It's easy for kids to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life and end up eating quick and easy foods that aren't vitamin-rich. Children's bodies need vitamins to grow, develop and work properly. Fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K get stored in the body for days, or even months, while water-soluble vitamins like C and the B vitamins travel straight through the system and need to be replenished often. Both types are best consumed in whole foods--a colorful, natural diet supplies a variety of vitamins--but supplements are the next best choice.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is an antioxidant that's good for the eyes, and helps kid grow properly and have healthy skin. It can be found in orange fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, squash and cantaloupe, or dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale and collards as well as in liver and in milk fortified with vitamin A. As with all fat-soluble vitamins, too much can be harmful, but deficiencies do occur in kids with poor diets or fat malabsorption.
B Vitamins
B vitamins boost kids' metabolism, and help make energy, protein and red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. There are a bunch of B vitamins: B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin, biotin, folic acid and pantothenic acid. They're found in protein-rich foods such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy products and beans, whole grains and green leafy vegetables. B vitamins are all water soluble, so they need to be consumed regularly.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is an antioxidant that keeps the body's tissues, like muscles and gums, in top shape. It also helps kids resist infection and illness and heal if they get a cut or scrape. It's found in citrus fruits, strawberries, cantaloupe, kiwi fruit, tomatoes, sweet red peppers, broccoli and cabbage. It's another water-soluble vitamin, so kids need a daily dose. Infants under a year old who are fed cow's milk exclusively can develop a Vitamin C deficiency, which leads to scurvy, so cow's milk is not recommended until after a child's first birthday. Instead, feed infants breast milk or formula.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D builds strong bones and teeth and helps the body absorb calcium. This is one of the most important vitamins for children, and deficiency can cause a bone disorder called Rickets. Infants that are breastfed exclusively, especially dark-skinned ones or those that don't get a lot of sun, are at risk for deficiency, and should take 200 IU of Vitamin D daily.
It's found in fortified milk and cereal, egg yolks, fish and liver. It also comes from exposure to sunlight, so letting your child spend 10 or 15 minutes a day in the sun is a good idea.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is an antioxidant that maintains the body's tissues, such as the skin, eyes and liver, and protects the lungs from pollution. It also helps form red blood cells. It can be found in whole grains, wheat germ, nuts, seeds, egg yolks, sardines and leafy green vegetables. It's fat soluble, so be sure not to give your child too much.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K helps the blood clot properly, and is found in dairy products, leafy green vegetables, broccoli and soybean oil. Newborns are often deficient in Vitamin K, even if they're being breastfed, so it's common practice to give them a shot of the vitamin soon after birth.
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