Fish oil contains heart-healthy omega-3 oils that can potentially boost your child's focus and ability to learn. It might also offer some improvement for children's health conditions such as asthma, developmental coordination disorder, or dyspraxia, and attention hyperactivity disorder. Consuming too much fish oil can potentially cause health problems, so talk to your child's doctor before giving your child this or any other type of nutritional supplement. Your doctor can make dosage recommendations specifically tailored to your child's age, size and needs.
Types
Children can obtain fish oil by including oily fish, such as mackerel, tuna or salmon, in their diets or through nutritional supplements. If treating a specific condition, such as a learning disorder, that requires a regular dose of fish oil, you will probably want to use a supplement so you know how much your child gets. Your doctor might advise you to limit your child's consumption of these types of fish since they often contain high levels of mercury and other contaminants not present in supplements. Fish oil supplements usually contain both docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, and eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, although you can find supplements that offer these ingredients separately.
Significance
No clear rule exists as to the amount of fish oil proven safe or effective for children, so MayoClinic.com urges you to talk to your doctor before giving your child a fish oil supplement. In an article on the Daily Mail website, Dr. Alex Richardson, a senior research fellow from Oxford University, indicates that most children can benefit from 450 to 500 mg per day of a combined EPA/DHA supplement. He cautions that some children might need more to see any benefits from the fish oil use, but that children should only take over 1,000 mg a day if under a doctor's strict supervision.
Considerations
The right dosage for your child will vary depending on the condition you want to treat with the fish oil. MedlinePlus indicates that 17 to 26.8 mg EPA and 7.3 to 11.5 mg DHA might help improve asthmatic children's airflow and alleviate the coughing associated with the condition. If using the fish oil to treat developmental coordination disorder, Medline Plus suggests giving your child 3 daily divided doses, each containing 558 mg of EPA and 174 mg of DHA. To treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a supplement with 400 mg of fish oils and 11 mg of evening primrose might help improve your child's focus and behavior.
Prevention/Solution
Since no dosage of fish oil can work if your child refuses to take the supplements, pay attention to the taste and recommended daily dose of the supplement you choose. Fish oil supplements often leave behind an oily, fishy taste that many children dislike, so supplements marketed for children usually contain artificial sweeteners and flavorings. Dr. Richardson suggests picking a supplement with the more natural sweeteners xylitol and mannitol that are good for your child's teeth. Check the daily recommended dose of the supplement -- the fewer pills your child needs to take on a regular basis means that he is more likely to take them without objection.
Warning
Although overdosing your child on fish oil is unlikely to do her serious harm, according to Dr. Richardson, it can cause an upset stomach and other unpleasant digestive symptoms. Some children might also develop allergies to fish oils that can pose a risk to their health, so talk to your doctor if you notice any signs of an allergic reaction in your child, including wheezing, vomiting, diarrhea and skin rashes.
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