It is often difficult to make sure that your kids are maintaining a healthy, well-balanced diet and receiving the proper amount of vitamins and minerals. It can be an even bigger challenge today due to children eating away from home, at school, friend’s houses and fast food restaurants. So I supplement with a comprehensive multivitamin with probiotic to help maintain my children’s health and improve their immunity. And since my kids are not big dairy eaters, I also supplement with a comprehensive calcium supplement.

What I Look For When Picking a Children’s Vitamin:

1. Content and Ingredient:

I am looking for the vitamins and essential minerals that will support my child’s immune system, cognitive learning and help them maintain physical and mental focus throughout the day. I also don’t want certain ingredients like aspartame, high sugar, iron and fillers.

2. Efficiency of Absorption:

A vitamin/mineral supplement must be easily absorbed and assimilated into the body efficiently for optimal benefits. Many capsules and tablets must be dissolved in the stomach taking up to 6 hours to be absorbed into the body, if they in fact survive the hydrochloric acid of the stomach.

3. Palatability:

If your children won’t take them, then what good are they?

4. Convenience:

I want a supplement that is easy for my children to take every morning, easy to take with me when I travel and easy to keep fresh.

5. Price:

With a limited budget, like most families, I am looking for the best quality within my budget.

I have my favorites.

Beth Ann Bentley is the mother of four school aged children, the publisher of iLunchBox.com and a Nutrition Educator.