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How much Vit D for younger kids?


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My kids' doctor said it was okay to give my kids (a 40 pound 6 year old and a 75 pound 9 year old) 2000 mIu per day...IF they never get in the sun and have a crappy diet. If they get in the sun and have a decent diet, she said she doesn't recommend it at all. :(

 

Well, it's really hard to get much D from diet. The main sources are fortified milk (and there's some question whether all milk is fortified to the levels it says it is, and not all milk is fortified -- for instance when we buy direct from a local dairy)... For the sun to work, kids have to have lots of bare skin (not covered by sunscreens or any clothing) and be out in direct sunlight while the rays are directly over head (10am-3 or 4pm where we live, in the south -- the window is shorter at latitudes further from the equator)...

 

I definitely do not trust *diet* to give almost anyone the D they need. And while the sun *should* provide what we need, neither my kids nor I are stripping down and working half-clothed in the fields all day...

 

So we supplement.

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My 50 lb disabled kid gets a 400 mg tab daily plus another 400 in her multivitamin. Her neurologist originally wanted her at 400, then when we saw him next he said "they" changed the recommended amount to 800 mg per day, but since she was getting that with the multi added he said we're fine. And he tested her blood levels and they were good. Now I'm giving my other two a 400 mg tab a day plus their multivitamin--they are 65 and 48 pounds.

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My kids (33 and 39 pounds) take 2000 IU per day. They were in the 40's at last test. Generally, a child over one can take 2000 IU without concern. 400 IU for kids is an outdated amount too low for most. The vitamin D council has good information on vitamin D and why you aren't going to overdose at reasonable levels. The Pauling Institute lists 2000 IU as the upper safe limit for those over one.

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