Do Kids Really Need to Take Vitamins?

The best source of vitamins for a child is actually a healthy diet. What I tell families is, they need to provide their child a variety of foods. Parents are often very concerned because children, especially toddlers, can be very, very picky eaters. Just because your child is a picky eater does not mean that they're going to have a nutritional deficiency. I recommend that throughout a time span of, let's say, a week, you focus on making sure your child is eating a variety of foods.

If a family feels that their child is not receiving a variety of foods, if they feel that there's a particular deficiency in their diet, I recommend that they discuss this with their pediatrician, and their pediatrician can make a recommendation whether or not a multivitamin is necessary. It is very important, if you do use a multivitamin, that you do not go beyond 100 percent of the daily recommended allowance of any nutrient.