All in the Family: Tread cautiously with vitamins for kids

It's that time of year again. The holidays are over and New Year's resolutions abound. At the top of many lists is the promise to lose weight, get fit and eat healthier. This motivation typically lasts through February and is then shelved until next year. Realizing this, many parents contemplate giving vitamins to our kids to at least round out their non-nutritious diet. If we give up on the gym or finding ways to swap chocolate for squash, isn't this better than abandoning all efforts to be healthier?

Many parents wonder if we should give our children vitamins. Parents are concerned, after all, about older kids who skip breakfast, but eat a candy bar for lunch and devour four bowls of Barely Nutritious cereal as an after-school snack. Then they inhale Chips for Dips before bed. Three dairy servings per day - does ice cream count? Five fruits and vegetables - do jalapeno poppers work? Fiber - is it in beef jerky? Sure, we've heard of those creative moms who sneak pureed avocados into mashed potatoes, but who has the time? Isn't popping a vitamin the best option?

Trying to serve healthy meals fast is a challenge. And older kids are rarely home to eat them even if we figure out a way to make them. But even if they were home and we knew how to make them, they would surely refuse to touch them anyway. So it is understandable that many parents look to vitamins for a little insurance when they have kids who are picky eaters, or who just eat poorly. But are they really necessary?

Most nutrition experts agree that the majority of children do not need vitamins. Even with less than optimum nutrition, most kids amazingly eat enough to ingest the recommended daily dose of vitamins and minerals. Contrary to what many parents believe, kids really only need a few small bites of foods from the different food groups to meet their needs. Additionally, many vitamins can be stored in the body and used later. That means when Picky decides on Monday that he really does like broccoli, he will store some of the nutrients from it which can be used later when he decides he hates broccoli again. Stored vitamins allow for a balance of foods over a period of time, eliminating the need to eat every one every day.

There are some concerns with offering vitamins. One of the biggest is that a false sense of healthy living may come with believing our children's nutritional needs are met. This may sway parents to allow more junk foods, or to give up on efforts to promote a healthy diet because the vitamin covers them.

While vitamins do contain basic nutrients, they do not offer immune-boosting substances found only in fresh foods.

Vitamins should be treated as medicines, not like the candy they often resemble as overdoses can be harmful.

While vitamins are not necessary for most kids, they do have their place. When treated as supplements to healthy dietary efforts, or used when kids go through their picky phases, vegetarian phases, protein only phases, weight loss efforts for wrestling, weight gain efforts for football, pizza only phase, and the 'I hate your cooking” phase, they can be beneficial for kids while providing peace of mind for parents. Just be sure to promote healthy eating habits, so the supplement doesn't become the staple.

' Ann-Marie Berg is a Cedar Rapids mom and pediatric nurse practitioner. Write to her at features@sourcemedia.net.