Are vitamins important to children? Can children use vitamins? How much of a certain vitamin should a child be given? It is well known that children do not like vegetables, which are known to be rich in vitamins and minerals. Does this mean they need vitamin supplements? These are all important questions that parents often seek answers to. Let's shed some light on this topic.
Vitamins are, by definition, substances we need for our body to function normally. Does this rule exclude children? Absolutely not. We need vitamins for healthy vision, to grow, to make bones and connective tissue, to fight infections, diseases and cancer, to heal wounds, to prevent us from bleeding to death, and to keep our teeth healthy and strong. Don’t these also apply to children? Of course they do!
So we have established that we need sufficient vitamins intake to be healthy. We have also established the fact that we cannot produce enough vitamins to meet our needs. We, therefore, need to get them from outside sources, largely our diet and from commercial nutritional supplements. Multivitamins are the best source for children to receive the nutrients they need in order to grow and develop.
Not many of us eat a balanced diet on a regular basis if at all, nor do many of us give our children a daily balanced diet either. (Happy Meals anyone?) The stresses of modern living have made sure we are not home long enough or have enough time to prepare regularly balanced meals for ourselves and our children. Indeed, more people are eating out most times. Now, this is a serious problem for us as adults, but is even more serious for children still growing. When was the last time you saw a healthy fast food chain? The CEO's of McDonalds and Wendy's have both died from heart attacks. It doesn't take a genius to get a feeling that fast food is extraordinarily damaging to one's health.