Does my Kid Need a Multi-Vitamin?

As parents, we want to be sure our kiddos are getting every nutrient, vitamin, and mineral to be healthy and fully develop.

It's a question many of us face when our kiddos reach the age that they really begin to grow: does my kid need a multi-vitamin? 

Think of vitamins as the tiny helpers that enable our body to do the thousands of functions it needs to do: digest, grow, repair, sleep, etc. 

A deficiency in one particular vitamin can cause issues with the bodily functions it enables. 

There are 13 vitamins and over 5,000 minerals (minerals are like vitamins except they are inorganic, meaning they aren't alive and didn't come from something that was living). 

Keeping track of all of these is impossible, so the question remains, should we pony up, click "subscribe & save" and pluck a gummy vitamin or two on our kids' breakfast plates each morning?

The short answer: it's probably not necessary.

If you're conscious of your kiddo's diet and provide them with a wide variety of healthy food options, especially plants and vegetables, then a supplemental vitamin is probably not needed. 

That money and effort may be better spent elsewhere.

However, it's important to note that if your child is a picky eater, or refuses to eat many foods that provide quality nutrition (think veggies, fruits, nuts, and seeds), then adding in a kids multivitamin might not be a bad idea.

Here are a few in particular we like: 

Smarty Pants Kids Multi Vitamin

Yumi Bears Organic Kids Complete Multi