multivitamins

it seems lots of people here & IRL are giving their toddlers multivitamins.
i am wondering if i should give them to DS. DH & i have always taken them
ourselves in case we are not eating wholly balanced diet.

DS (18mths) eats heartily for a toddler, but doesn't eat veggies (unless
it's in the form of a chip) and is still quite picky on *what* he eats. he
just eats a huge quantity of a small variety of foods. he's also allergic to
egg so that cuts out loads of things as egg is hiding everywhere when you
read the labels.

so what are the pros & cons of using a multivitamin?
--
elizabeth (in australia)
DS - born 20-aug-02

"elizabeth emerald" wrote in message
...
it seems lots of people here & IRL are giving their toddlers
multivitamins.
i am wondering if i should give them to DS. DH & i have always taken them
ourselves in case we are not eating wholly balanced diet.

DS (18mths) eats heartily for a toddler, but doesn't eat veggies (unless
it's in the form of a chip) and is still quite picky on *what* he eats. he
just eats a huge quantity of a small variety of foods. he's also allergic
to
egg so that cuts out loads of things as egg is hiding everywhere when you
read the labels.

so what are the pros & cons of using a multivitamin?
--


oh yeah, he also breastfeeds about 4 times a day, sometimes more, if that
makes any difference.
--
elizabeth (in australia)
DS - born 20-aug-02

"elizabeth emerald" wrote in message
...

"elizabeth emerald" wrote in message
...
so what are the pros & cons of using a multivitamin?
--


oh yeah, he also breastfeeds about 4 times a day, sometimes more, if that
makes any difference.

When I BF'd DS, I took vits so I didn't think I needed to give them to DS,
since he could get most of it from me. After he weaned, I tried what I
could to get him to take vits because he wasn't eating much of a balanced
diet.

elizabeth emerald wrote:

so what are the pros & cons of using a multivitamin?

I don't know what the cons are.

I do feed my kids healthy food but I'm 99.9% sure they are not eating there
recommended daily allowance of all the vitamins and minerals. I use
vitamins to fill in the gaps and just to give me peace of mind.

I figure that as two pros and zero cons. :-)


--
Nikki
Mama to Hunter (4) and Luke (2)

so what are the pros & cons of using a multivitamin?
--

Pros are obvious. They can help make up for nutrients not obtained from food;
they're a relatively simple and inexpensive form of "insurance".

The cons: manufacture is poorly regulated, so no guarantee that the pills offer
all the benefits they claim; some risks associated with overdose of certain
vitamins/minerals; many nutrients not absorbed as well or in as usable as form
as when obtained from food; may cause parents to underemphasize getting proper
nutrition from food (a false sense of security); some kids may resist taking or
have difficulty swallowing; minor hassle in remembering to take daily; kids
accustomed to taking one (especially a candy-like flavored chewable one) may
not have a proper fear/respect of pills in general.

The risk of a commercial multivitamin doing any actual harm to a toddler is
extremely low, I think, so for most people who use them it's kind of a "might
help, can't hurt" thing. I've never used 'em because I'm not convinced the
benefit is significant enough to make it worth the bother, but then, my DS is a
pretty good eater. For a pickier child I would definitely consider vitamins,
but I might do a little research first on what specific vitamins and minerals,
in what amounts, is considered optimum.

Holly
Mom to Camden, 3yo
EDD #2 6/8/04

Are there any available as tablets, rather than drops, for babies under 3?
I can't disguise the drops in anything because the are so strong-tasting.
But I've asked several pharmacies and there doesn't seem to be any other
option for babies under 3.

ROSIE (UK)

"elizabeth emerald" wrote in message
...
it seems lots of people here & IRL are giving their toddlers
multivitamins.
i am wondering if i should give them to DS. DH & i have always taken them
ourselves in case we are not eating wholly balanced diet.

DS (18mths) eats heartily for a toddler, but doesn't eat veggies (unless
it's in the form of a chip) and is still quite picky on *what* he eats. he
just eats a huge quantity of a small variety of foods. he's also allergic
to
egg so that cuts out loads of things as egg is hiding everywhere when you
read the labels.

so what are the pros & cons of using a multivitamin?

Hi Elizabeth!

I give my daughter (now a toddler) a multivitamin daily. I use the
poly-vi-sol squirted into her morning milk. Very easy to adminster. One of
the reasons is something I read by Brazelton (I think in Touchpoints, but
maybe in something else he's written) saying that parents for generations
have fussed over getting a rounded diet into their toddlers, which is
frustrating during the "I will only eat sliced bananas and pasta" years. He
gives a bare minimum standard daily diet (IIRC: a piece of fruit, a pint of
milk, one ounce of meat or an egg) and says that it's probably just as good
to supplement with a multivitamin, rather than make eating a daily
battlezone. So I basically serve a rounded diet to my daughter at every
meal, she eats what she wants to, and I don't stress, because she's getting
the bare minimum plus the vitamin. At any rate, I don't want to put pressure
on her to eat (try a little bit of this sweetie, now one more bite of this)
and this allows me not to have to. Does that make sense?

I just checked - Brazelton does talk about this in Touchpoints, if you're
interested.

My two cents.

Donna

Rosie wrote:

Are there any available as tablets, rather than drops, for babies under 3?
I can't disguise the drops in anything because the are so strong-tasting.
But I've asked several pharmacies and there doesn't seem to be any other
option for babies under 3.


In the USA, there are Flintstones vitamins for babies under 3 years.
We just started DD on them - they are chewable and she loves them.

Don't know if there is an equivalent in the UK.

Mary

That's pretty much what I did - no vitamins while DS was still nursing,
added in children's vitamins after he weaned.

-Shannon

"toypup" wrote in message
news:_VT0c.20752$PR3.466026@attbi_s03...

"elizabeth emerald" wrote in message
...

"elizabeth emerald" wrote in message
...
so what are the pros & cons of using a multivitamin?
--


oh yeah, he also breastfeeds about 4 times a day, sometimes more, if
that
makes any difference.

When I BF'd DS, I took vits so I didn't think I needed to give them to DS,
since he could get most of it from me. After he weaned, I tried what I
could to get him to take vits because he wasn't eating much of a balanced
diet.

On Tue, 2 Mar 2004 09:28:21 -0000, "Rosie" wrote:
but then again I might just have mucked up the snipping as usual!
Are there any available as tablets, rather than drops, for babies under 3?
I can't disguise the drops in anything because the are so strong-tasting.
But I've asked several pharmacies and there doesn't seem to be any other
option for babies under 3.

I know my nephews were taking chewables bought at a supermarket at
that age. Now, whether that was what the packet said was OK I am not
sure, but they were taking them.

Megan
--
Seoras David Montgomery, 7 May 2003, 17 hours: sunrise to sunset (homebirth)

To e-mail use: megan at farr-montgomery dot com