Children’s Vitamins: Why Gummies Should Be Avoided

If you have an especially picky toddler or are struggling to make sure that your child gets all the nutrients they need for other reasons, adding a childrens vitamin to their daily routine can be a helpful “insurance policy” to make sure that your child gets all of the vitamins and minerals they need to grow and develop. When you head to the pharmacy or grocery store, you’ll be confronted with rows and rows of colorful bottles filled with multivitamins that are marketed for kids – most of them gummy vitamins. Since so many vitamins marketed for children are gummy vitamins, it might seem like they are the best choice for your child. However, research shows that these vitamins often do more harm than good. Here’s why you should avoid gummy vitamins for your child, no matter how delicious they might look.

Gummy Vitamins Cause Cavities

Your child’s dentist has probably mentioned that gummy candy is bad for your child’s developing teeth because it gets stuck in the crevices and can cause cavities. Guess what? Gummy vitamins are even worse. Dentists agree that gummy vitamins are the leading cause of childhood cavities. That means that the vitamin you’re giving your child could be causing more problems than it’s fixing and will result in pain for your child and your wallet.

Gummy Vitamins Add Unnecessary Sugar

Gummy vitamins are usually chock full of sugar – sometimes up to a teaspoon per serving. When your child’s daily recommended intake is only six teaspoons of sugar, that extra teaspoon is a lot, especially when you consider that 98 percent of children are already eating too much sugar. Some multivitamins are even coated in sugar, making them taste like candy and causing your child to crave them even more. Of course, you want your child to take your vitamins, but not at the cost of a bunch of added sugar.

Gummy Vitamins Create Unhealthy Habits

All of that added sugar not only makes gummy vitamins taste good and gets kids craving more sugar, it also makes the vitamins look and taste like candy. This can end up creating dangerous and unhealthy habits for your child, who may begin to associate vitamins with candy and end up eating too many of them, potentially creating overexposure to certain vitamins. It can also lead to deeper psychological associations between candy and “healthy” vitamins, leading kids to consume gummy candy mindlessly as they get older.

Gummy Vitamins Contain Artificial Dyes and Preservatives

All of those colorful gummy vitamins might look and taste delicious, but they’re more likely to be filled with artificial dyes, preservatives, and synthetic chemicals, which can cause unwanted and dangerous side effects in some children. Some of these vitamins claim to add herbs and other supplements, but these additives aren’t well regulated. Your child needs their vitamins and minerals, of course, but they should come from vitamins that are made with organic fruits and vegetables and brown rice and without all of the added preservatives, chemicals, fillers, and dyes.

We get it – as a parent, you want your child to be healthy, and sometimes desperate times seemingly call for desperate measures. However, gummy vitamins are not only not as helpful for your kids as they could be, they can also actually be harmful. It’s possible to find vitamins that taste great and are produced with real, wholesome ingredients and won’t cause cavities or other dental issues. Make sure to avoid gummy options when you’re looking for a childrens vitamin for your little one and stick to labels with ingredients you can pronounce and chewable tablets.