In October 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) came out with new recommendations for infants and children concerning vitamin D. Previously, the recommendation was for 200 IU for children, starting in the first 2 months of life.

The new guidelines recommend 400 IU a day, which is something that most children cannot accomplish through nutrition alone. As a result, most kids will need a supplement to meet the new requirements. And breastfed infants will definitely need supplements, since human breastmilk is generally deficient in vitamin D. Infants who are formula fed will not need supplements, as most formulas contain supplemental vitamin D.

What’s the big deal, you may ask? Well, according to the AAP, cases of rickets (a disease characterized by a failure of bone tissue to properly mineralize, resulting in soft bones and skeletal deformities) are rising in the United States. This is due in part to the fact that most children are not getting enough exposure to sunlight, which is a natural source of vitamin D. Although many kids get enough time outdoors, the use of sunscreen, which is of course encouraged, prevents vitamin D from absorbing into the skin. Rickets in childhood can lead to osteoperosis later in life.

That may not be enough to get you to rush out to the store to get some supplements…but maybe this will – vitamin D can help prevent cancer, high blood pressure, several autoimmune diseases, heart disease, and may even have an effect on the aging process itself. So if you can have an effect on those chances for your child, don’t you think you should?

The good news is that it’s easy. You can find vitamin supplements in liquid form for infants at most stores and/or pharmacies. When Nathan was a baby, we gave them to him under our pediatrician’s recommendation, and although I was sure the color and smell meant they tasted terrible, he took them without complaint.

Most childrens’ vitamins have 400 IU of vitamin D, but check the nutritional information before buying.

You may or may not have been in favor of giving your small children vitamin supplements before this, but in my opinion, this changes things. My only question is – why didn’t this get more attention in the news when the new guidelines came out? It seems like a big deal to me, but while I can’t change whether the mainstream media publicizes this information for parents, I can at least write about it here.