Most health professionals will agree that the best way to ensure adequate vitamin and mineral intake is through a healthy and balanced diet. Despite a parent's best attempt, getting your child to consume all the required nutrients may be harder than you may think. The limited diets of most children and the newly increased requirements of certain vitamins and minerals may have parents turning to vitamin supplements to ensure adequate vitamin D, calcium and iron intake.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps ensure that the body absorbs and retains calcium and phosphorus, both critical for building bones. A vitamin D deficiency can lead to rickets, a bone-softening disease often seen in children under the age of 2.
In 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) updated its recommendations for vitamin D. Because of the limited natural dietary sources of vitamin D and sunscreen usage, the majority of the population is showing signs of deficiency. The AAP suggests that all infants and children get a minimum intake of 400 IU of Vitamin D supplementation beginning soon after birth. This new recommendation doubles the prior recommendation of only 200 IU.
In addition to vitamin supplements, enriched foods are another way to increase the vitamin D in your child's diet. Look for foods fortified with vitamin D such as milk, cereal and orange juice.
Iron
Iron is a vital component of hemoglobin, the carrier of oxygen in the blood. As children grow, blood volume increases, and so does the need for iron. Healthy full-term infants are born with a supply of iron that lasts for four to six months. It is then recommended that exclusively breastfed babies start taking an iron supplement.
Due to the diets of most young children, the type of iron that most children consume is usually non-heme iron (from plant sources), which has a lower bioavailability than heme iron (from animal sources). As a result, children up to 3 years old are at higher risk for iron-deficiency anemia.
Recommended Daily Allowance for Iron
The RDA for infants 7 to 12 months old is 11 mg a day. For children ages 1 to 3, the RDA decreases to 7 mg a day. Until the age of 8, the RDA becomes 10 mg a day. From 9 to approximately 13 years old, the RDA decreases again to 8 mg a day. Once puberty occurs, the recommendations differ among males and females.
Calcium
Because dairy foods are the primary source of calcium, children who do not consume enough dairy or have an allergy or intolerance to dairy products may be at risk for calcium deficiency.
Calcium is needed for bone and teeth mineralization and maintenance. The amount of calcium a child needs is determined in part by the consumption of other nutrients, such as protein, phosphorus and vitamin D, as well as the child's rate of growth. During this period of development, an infant's need for calcium starts at 210 mg a day and progressively increases with age up to 1,300 mg a day by the age of 13.
Multivitamins
A children's multivitamin/mineral dietary supplement rounds out a good basic dietary supplement program for most children. But before giving your child any supplement, it is advised to talk to your child's pediatrician.
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