These are the iii Things My Toddler Takes Everyday to Stay Healthy – fish oil, probiotics and elderberry syrup.Over the years, I have establish these 3 supplements are life savers for helping my toddler have overall optional health equally well as keeping them from getting the common common cold and flu during the winter months.

Does your toddler swallow all of their meals including a 2d helping of their greenish veggies?

Does your toddler selection at everything and anything you lot put in front end of them?

Does your toddler swallow nothing ane day and then everything in sight the next solar day?

Or maybe your kiddo falls somewhere in between.

My toddler is notorious for skipping meals, sometimes only eating a seize with teeth of an apple for an entire day (non even certain how this is possible) and and then pigging out the next twenty-four hours on literally everything and anything I put in front end of her.

Toddlers are a tricky bunch.

I swear, if you keep feeding them good for you and colorful food, then when they enter the child years, they will start to get somewhat more normal and consume like a regular person, including their fruits and veggies. But my advise on that is probably meant for another postal service.

No thing what type of toddler eater yous take, I am certain they can use a little extra support to stay good for you and accomplish optimum health.

While I don't similar to fill my toddler up on a standard multi-vitamin, this is mostly because I desire to focus my efforts on getting the real vitamins and minerals from whole foods into their systems instead of the processed variety. Sometimes when my toddler is on a stubborn food strike and volition only eat cheese, I briefly think about adding a multi-vitamin to her diet. But this phase unremarkably passes fast and then she is one time once more eating wholesome foods, sometimes;). If you lot want to add together in a adept multi-vitamin to your toddler'south diet, this is one of my favorite gummy brands.

What I practice strongly recommend is 3 simple supplements (that my toddler really likes) – fish oil, probiotics and elderberry syrup.

I find the benefits of these supplements and so great that I will immediately detect a divergence in my toddlers beliefs when I stop serving them. Plus, these 3 supplements are hard to notice in food forms (elder syrup) or are in foods that my kids just don't swallow plenty of (fish, yogurt and fermented foods).

Below you volition discover a very lengthy review on why I dearest each of these supplements and links to some of my favorite brands. I take tried numerous brands of these supplements and the ones I recommend are ones that fit into my budget and I feel work smashing. If you have a favorite make, I would love to hear what it is, I am e'er looking for new products to try out:)

Children's DHA Omega-iii Fish Oil

DHA (or fish oil) is my number one supplement to give my toddler, so if you have to choice one supplement, become with fish oil. The reason is simple, nigh toddlers are non getting the required 2-3 servings of healthy fish in during the calendar week and because DHA is so vital for their nutrition, I would rather supplement hither and play information technology condom.

The benefits of fish oil for your toddler –

  • Helps support brain and middle development, cognitive role, learning and retentiveness
  • Supports positive beliefs. I swear past this for helping ease tantrums and behavior problems associated with the toddler years. Whenever my kids are interim out, I usually realize that I have stopped giving them fish oil and when I start information technology back upwardly, these behavior bug usually get away within days. I literally swear past this stuff for this reason alone!
  • Improves skin
  • Helps build toddlers immune arrangement
  • Reduces inflammation
  • Helps foreclose infections

And then what is fish oil? Fish oil is a form of Omega-iii fatty acids made up past DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). DHA is found in the fat parts of fish and is easily converted in the torso. If yous do non want to serve your toddler fish, y'all can detect utilize a flax based oil omega-three supplement that is filled with ALA. While ALA not every bit efficient as fish based DHA, but it is better and then zippo.

Hither are the fish oils I buy and recommend –

Fish Oil for Toddlers
Nordic Naturals Strawberry Flavor (equally you tin see past bottle in the flick, we use this one regularly)
Nordic Naturals Omega-iii Mucilaginous Fish

Fish Oil for Babies
Nordic Natural Baby DHA – I used this in my babies bottles for both my breast milk and formula that wasn't fortified with DHA at least twice a week.

Flax Based Omega-3 Oil
Barlean's Organic Oils Omega Swirl Flax Oil, has several dissimilar flavors. Recommend age is four and upward, but ask your dr. for a dosage based on your kiddos age.

Probiotics

As someone who is now dealing with severe leaky gut, the importance of good for you gut flora for my kids is extremely important to me.

Over 80% of your toddlers allowed system and overall wellness resides in their gut, then the importance of healthy gut flora plays a big function in their overall health and immune functions. This is why the gut is often referred to as the 'second brain'.

The benefits of probiotics and a healthy gut in your toddler –

  • Helps them exist able to assimilate their food and retain of import nutrients
  • Leads to a healthy metabolism that helps the gut be able to rest your kids weight throughout their life
  • Reduces the experience of gas, colic, reflux and constipation in babies and toddlers
  • Supports brain growth and evolution
  • Supports urinary tract and vaginal health
  • Helps relieve some food intolerances acquired by poor gut health

With the increase of processed foods, prescribed antibiotics, antibacterial hand sanitizers and pesticides, your toddlers gut flora is constantly taking hits. But don't worry, it can easily be built back upwardly.

You can kind natural probiotics in foods such as yogurt (plain is all-time), kefir, fermented foods such equally sauerkraut, kimchi and beet kvass, kombocha and apple cider vinegar. Also yogurt and kefir, well-nigh toddlers are skeptical of the other foods that are loaded with probiotics. If you can get them into kambocha or other fermented foods, so great!

Just, I also like to supplement with a pulverisation probiotic likewise. Since my kids dearest yogurt and I can add kefir to their smoothies, I don't requite them probiotics on a daily basis. I practise give it them either a couple times a calendar week or for a week on and and then a week off. You should see an comeback in their bowel movements once they start taking them <——– and yes, I am totally grossed out checking my toddlers bowel movements;)

It is also super important to load them up on probiotic supplements and foods for a couple weeks direct when they accept to accept antibiotics. Antibiotics impale all skillful and bacteria in the body, so it is extremely of import to load upwards their guts with the good bacteria earlier the bad bacteria takes over again.

Here are the brands of probiotics that I dear –

For Babe and Toddlers (Powder class)
Garden Of Life Raw Probiotics – has a ton of probiotics and five strands of probiotics in each dose.

For Toddlers and Kids (Chewable class – well-nigh recommend 4 years and upwardly, but check with your md first, mine canonical it for my 2 twelvemonth old)
Garden of Life Organic Probiotics in Chewable

Renew Life Ultimate Flora Kids Probiotic Chewable

Elderberry Syrup

Elder syrup is a must-have supplement to requite your toddler around the cold and influenza flavor! I volition literally swear past this product and considering nosotros go through so much of it, I will even make my own syrup, which definitely puts me into the crunchy granola mom category;)

We all know that immature kids are similar petri dishes filled with germs, especially when they are in daycare or preschool, and a week never goes past in the fall where some sort of sickness isn't making the rounds. While Elderberry won't necessarily stop you lot and your toddler from getting sick (I discover we get one in 4 of the sicknesses that pass through our schools when we accept the syrup on a daily basis) only when you practice get sick, this syrup will shorten your sick time by 2 or iii days. Seriously, afterward a day of beingness sick my toddler will ever feel improve after taking the elderberry syrup.

While yous can take Elderberry syrup just when your toddler gets ill, it'south best to pre-load them up with the syrup to assist build their immune systems. So starting in September, I regularly give my kiddos the syrup and then when they get sick I will give them the maximize dosage to kick whatever bug they take to the adjourn.

The benefits of Elderberry Syrup for your toddler –

  • Boosts the allowed organization
  • Treats upper respiratory infections
  • Improves major Flu and Cold symptoms
  • Eases allergies
  • Encourages healthy skin
  • Aids sinus infections

Here are the brands of Elder Syrup that I dear –

Gaia Herbs Kids Black Elderberry Syrup (has 950mg of elderberry, so it is very intense. I would start with the Nature's Way brand and then move to this once your kids are used to the taste of the syrup).

Nature's Way Sambucus Black Elderberry Original Syrup

Sambucus Elderberry Gummies

Or go crazy and make your ain! Hither is the recipe I used.

How I serve these supplements to my toddler –

I unremarkably measure all iii supplements out into a fiddling plastic cup (this one came from a used tylenol bottle). Because the probiotics I use is in pulverization course, I accept to mix information technology together with the other 2 supplements, which can become a little messy on a spoon. The mixture will become a little gloppy, just it tastes merely like a liquid gummy treat, so I haven't heard whatever complaints from my toddler about information technology. I commonly serve this along with their breakfast in the morning.

Other ways to serve these supplements –

  • You can mix them into a drinking glass of juice or water
  • You can add them to a smoothie to totally hibernate them from your toddler
  • You tin give your toddler the DHA and Elderberry syrup on a spoon and mix in the probiotics into their water canteen
  • In gummy forms, I accept listed above and below our favorite pasty brands. I tend to stay away from them considering I find that they are super expiensive and don't go as far every bit the liquid or powder form of the supplements, merely toddlers that refuse those varieties then the gummies are completely worth information technology.

Products I recommend –

Fish Oil (Omega-3 Fatty Acids)

Probiotics

Elderberry Syrup

Disclaimer – I am not a medico or medical professional, these are simply my recommendations as a mom that hates sick kids. As with whatever supplements, consult your pediatrician beforehand.

Notation – this postal service is not a sponsored post, I truly love and buy all of the products mentioned. The links, however, are affiliated links. Thank y'all for supporting Babe FoodE!