Are Viactiv's (calcium chews) ok for a 2 year old?

[vikivoly]

Since DD loves chocolate (wonder where she gets that from ;)), I thought it might be good to give her a Viactiv in lieu of a hershey kiss. It doesn't say anything on the box except "keep out of reach of children", which I'm assuming is so they don't eat the whole thing. Anyone ask their Ped about it?

[ellies mom]

Personally, I wouldn't. I haven't asked my ped, it just goes against my gut feeling. I'm not sure that it is a good idea to give essentially medicine in lieu of candy. If she was low on calcium that would be different, but to give it as a chocolate substitute just seems like a bad idea. I kind of put that up there with vitamin gum. Vitamins aren't candy, and while I'm all for good tasting chewable vitamins, I'm not comfortable blurring the line between supplements and candy. If she got hold of a bag of chocolate and ate the whole thing she might have a stomache ache, but if she got hold of a box of supplements thinking it was candy, the results could be totally different. Anyhow, that's just my opinion.

[octmom]

PP's logic makes sense to me. Also, I think that too much calcium can prevent iron from absorbing properly, so I wouldn't make it a habit.

Jerilyn
DS, Sean 10/03

"Baby makes days shorter, nights longer, home happier, and love stronger."

[s7714]

I agree with the PP, but also wanted to add that Viactiv's contain partially hydrogenated oil (that is unless they've recently changed the ingredients)--something to avoid (both adults and kids). Just my 2¢, but I think a bit of real chocolate would probably be healthier than a "vitamin" containing preservatives and other stuff.

Jennifer
Mommy to
Annalia 3/03
#2 It's a girl! EDD: 6/05

[Sillygirl]

My concern would be with the vitamins D and K that are in those chews. They are fat soluble vitamins, which means any excess is stored, rather than secreted. With the adult-sized doses those chews contain, a child getting one a day might wind up with vitmain toxicity over time.

[COElizabeth]

I actually have given James a Viactiv occasionally when I have had one. I honestly didn't think too much about it. I just looked up some info on Vitamin D and K, and I believe that the D would not be a problem, since one Viactiv has only 25% of a child's daily value of D. It does have significantly more K, though, than a child's daily value, so probably a daily chew isn't a good idea. I still might give him one on occasion, though. As far as the candy/vitamin/medicine distinction, I already have to battle that with the vitamins, so it's not that big a deal to add Viactiv to the list of things that he loves but cannot have unlimited amounts of (toothpaste, vitamins, baby Motrin)!

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02
and Charlotte, 11-04-04