Can you prescribe some vitamins for my son to eat? It is a very frequent question in the pediatric consultation. My answer 99% of the time is: “No”. Vitamins are not magic nor do they solve the problem of a child not eating, vitamins are for those infants who lack them, as I tell my patients, giving vitamins is not harmless, we can create hypervitaminosis which is the same or worse than when there is a lack of them.
The vast majority of children who “do not want to eat” are at their appropriate weight and height for their age, when questioning we see that they exist from children who do eat but not in the amounts that their parents would like and a group where the who eat everything except nutritious things.
Therefore, the important thing is not to give vitamins, it is to correct the root problem and the child will eat by magic. They must remove from the supermarket list: soft drinks, juices, petit suisse cheese, cookies, cupcakes and everything that children (and parents) love but that contains excess sugar. Which many times replace a healthy diet of the child.
A child does not stop eating, except when he is sick, a child eats what they give him, which is different and it is not always what he needs. Let us remember that both education in terms of nutrition is the responsibility of the parents, not of the children, what they are given now as children will depend a lot on what they eat as adults, that will affect their present and future health.
From the beginning of complementary feeding, it must be done in a varied way, that is, it must include all the food groups, always respecting the order of the pyramid. If they do it the right way, it is very difficult for them to struggle with feeding when the child grows up.
So, if your child “does not eat” go to a health professional who will guide you in the correct way for each child. Don’t just give him vitamins.