Ensuring your child grows up to be a strong, healthy and happy individual can often feel like a bit of an uphill climb for parents. After all, the state of a child’s health will affect every area of their lives as they grow, whether they are playing with their friends, understanding a new maths sum, or learning how to spell a new word. Whatever they may be doing from day to day, the vitamins and minerals within their diet are their rocket fuel.

We know just how important vitamins are for our children’s minds and bodies, but which ones are the most essential for children aged 3-5? What foods can we give them to ensure they get enough of each vitamin? How much of each vitamin should they be consuming daily? Let’s put an answer to these questions once and for all.

In general, it is recommended that all children aged 6 months to 5 years are given a healthy amount of vitamin supplements containing vitamins C, A, and D daily. B Vitamins and Vitamin E should also play a key role in your child’s diet.

So, let’s take a closer look at what vitamins your little one should be taking, in what amounts they should be taking them, and in what foods they can be found!

What vitamins should my child be taking?

Vitamin C

Vitamin C (aka ascorbic acid), is known as a vitamin that actively tackles the common cold and flu viruses. It is an antioxidant and an essential immune system booster, and when it comes to your children, this vitamin is vital for their growth, development, and overall health. Vitamin C cannot be produced by your child’s body on its own, so supplying them with this supplement either through their food or in a pill form daily is really important.

What Foods Can Vitamin C Be Found In? Vitamin C can be found in many colourful fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, apples, berries, kiwi, broccoli, potatoes, and peppers, among many others.

How Much Vitamin C Should I Feed My Child Per Day? Children aged 1-3 should not be ingesting more than 400 milligrams of Vitamin C daily. Children aged 4-8 should not be ingesting more than 650 milligrams per day.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is another fantastic source for boosting your child’s immune system. It also assists with organ growth, and is especially important for helping assist their vision in dim light, general eye health as they age, and keeping their skin healthy too. Vitamin A plays a core role in the growth and development of your child’s cells and is also said to reduce the risk of developing diseases like cancer.

What Foods Can Vitamin A Be Found In? Vitamin A can be found in dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, and collards, as well as orange fruits and vegetables like cantaloupe, carrots, and sweet potatoes.

How Much Vitamin A Should I Feed My Child Per Day? Children aged 1-3 should not be ingesting more than 300 mg of Vitamin A per day. Children aged 4 years and up should not be ingesting more than 400 mg of Vitamin A per day. In general, your child doesn’t have to be given Vitamin A every day - aim instead to give them the recommended amount as an average over a week.

B Vitamins

B Vitamins are a group of vitamins such as B1, B2, B6, B-12, Niacin, Folic Acid, Pantothenic Acid, and Biotin. In general, many people tend to focus on giving their child vitamin B-12 in particular. B Vitamins are especially essential for your child’s metabolic activity (the process of making energy within the body), making red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout every area of their body and taking care of their bones, eyes, mood, hair, skin and nails.

What Foods Can Vitamin B Be Found in?

(All Inclusive Options) Milk, cheese, eggs, liver and kidney, meat such as chicken and red meat, fish such as tuna, mackerel and salmon, shellfish such as oyster and clams and dark green vegetables such as spinach and kale.

(Vegetarian Options) Yoghurt, low-fat milk, fortified plant based milk, cheese, eggs, fortified cereals, nutritional yeast and whole grains like wheat and oats.

(Vegan Options) Fortified non-dairy milk, meat substitutes, breakfast cereals, nutritional yeast, vegan spreads.

How Much Vitamin B Should I Feed My Child Per Day? Children aged 1-3 years should be ingesting 0.9 micrograms of B12 per day. Children aged 4-6 years need 1.2 micrograms of B-12 per day.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is responsible for taking care of regulating calcium and phosphate within the body, which are fundamental for keeping bones, muscles, and teeth healthy and strong, and preventing conditions like rickets from developing. Vitamin D is naturally found in sunlight, but humans do not get enough of this vitamin group purely from sunlight alone. Much of the time, giving your child a multivitamin with an adequate amount of vitamin D in will be enough. However, it’s important to speak to your doctor about your child’s vitamin D needs before making any decisions, as there is a risk of toxicity.

What Foods Can Vitamin D Be Found In?

(All Inclusive Options) Vitamin D is found in a select number of foods such as oily fish (salmon, herring, sardines, and mackerel), red meat, liver, egg yolks, and fortified foods such as breakfast cereals and fat spreads.

(Vegetarian Options) low-fat milk, yoghurt (fortified with Vitamin D), eggs and various types of cheeses.

(Vegan Options) Fortified soy milk, mushrooms, fortified cereals, fortified orange juice, fortified almond milk and fortified rice milk.

How Much Vitamin D Should I Feed My Child Per Day? Children from 1-10 should not be ingesting more than 25 mg per day.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is another antioxidant vitamin that is responsible for maintaining healthy skin and eyes, fighting germs and boosting the immune system. It also helps the cells of the body work together to perform important functions, protects them from damage and keeps the blood vessels open wide for blood flow. It also keeps skin healthy and is particularly helpful for those that live with constant exposure to sunlight, such as tropical countries.

What Foods Can Vitamin E Be Found In?

(All-Inclusive Options) Wheat germ oil, almonds, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, avocado, peanut butter, fish and red bell peppers.

(Vegetarian Options) Wheat germ oil, sunflower, safflower and soybean oil, sunflower seeds, almonds, peanuts, peanut butter, beet greens, collard greens, spinach, pumpkin, red bell pepper.

(Vegan Options) Sunflower seeds, almonds, hazelnut, swiss chard, spinach, pine nuts, peanuts, brazil nuts, mango, avocado, red bell pepper, parsnip, pistachio nuts, blackberry, rye grain.

How Much Vitamin E Should I Feed My Child Per Day? In general, you don’t have to feed your child Vitamin E every day. Instead, concentrate on giving them the recommended amount on an average over the week.

Which vitamins are the most important for my child’s diet?

These contribute to their growth, development, and overall health.