Vitamins?

I'm confused about the whole vitamin thing. I have asked my pedi about them several times and he doesn't have much to say. Do you all give your kids vitamins? If so, at what age did you start and what kind do you use? I'm a bit of an "organic" freak, so I was hoping if we do put the boys on them to find a kind that is all natural.

 

So glad you posted this...I have been wondering the same thing. I'll be curious to see what others have to say!

 

We just started one today...the girls are 2 1/2. Our pediatrician wanted us to start using one because the girls are on a very restricted diet due to food allergies. He otherwise would not have recommended it.

 

I've used Poly vi sol liquid vitamin basically since the girls were born. The NICU dr. recommended that they be on them for the first year. My ped always asks if I give them vitamins and seems satisfied when I answer that they are on Poly vi sol.

 

at our 1 yr visit the dr recommended poly-vi-sol.. my problem is that they really don't like to take it.. i'm hoping to start them on some kind of chewable but they all seem to start at 2 years old...

 

My ped did not recommend a vitamin for the boys unless their was some restriction in their diet or if they were deficient in fruits or vegetables.

 

I have some of the poly-sol kind but I only remember to give them about twice a month! To be honest, they're not that important to me at the moment. The boys eat a fairly balanced diet and they're growing like weeds. I'll definitely use them if they start getting pickier about fruit and veggies.

 

Our pedi said it wasn't necessary as long as he eats a varied diet.

 

I struggled with the same issue at about the same age your kids are. I used to work for a chain of health food stores, and I, too, am very health conscious. With that said, I know what is on the market, and I was concerned about my kids overdosing on whatever vitamin I would give them - it only takes 7-8 chewables and your child could OD. Besides, there are no regulations on vitamins so you are at the mercy of the manufacturer as to whether or not they are safe. For instance, Oprah researched over 100 vitamins to determine two things - are they safe, and does it contain what it says on the label. Only 7 of the supplements passed. And, here's the scary part...Lit'l Critter Gummie Vits were found to contain LEAD! Now, I'm not telling you this to scare you, but to inform you. There are good companies out there. You just need to find them.

Personally, after all of my research, another twin mom from my twins group introduced me to Juice Plus+. It is a whole food based supplement - simply 17 fruits and veggies in capsule, chewable or gummie. It is completely safe since it is just food - you can't overdose on it. I had a friend whose DD ate a two month supply in one sitting of the veggie gummies and was fine! Another thing I like about it is that it is being studied by numerous medical universities (over 20 studies in process right now), and 13 published studies (from completed research) in medical journals proving that it is effective in our bodies - antioxidant levels increase in as soon as 7 days, balances the immune system, increases cardiovascular wellness, decreases damaged DNA in the body, etc. Working at a health food store, we were lucky if a product that we were selling had 1 journal to back it up, let alone 13!

All that said, I talked to dh about it and we decided to put our whole family on it. We no longer take multi-vitamins - because I just don't know if they work like we know Juice Plus+ does. And, another added benefit is that eating fruits and veggies in my house is never a battle because I always know we are getting exactly what we need everyday from Juice Plus+ - it fills in that gap where we fall short. And, as a result, my family ends up eating more fruits and veggies because I'm not pressuring them to do so. Therefore, we stay healthier too.

In case you can't tell, I am really impressed with it. And, if you want to get it, it is only available by distributor. I signed up to be one once I realized what a great product it is and I started sharing it with others. Here is my website if you would like more information: Juice Plus+ My site has several doctors interviews regarding it, as well as pricing information and you can order there as well.

By the way, there are numerous people on this board who take it and so do their kids. Oh, and Dr. Sears, a well-known pediatrician, recommends it too. Dr. Sears - Juice Plus+ - this is his website link to his thoughts on JP. I met him recently - a very nice man.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I'd love to help you out. Personally, I love giving my kids something so safe and it is great to know that it is proven to work (the medical research shows that).

Best of luck with your search. I hope this helps!

 

We give liquid vitamins and have since they were about one year old. We give a multi-vitamin daily and an extra Vitamin C (also liquid) when they are showing signs of sickness coming on. We use the brand "Maxi Baby" and they love it - they get mad when they can't have more!

 

[We are a Juice Plus family around here and we LOVE them!! The kids get up and ask for them each morning and get upset if I forget.

 

I give mine, My First Flintstones every morning. They love taking their vitamin and call it "crunch" because they crunch it. They will ask for it every morning. We started this around 22 months.

 

We started the poly-visol liquid vitamins after our 9 month appointment. They did a iron test on the kids and they both came back kind of low. Just recently at our 15 month appt, our Ped told us to stop and they would recheck their iron levels at the 18 month appt and they most likely didn't need them anymore because they are getting a well balanced diet now.

 

We give the boys flinstone vitamins - although they don't get one every single day

 

" here's the scary part...Lit'l Critter Gummie Vits were found to contain LEAD! Now, I'm not telling you this to scare you, but to inform you."



Technically, if there was any amount of lead found in these, they would have been pulled by the FDA (or should have been by now). Our pedi suggested a vitamin for mine because they were 27 weekers and we get the one with fluoride as we are on well water. And some may not believe in fluoride, but I have researched it and I do, as long as the dosing is in the proper parts per million.

 

My pedi says that if they are eating a well rounded diet, not to worry about it. But we don't!! So, we use gummy vitamins (forgot to see how old yours are) since they turned 2.

But, there are people on our site that sell all natural vitamins. Maybe one of them will chime in with their info...

 

QUOTE(kaysyd @ Jun 11 2008, 12:26 PM) [snapback]821549[/snapback]
" here's the scary part...Lit'l Critter Gummie Vits were found to contain LEAD! Now, I'm not telling you this to scare you, but to inform you."
Technically, if there was any amount of lead found in these, they would have been pulled by the FDA (or should have been by now).


I'm right there with you, and I, too, wonder why these weren't pulled from the shelves when this report was published. In any case, I have the scanned copy of this Oprah Magazine article. If anyone would like it, just let me know. I'm happy to send it your way.