Vitamins and Minerals For Babies and Young Children

Many parents are concerned about the nutrition of their babies and small children. Vitamins and minerals are essential to the proper physical development of children. Processed foods are lacking and filled with preservatives. Even fresh fruits and vegetables are lacking in nutritional value because they are often picked too early or are growing in poor soil. Thus many parents want to give their children vitamin supplements. This can be a good idea for older children over four years old. However, it may not be good to give supplements to babies and toddlers.

Babies
Mothers who are concerned about their infants' nutritional intake should not give supplements to their babies because babies systems are so young. A mother of an infant should instead feed her baby a doctor recommended formula that is especially made to provide infants with the vitamins and minerals they need to develop. Mothers who breast feed may add extra vitamins and minerals to their breast milk if their child was born premature. Premature infants need extra nutrition supplement, but they should be given it under doctor supervision.

The best way for mothers to improve their infants' nutritional intake is by improving their own nutrition if they breast feed. What a mother eats gets passed on to her child if she breast feeds her baby. If a mother is deficient in essential vitamins and minerals her baby will be deficient as well. This can seriously affect the baby's development physically and mentally. So a bread feeding mother should pay close attention to her diet. A mother who breast feeds her child should be sure to have an adequate amount of the following vitamins in her diet:

Vitamin A
Vitamin B1
Vitamin B2
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B12
Vitamin C
Calcium
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Folic acid
Iron
Vitamin K
Niacin
Zinc
Foods rich in protein

All of these nutrients are needed for a baby to develop in good health.

There are vitamin products especially made for babies, but they should be used with caution. Mothers should first consult their pediatrician. Vitamins can be toxic to an infant because the child is so young and small.

Vitamin Supplements For Toddlers
It would be more appropriate to start giving vitamin supplements to children age two and three. Toddlers are of the age where they can feed themselves. So getting them to eat right can be hard. They often refuse to eat wholesome foods, such as vegetables. Often they do not eat all of their food that is placed before them. As a result many toddlers are deficient in the following essential vitamins and minerals:

Vitamin A- needed for healthy skin, eye sight, boost immunity, cell development
Vitamin C- needed to boost immune system, heal wounds, make healthy bones, tissue growth, absorb iron
Vitamin D
B vitamins- needed for mental and brain development
Iron
Calcium
Zinc
Magnesium
Phosphorous

Getting these vitamins and minerals at an early age can help prevent the toddler from developing ADHD, ( Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).
Parents should give their children a multiple vitamin on a daily basis. Vitamins can be "yuckie", but there are multiple vitamins that are made in the form of sweet chewable tablets, gumdrops, and sweet syrup. So the child can get his or her vitamins and mineral and enjoy how they taste. Taking too much vitamin supplements can be toxic to toddlers as well as infants. So parents should limit their child's vitamin intake. Parents should work to encourage their young children to eat a variety of nutritious foods.

It is good for parents to be concerned about their children's nutritional health. It is important for parents to show this concern as soon as possible to prevent future health problems from occurring. However, when babies and toddlers are concerned, parents should be careful about giving them vitamin supplements and should seek professional advice.