community Assistant