Get the Very Best Vitamins for Your Children’s Health
Vitamins are a cornerstone of a healthy, functioning human body, regardless of age.
With a wide range of affordable vitamin and supplements products on the market for adults in Ireland, we often get asked about how best to supplement a child's vitamin intake, the safety around these products and which solutions are the best to help stave off common childhood bugs and illnesses, among other common questions.
You'll be glad to learn that there are some truly excellent children's vitamins available nowadays for kids in need of a vitamin boost, those who may suffer from specific vitamin deficiencies and for loving parents to give their child the best possible chance of a healthy, natural development with a supplementary blend of daily nutrients.
To support the complete formation of your child's body systems, you need to ensure that their dietary intake comprises the suitable nutrients that support their overall health. In addition, how a child responds to health challenges both as a child and as an adult is highly dependent on their dietary composition.
Essential Vitamins for Children
As children’s bodies develop, their vitamin requirements vary.
For instance, a baby may require more vitamin D for strong teeth and bone formation than a toddler whose systems have taken shape and who may need some vitamin B for improved eye health - and the range of vitamins derived from a variety of foods and supplements can be tapped into at various stages of your child’s development to respond to their own unique and evolving needs.
Of course, each individual child’s needs vary and we always recommend speaking with a medical professional in advance of any new course of immune-boosting supplementation, but for natural vitamin consumption, we generally suggest for parents to consider supplementing these vital vitamins to their diet for overall health and body functioning:
- Vitamin C
A critical nutrient in promoting proper growth in kids, vitamin C helps build healthy bones, skin and gums, a stronger immune system and improves overall health. Also known as ascorbic acid, the vitamin contributes greatly to how children's bodies response to a chronic threat, keeping them in optimal health.
Found naturally in food such as citrus fruits, berries like the elderberry and strawberries. You can also get it as a supplement from your pharmacy.
- Vitamin A
A 2016 report by UNICEF revealed that "a high-dose supplementation with this essential vitamin improves a child’s chance of survival by 12 to 24 percent in some parts of the world; it bolsters the immune system, helps protect against life-threatening infections like measles and diarrheal disease, and is needed for vision and bone growth."
This statement sums up the essence of the role vitamins play in development in children of different ages. A balanced, vitamin-rich diet is critical in growth and organ formation.
Vitamin A is primarily responsible for a child's overall growth and development and also plays a key role in immune-boosting and body tissue repair.
You can find the vitamin in common Irish household staples such as milk, eggs, green leafy vegetables, poultry, and cheese. It's also found as an ingredient in many multivitamin supplements if your child is a picky eater or has other conditions that make supplementation preferable.
- Vitamin B
If you want to build a solid functional metabolism for your children, include Vitamin Bs in your children's food, particularly vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) which has been proven to improve both physical and mental fortitude in children.
Vitamin B goes a long way in enabling the complete formation of body systems such as the nervous system, blood circulation system, and respiratory system.
These are also the vitamins responsible for your children’s energy levels and muscle formation.
Stock a basket of mixed fruits such as kiwis, strawberries, and citrus fruits to get these crucial vitamins. Combine the fruits with spuds or sweet potatoes and leafy vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, and you're good to go!
Of course, it's also available in the form of dedicated vitamin B supplements or as a prime ingredient of all major kids multivitamin products.
- Iron
Last, but by no means least on this list, iron is an essential mineral given its highly impactful benefits in children, especially young babies to help with their early development and also teen girls who will soon be experiencing the menstruation cycle.
Young children also require enough iron in their food to aid in forming the red blood cells. Iron deficiency in their bodies can lead to critical health complications.
The HSE recommends including iron in your child's diet at all ages for developmental growth.
Get it from vegetables such as spinach and kale, red meat, oily fish and beans. You could also administer it in the form of a supplement.
The Importance of Children’s Vitamins
Vitamins form a significant percentage of the nutritional requirement in children's growth. Therefore, a child's health is heavily reliant on their dietary intake.
Some of the significant roles played by children's vitamins include:
- Growth and Development
A baby is put on a milk diet to aid their overall development upon birth. However, as they grow, their diet requirements also vary at the different stages of their development.
Vitamins contain the essential nutrients necessary to support the formation of the different organs. For instance, for strong bones and tooth formation, the baby needs vitamin D when weaning; for healthy skin and hair growth, the kid requires enough vitamin A to produce enough red blood cells, the child should be getting enough Vitamin B.
This shows the need for vitamin ingredients in your child's body can not be wished away. Help your kid develop a healthy body by including the different vitamins in their diet.
- Tissue Repair
Naturally, a child will hurt themselves from time-to-time as they become more active and explorative at the different stages of their growth.
To stop excessive bleeding and a quicker tissue repair from minor bumps and cuts, kids need to have a balanced blend of essential vitamin nutrients in their system for faster healing. You don't wish for a situation where your child's minor injury takes longer than normal to heal.
- Better Eyesight
At the developing stages, your child needs to develop their visionary abilities. This can be strongly supported by including the right vitamins in your child's diet from the get-go.
- Healthy Nails, Hair and Skin
A balanced diet that contains the right amount of vital vitamins will go a long way in ensuring your kids have strong, healthy hair and nails.
Your child’s skin, which is the largest organ in their bodies, needs to be adequately taken care of by ensuring you add the correct amount of crucial vitamins to their menu.
- Support Immunity
If you don't want to be a regular visitor to the doctor, then ensure your kids have the right vitamin ingredients on their menu daily.
Vitamins play a critical role in ensuring your kids' bodies develop a robust immune system that aids in the development of suitable antibodies that fight diseases.
Getting your children to consume these essential vitamins every day can be an uphill task. However, you can get a variety of these crucial nutrients in the form of supplements.
Vitamin supplements act as a relief to parents keen on administering a balanced diet to their children.
Kids Who Need Vitamin Supplements
Not all children are comfortable getting all their vitamins from whole foods. As a result, parents and caregivers are forced to go for supplements to fill the gap most of the time.
Consider getting these supplement products if your children are:
- Picky eaters
- Have chronic medical ailments
- Not in a position to access well-balanced food
- Always feeding on junk and fast foods
- Constantly drinking carbonated sodas
- Vegans, vegetarians and those who need iron supplements
Additionally, if you just want to ensure your children's immune system is strong enough to cope with the daily demands of growing up in the volatile and unpredictable Irish climate, you may choose to supplement their vitamin intake particularly with Vitamin D in the winter months.
The Best Child Vitamins Supplements
Once you have decided to support your child's diet with vitamin supplements, then you need to go for the best options available to you, from a trusted manufacturer and at the right price.
Remember, just as they say 'you are what you eat', your child's overall health will be influenced by the kinds and amounts of vitamins they consume.
Always go for the best to be sure whatever product you buy is of the right quality and will serve your children's system well.
The following are our best choices of convenient kids vitamin supplements suitable at different childhood stages:
- BetterYou DLux Infant Spray
- BetterYou DLux Junior Oral Spray
- BabyVit D3 Pure Vitamin D3 Drops
- Natures Plus Animal Parade® Calcium Children's Chewable
- Nature's Plus Animal Parade® Sugar-Free Vitamin C Children's Chewable 90's
- Nature's Plus Animal Parade Magnesium Kidz Chewable 90's
- Revive Active Junior Revive
- Revive Active Teen Revive
- Vitabiotics Wellkid Multi-Vits (in Peppa Pig and Marvel packaging)
Each of these products have met all the parameters necessary when buying kids' supplements and complement the requirements outlined in the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI)'s scientific recommendations for food-based dietary guidelines for children.
Factors to Consider when Buying Kids Supplements
Before buying any of these products to boost your child’s vitamin and mineral intake levels, please consider the following:
- Doctors' Opinion
Get your GP’s opinion before you order and administer any additional supplement, especially if your child has pre-existing medical conditions, do not self-medicate or rely on hearsay.
Check what they have to say so they can even give you advice on the type and the correct dosage based on your kids' medical history, age, size and overall health status.
- Brand
Always choose a reputable brand that has been in the trade for several years. You don't want to purchase from a brand who is operational today, and when you are mid-dose, they close shop. Thankfully, that’s rare here in Ireland, but doing your homework in advance always makes sense.
Do due diligence on the brand, dig into their history and evaluate their product portfolio. You can even do this online before making that purchasing decision.
Check whether they are registered to operate in Ireland. What about their online store? Does it offer a faster checkout? Do they have customer support where you can make inquiries at any time? How is their service? Is it easy to search and filter the items you need? Does their site load fast, and does it protect your password? Can you track your order?
How about the payment options? Does the company accept Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, or other options?
A reputable brand will invest in the proper infrastructure, and their online page should give you a sign in the right direction.
A small company may be limited in the services and product varieties they offer.
Of course, if you’re buying any products directly from the Meaghers Pharmacy website, these factors are less of a concern, given our strict, medically-compliant operational guidelines and commitment to consumer safety.
- Form
Children can be picky and stubborn when the supplements are not administered in their preferred form.
Fortunately, multivitamins for kids and come in various forms; you can have them as chewable vitamin gummies, baby vitamin drops, capsules, tablets, liquids and powders.
Many are sweetened with artificial flavours for taste, but sugar-free options are widely available too.
- Price
Once you’ve done your research and are considering your options, it’s important to go for a product sold by a trusted brand that you can comfortably afford a full dose for the price.
As you evaluate the prices from the different children’s vitamins stockists in Ireland, check to see if the advertised prices include VAT.
Next, review the packaging. Does it show the quantity of the content per pack? This will help you evaluate whether the product is reasonably priced and that the cost-per-unit is something you can justify investing in for your child’s prolonged health.
The Meaghers Verdict on Children’s’ Vitamins
As a primary caregiver to your child(ren), you can help shape your kid’s immunity and overall health by administering the proper dietary requirements. Where for any reason, your child can't reap the full benefit of a daily nutrient from whole foods, it’s often a great option to go the extra mile to fill the gap with the right supplement products that will boost their health.
Contact Us to Discuss Your Child's Vitamin Needs
We’re hopeful this guide has given you all you need to understand the highly beneficial immune-boosting properties of the most popular kids vitamin supplement products stocked on Irish supermarket shelves and in pharmacies.
As always, we advise all of our customers to seek expert medical advice before putting their children on a course of vitamins and to educate themselves fully before deciding on the best solution for their family. If ever you'd like to discuss your child's specific vitamin requirements, we're on-hand to help with expert advice, tailored to your child's needs.
