Calcium for kids?

[PeterPan]

My ds7 cannot swallow pills and may not be able to for a long time because of his apraxia.  The brand of the calcium we use changed the formulation, and it now tastes TERRIBLE.  It doesn't have to taste stellar, but this actually made him vomit!  So do you have anything you can recommend?  It doesn't have to be like chocolate chews or anything.  Just a normal tablet or capsule would do, so long as when we turn it to powder it's only gritty/bland, not disgusting.  I know there are these debates on how you source calcium (shells, food source, grown in cells).  The one we were using is grown in cells, so I prefer that kind of natural, actually going to work and not just get excreted, kind of thing.  But I guess throw at me what you've got and I'll look!  :)

 

Thanks!!!!!!!!

[Kerileanne99]

My dd6 is, for all intensive purposes, vegan. We are vegetarian and she is allergic to milk, and won't go near anything that might be dairy. She is also very picky, so we are constantly tweaking and monitoring.

We tried all sorts of calcium, none of which she could handle. Her pediatric nutritionist and regular pediatrician both suggested she simply eat a Tums every day. Not the best form, but it actually gets done, KWIM?

[momacacia]

Mountain Meadow Herbs has a liquid calcium that does not taste bad.  IMO its kind of sweet.

[mathnerd]

Can your DS eat the gummy vitamins? There are chewable Calcium supplements that taste like oranges, strawberries etc. and a lot of them at health food stores are organic, plant based, no artificial sugar, no gelatin etc depending on your preference. My son likes chewable Gummies over any other kind - he needs to eat 2 or 3 of them a day (gummy vitamins have a dosage of multiple gummies) - I buy the kind with natural sugar (no artificial sweetener) - so, if you have concerns about sugar in the diet, that is something to consider.

Edited December 8, 2015 by mathnerd

[Tap]

I don't know of one that is grown in cells, but if calcium carbonate will work, then Tums is a cheap go to that is often recommended.  Make sure to take it away from other vitamins like Iron though, so it doesn't interfere with absorption.

[redsquirrel]

I have tried a lot of different kinds of chewable calcium.  My eldest boy was a preemie and I was instructed to keep an eye on his calcium. I guess people who were born as premature as he was (he was born the day I would have been 32 weeks) tend to have bone issues later in life, and they think it is connected to the prematurity.

 

Anyway, it's not a big deal. These days I am using Adora, which is a disc of chocolate. It supplies 40% of the daily requirement and it has vitamin D and magnesium as well as calcium. It's easy to slip in older boys lunchbox and they don't complain about it.  We also did a liquid, but that was easier for me to forget.

 

I didn't find the gummies provided a lot of calcium. Like I had to give them 8-10 gummies a day to get enough. But that might just have been the ones that were available in my local markets.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

My mom gets a calcium in liquid form that tastes like blueberries.  She thinks it's yummy.  She gets it at Vitamin Cottage.  (It's more of a cream -- looks like Milk of Magnesia)

 

 

[PeterPan]

My mom gets a calcium in liquid form that tastes like blueberries.  She thinks it's yummy.  She gets it at Vitamin Cottage.  (It's more of a cream -- looks like Milk of Magnesia)

That sounds like a winner to me!  Thanks ladies!!