A growing child needs a certain amount of nutrients, among which vitamins play a significant role. Babies should get them from food, but this does not always work, and then pediatricians advise vitamin supplements. What vitamins are important for 5 year olds and in what foods are they present? When should you pay attention to pharmacy vitamins and which supplements are most optimal for this age?
Features:
A child's body should receive 13 vitamins daily, many of which are vital. With their lack, growth is disturbed, the development of the baby is delayed, the baby begins to hurt more often. At the age of 5, the skeleton actively grows and muscles develop, and vision is also formed, therefore, special attention should be paid to a sufficient intake of vitamin D, B vitamins, and vitamin A.
The need for vitamins at 5 years old and their effect on the baby's body, see the table:
Indications
Vitamin supplements may be prescribed to 5-year-olds if:
- The child does not eat well, for example, the family cannot provide a balanced diet, or the child's body does not tolerate certain foods.
- The pediatrician diagnosed hypovitaminosis in the baby. It manifests itself as lethargy, poor skin condition, decreased appetite, impaired vision, frequent colds and other symptoms.
- The child has rather high physical or intellectual loads, for example, the baby goes to the sports section or to additional developmental activities, and the lack of vitamins is expressed by disturbing symptoms.
- The baby began to get sick often or was treated for a long time (especially if there was antibiotic therapy).
- Parents want to support the child's body during the seasonal reduction of vitamins in food.
Contraindications
It is necessary to avoid the use of vitamin supplements at the age of 5 when:
- Intolerance to any vitamin that is present in the selected complex.
- Hypervitaminosis, which the doctor identified.
- Severe diseases of the excretory system.
Should I use to strengthen the immune system?
The immune system of a five-year-old child works under conditions of increased stress, since at this age children go to the garden and development centers, start attending the circus, cinema, performances and other events with a large number of people.
For the prevention of colds and viral diseases, the child is recommended to take complexes with high dosages of vitamins C, D, E and A. Vitamin complexes should be selected by a doctor in the presence of disturbing symptoms.
These vitamins are noted for the ability to strengthen the body's defenses. Manufacturers of vitamin supplements offer special complexes that support the immunity of children. Among the most popular supplements in this area are Multi-Tabs Immuno Kids, Pikovit Prebiotic and VitaMishki Immuno +.
Release forms
Vitamins for children are presented:
- Sweet syrup.
- Gel spread over cookies.
- Powder to be dissolved in water or food.
- Chewable hard tablets.
- Chewable soft lozenges.
Why are chewable vitamins popular?
Vitamins for children in the form of tablets or lozenges, which kids chew, are liked by 5-year-old children more than other forms of release, since they have a pleasant taste and an interesting shape. Most often, these vitamins are made in the form of animals.
Such tablets are not required to be swallowed and washed down with water, so there are no problems with taking chewable vitamins.
What vitamins are better for giving: a review of popular
Vitamins for five year olds that are in the greatest demand:
Nutritional adjustments as an alternative
Since the child receives most of the vitamins from food, careful control of the diet is able to meet all the vitamin needs of a 5-year-old baby.
Vitamin D is considered one of the main vitamins at this age. It is found in eggs, butter, fatty fish. In addition, this vitamin is produced in the skin in direct sunlight, so the child should spend enough time in the sun, especially in winter.
Equally important at the age of 5 is vitamin A, which a child can get from:
- Vegetable fats.
- Dairy products.
- Green vegetables.
- Pumpkins and carrots.
- Fish and eggs, as well as fish oil.
- Berries.
Five-year-old children should receive ascorbic acid from fresh fruits, berries and fresh vegetables. Sources of B vitamins are cereals, bread, vegetables, meat and herbs. To obtain vitamin E, vegetable oils must be present in the diet of babies.
Read about the menu of a child at 5 years old in another article.
Komarovsky's opinion
The popular doctor is sure that without vitamins, children cannot develop and grow normally, so each parent must take care of the sufficient intake of vitamins by his child. At the same time, Komarovsky believes that it is quite realistic to provide the needs for vitamins with a varied diet, and pharmaceutical preparations should be taken only with hypovitaminosis confirmed by a doctor.
For more details, see the program of Dr. Komarovsky.
Tips
- Go to the pharmacy for vitamins only after consulting your pediatrician. He will take into account the peculiarities of your child, advise the best option and consider the rationality of their introduction. Also, seek feedback from other parents of 5-year-olds.
- When choosing vitamins, make sure that the complex is recommended for 5-year-olds. It is unacceptable to give a child vitamins, the dosages of which are designed for older children or adults. In addition, you should not independently increase the dosage of even vitamins suitable for a five-year-old baby.
- To buy vitamins for children, it is best to go to the pharmacy and select products from well-known manufacturers.
- If you want to choose a vitamin and mineral complex for a 5-year-old baby, pay attention to the dosage of calcium, iron, iodine, potassium, magnesium and zinc.
- Be especially careful when choosing a vitamin preparation for a child with allergy tendencies, as color, taste or odor additives in vitamin preparations can cause reactions.
- If you are interested in a vitamin complex to improve memory, look at the dosage of vitamin D, iodine, B vitamins, iron and selenium.
- Having given a vitamin to a child for the first time, monitor the reaction of the crumbs to the drug. If rash, diarrhea, skin redness, nausea, or other adverse symptoms develop, the supplement should be discontinued.
- Consider the tonic effect of vitamin supplements, which is noted in most drugs, so it is best to give the remedy to the child in the morning.
- Take care of the storage of vitamins, as sugary tablets can be perceived by a child as a treat. A situation should be excluded when the child can take out all the packaging and eat a lot of vitamins at once.
