Why your child needs vitamins and minerals

Your child needs a lot of essential vitamins and minerals for growth, development and good health.

How are vitamins different from minerals?

Vitamins are made by plants, animals or micro-organisms. The body needs small amounts of vitamins for growth, metabolism and overall health.

Minerals are found naturally in soil and water. The body needs minerals for bone health, fluid balance, and healthy nerve and muscle function.

How can your child get the vitamins and minerals they need?

The best way for your child to get enough vitamins and minerals is by eating a wide variety of foods from the 5 healthy food groups:

• vegetables and legumes
• fruit
• cereals and grain foods
• foods with protein, including meat and meat alternatives
• dairy or dairy alternatives.

Most vitamins, minerals and other nutrients are absorbed better when they come from food, rather than from vitamin and mineral supplements.

Key vitamins and vitamin food sources for your child

Key vitamins for your child include A, B, C, D, E, K and folate. Your child can get them from the foods listed below.

Vitamin A

Your child needs vitamin A for eyesight, healthy skin, growth, development and good immune system function.

Your child can get vitamin A from:

• leafy green vegetables like spinach and kale
• orange fruits and vegetables like carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and apricots
• liver, oily fish like salmon and tuna, and eggs
• butter, margarine and milk.

Vitamin B1 (thiamin)

Vitamin B1 helps release energy from foods, and this helps your child’s nervous system and muscles work properly.

Your child can get vitamin B1 from:

• wholegrain foods like wholemeal bread and brown rice and fortified breakfast cereals
• fish and meat
• yeast extracts like Vegemite.

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)

Vitamin B2 helps release energy from food.

Your child can get vitamin B2 from:

• mushrooms
• almonds
• breakfast cereals fortified with B2 and wholemeal flour and bread
• meat and eggs
• milk, yoghurt, cheese and dairy alternatives fortified with B2
• yeast extracts like Vegemite.

Vitamin B3 (niacin)

Vitamin B3 helps release energy from food.

Your child can get vitamin B3 from:

• legumes
• peanuts
• lean meat, fish and chicken
• yeast extracts like Vegemite.

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)

Vitamin B6 releases energy from protein and helps with red blood cell production and brain function.

Your child can get vitamin B6 from:

• vegetables and soybeans
• fruit
• nuts
• wholegrain foods and breakfast cereals fortified with B6
• lean meat and fish.

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)

Vitamin B12 helps with red blood cell production and promotes growth.

Your child can get vitamin B12 from:

• meat, fish and eggs
• breakfast cereals fortified with B12
• milk and dairy alternatives fortified with B12.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

Vitamin C builds collagen. It helps your child fight infections and absorb iron from food. It also keeps your child’s teeth, bones and gums healthy.

Your child can get vitamin C from:

• vegetables, especially capsicums, broccoli and potatoes
• fruits, especially citrus fruit, berries, mango and kiwi fruit.

Vitamin C is heat sensitive, so cooking reduces the amount of vitamin C in food.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D helps your child absorb calcium, which keeps their bones strong and healthy. Vitamin D can also help your child’s immune system fight off germs.

Your child’s body makes most of the vitamin D they need when they get enough direct sunlight on their skin. There are also small amounts in:

• mushrooms grown outdoors or in UV light
• oily fish, fish liver oils and egg yolks
• butter and margarine.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E boosts your child’s immune system and helps with the development of healthy skin and eyes.

Your child can get vitamin E from:

• sunflower and canola oils
• seeds and nuts
• eggs
• wheat germ
• margarines made from seeds or oils of vitamin E-rich plants.

Vitamin K

Vitamin K is important for helping your child’s blood to clot.

Your child can get vitamin K from:

• green leafy vegetables like broccoli, kale, cabbage and spinach
• green beans
• eggs
• cheese.

The healthy bacteria in your gut also make vitamin K.

Folate (folic acid)

Folate helps your child absorb protein and form new blood cells and DNA. Also, when pregnant women get enough folate before and during pregnancy, it can help to prevent neural tube defects.

Your child can get folate from:

• green leafy vegetables like bok choy, broccoli, spinach and brussel sprouts
• legumes
• liver
• bread made from wheat flour (except organic bread), wholegrain foods and breakfast cereals fortified with folic acid.

Cooking and processing food – for example, as part of the canning process – reduces the amount of folate in food.

Key minerals and mineral food sources for your child

Key minerals for your child include calcium, iodine, iron and zinc. Your child can get them from the foods listed below.

Calcium

Calcium builds strong bones and teeth.

Your child can get calcium from:

• dairy products like milk, cheese and yoghurt
• dairy alternatives fortified with calcium
• some green leafy vegetables, like kale and bok choy
• fish with edible bones like sardines
• tofu.

Iodine

Iodine is essential for healthy growth and tissue development. It also helps to control the ways your child’s cells make energy and use oxygen.

Your child can get iodine from:

• vegetables grown in iodine-rich soil
• seafood
• iodised salt
• bread made with iodised salt.

Most bakery and supermarket bread is made with iodised salt, which will give most children enough iodine.

Iron

Iron is especially important for brain function and red blood cell production. It also helps to carry oxygen around your child’s body.

Your child can get iron from:

• meat, liver, chicken, seafood and egg yolks
• dried legumes
• iron-fortified breakfast cereal.

Zinc

Zinc helps with growth, wound healing and immune system function.

Your child can get zinc from:

• milk and yoghurt
• zinc-fortified dairy alternatives
• dairy alternatives like coconut milk
• meat, chicken and seafood
• legumes
• seeds
• almonds
• wholegrain foods
• tofu.

Fruit and vegetables are vital sources of vitamins and minerals. You can read more about encouraging your child to eat vegetables or see our illustrated guide to child-friendly fruit and vegetables.

What are vitamin deficiencies in children?

A vitamin deficiency is when your child isn’t getting enough vitamins over a period of time.

These are the most common vitamin deficiencies in children in Australia.

Vitamin B12 deficiency

Vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to a form of anaemia. Families eating a vegan diet can find it hard to get enough vitamin B12 from fortified foods. They might need to take supplements.

Vitamin D deficiency

Some children in Australia have low levels of vitamin D. Children living in Adelaide, Hobart or Melbourne in winter are at higher risk of Vitamin D deficiency.

Signs and symptoms of vitamin D deficiency in children include muscle weakness, bone pain, bone tenderness and fractures.

What are mineral deficiencies in children?

A mineral deficiency is when your child isn’t getting enough minerals over a period of time.

These are the most common mineral deficiencies in children in Australia.

Calcium deficiency

Not enough calcium can lead to rickets, osteopenia and osteoporosis.

Iron deficiency

Children are at higher risk of iron deficiency than adults, mainly because children need more iron when they go through growth spurts. They might also be low in iron if they:

• eat a vegan or vegetarian diet
• eat a limited variety of foods
• have coeliac disease
• have gastrointestinal blood loss
• have frequent, prolonged or very heavy periods in adolescence.

Iron deficiency can cause tiredness, lack of concentration and paler skin than usual.

A severe iron deficiency is called iron deficiency anaemia. A small number of toddlers have iron deficiency anaemia, which can have long-term effects on brain development.

Zinc deficiency

Toddlers who have a limited diet for a long time, as well as those who eat a vegan or vegetarian diet, are most likely to not get enough zinc. A zinc deficiency can slow down your child’s growth.

Children who eat a lot of ‘sometimes’ foods, like sweet drinks, chips and cakes, might fill up on those and not have enough room for the foods that give them essential vitamins and minerals. You could try limiting sometimes foods to special occasions.

How do vegetarian, vegan and other diets affect children’s vitamin and mineral intake?

Restricted diets can make it hard for children to get enough vitamins and minerals.

For example:

• Children who follow vegetarian or vegan diets can find it difficult to get enough iron.
• Children with food allergies and food intolerances can find it hard to get enough nutrients like calcium.
• Children with a chronic condition that affects how they absorb food – like coeliac disease or cystic fibrosis – can find it hard to get enough vitamins and minerals overall.

A GP or dietitian can help you work out how to get enough vitamins and minerals into your child’s diet.

Always talk to your GP, a dietitian or another health professional if you’re concerned about your own diet, especially if you think you might be low on key nutrients for breastfeeding. A health professional can help you work out what you need, especially if you have a restricted diet.

Do children need vitamin supplements or mineral supplements?

Children need only tiny amounts of vitamins and minerals, and they can usually get what they need from a well-balanced diet.

If you think your child might not be getting enough vitamins or minerals and can’t eat more food containing these vitamins and minerals, see your GP or a dietitian for advice. They’ll talk with you about your child’s diet and might suggest that your child takes an appropriate supplement.

Unless your GP prescribes a supplement containing a single nutrient, it’s generally best to take a supplement that includes a range of nutrients and is suitable for your child’s age.

Remember that large amounts of some vitamins or minerals can be dangerous. For example, vitamin A builds up in the body if it’s taken in excessive amounts.

Vitamin and mineral supplements can interact with medicines. If your child takes a vitamin or mineral supplement and your GP is prescribing medicine for your child, it’s important to let the GP know about the supplement.