vitamin D supplements for kids

[wallflower]

dh has ms. he takes vitamin d supplements as directed by ms specialist.

i want to supplement my 6 yr old and 2 yr old. i try to make sure they're outside in the nice weather and drink lots of milk, but if i can do anything to keep them from getting what their dad has, i will.

anyone else supplement kids? vit d is NOT in either of their dr prescribed multi-vitamins. i found 500 mg gummy vitamin d. my web research said 1000 mg/ day for kids over 2. sounds high bc that's what dh is taking. or maybe he should take more? idk.

[snminnow]

My daughter has a milk allergy, so she has never been able to have any of the normal sources of food that would contain vitamin D. This being said, her doctor has given us lists of alternative sources and levels of daily intake and her chart states that birth to age 13 the adequate daily intake should be 5mcg (or 200IU) and the maximum is 50mcg (or 2000IU). Check out the National Institute of Health's website on Vitamin D. They have the chart on there, and cautions against vit D toxicity from taking too much vit D by way of supplements. The supplements are fat soluble and can harm the kidneys if taken in large doses, whereas the vid D produced from sun exposure is regulated better by the body

I am pasty white and avoid sun exposure due to being prone to burn, but have made more of an effort to make sure my daughters & I make it outside to soak up the Florida sunshine a few days a week. Try not to worry too much I honestly could never fathom lack of vit D having any role in my developing MS, I grew up in FL with a pool in my back yard as a kid & have always consumed milk, cheese, and all the other yummy rich dairy items.

[Portia]

D: vitamin or hormone?

I recently had my daughter at the doctor for a viral thing. I asked him about checking her D level because of my recent diagnosis, and he said that the level doesn't need to be checked; she should just take vitamin D anyway. Even though she drinks lots of milk, that doesn't necessarily mean her body has enough D. He recommended that she take 1000 IU a day.

He also said not to worry about toxic levels--said that D isn't technically a vitamin since our bodies make it. It's more like a hormone. I will have to ask our other docs about that to be more comfortable with that statement, but I have started her on the D. She is 15 years old and in good general health.

[sgrammied]

Vit D

My 10 yr old granddaugher was tested for Vit. D. Even though she plays outside, drinks milk, eats cheese, etc. Her blood work came back with slmost no Vit D in her system. She has to take one Vit. D tablet every day. It is 1000 iu. After being on it for 4 months now she will be retested this week. Hopefully she will show better.

[beth38]

Vit -D

I have been giving my kids v-D for months i was told to call my kids doc by my nuro. my kids are 8yr and 6 yr and they take 400mg daily.

[wallflower]

thank you! i've found recomm of 1000/ day for kids 2 and up. never thought about having blood test done for dd and ds. ds needs to get blood drawn for allergy testing anyway... maybe do both at once.

[mom2three]

check out the vitamin d council's website. I believe for children over a year, if they aren't getting their daily sun dose, they recommend 1000IU per 25 pounds of body weight daily.
We use carlsons vitamin d. Its an oil that you can get in various concentrations. I have it in 1000IU for my kids so they get a drop per 1000IU they need. Its tiny, I put it on the back of their hand and they lick it. No taste. :-)

[r8rs]

I'M NOT 100% SURE VITAMIN D IS THE ONLY CONCERN WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF MS. I LOVE MILK AND AS A TEEN THROUGH ALL OF MY TWENTYS I DARANK ABOUT A GALLON A DAY! ALWAYS HAD A LOT OF MILK AND VITA D IN MY SYSTEM AND LIKE MOST OF MY AGE WAS PRACTICLY FORCED OUTSIDE WITH ANY CHANCE OF SUN. DON'T GET ME WRONG THOUGH I DON'T SEE HOW IT COULD HURT TO DOUBLE UP ON IT , ESPECIALLY WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PREVENTING IT.

[emass]

I give my 9 year old and 3 year old regular gummy multi-vitamins but they only have 400 IU's of vitamin D so I supplement them further with gummy Vitamin D chews from Nature's Sunshine.

[BigA]

My Son won't take a pill because it frightens him and I'm not yet ready to force him to take it. He's 8. So for now, I squeeze a pill out on to his toast. I think I'll make toast for him every day.