Should I give my child vitamins? This is a common question posed to pediatricians. Generally, pediatricians do not endorse vitamins for children.

"It's hard for a middle-class, healthy child to become vitamin deficient," says Jeffrey Meade, MD, a Watertown pediatrician on staff at Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital. "Cereal, flour and other staples are vitamin-fortified. Even the irregular diets of toddlers contain adequate vitamins." In addition, he says, vitamins are no substitute for healthy eating.

Vitamins perform an array of functions that affect a child's mental and physical health. A five-a-day plan is recommended: three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit. One should be rich in vitamin C (i.e. citrus and tomatoes) and one rich in vitamin A (i.e. carrots and sweet potatoes).

Minerals, such as calcium and iron, are also found in foods. However, calcium deficiencies are common among U.S. children of all ages, primarily because they are guzzling sodas and juice instead of milk. (Nearly half of children ages 3 to 5 get too little calcium daily.)

A child 13 months to 10 years old needs 800 milligrams of calcium daily; pre-teens and teens need 1,200 to 1,500 milligrams a day. If your child is drinking three or four glasses of milk a day (at 300 mg per glass) he is likely meeting his needs. (You can easily boost your child's calcium intake by restricting juice to one glass daily, nixing soda, and cooking hot cereals such as oatmeal with milk.)

If your child does not like milk or can't drink it, many other foods contain calcium. Your pediatrician can provide you with a list of calcium-rich foods.

Iron deficiency-anemia, a blood disease marked by diminished hemoglobin, is fairly common in infants, children and adolescents. Periods of rapid growth require iron to manufacture new muscle and hemoglobin. To minimize risk, a child should eat plenty of iron-rich foods. These include meats, fish, poultry, eggs, peas, beans, potatoes and rice.

Dr. Meade reminds parents never to give a child iron supplements without checking with a doctor. "Excess iron can be more serious than iron deficiency anemia," he says. It is also important to remember that many vitamins can be harmful if given in excess and that "mega" doses are not recommended.

If you have concerns about your child's diet, talk with his or her pediatrician.

Information supplied by Waukesha Memorial Hospital.

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