We know that children’s supplements can be a vital addition to your child’s diet to meet their nutritional needs. But we also know that getting your child to take a supplement can be a challenge! Rather like taking medicine, children can struggle with taking children’s supplements.
So how do you as a parent get around this?
How can you include supplements into your child’s diet without them noticing?
Or if that’s not possible, how can you make taking children’s supplements more fun?
Here are a few ideas that you might work for your family...

1. Make It Fun
Instead of being a stressful chore, taking a children’s supplement can be turned into a fun exercise with a bit of creativity. Supplements give us essential vitamins and minerals that give our body the fuel it needs to be healthy and active. Why not try making supplement taking time a positive thing in your house? Build up the excitement around getting the super-fuel you need. If your children like superheroes, you could create a superhero who has to take a supplement every day and enjoys certain superpowers as a result, like bashing viruses and destroying bad bacteria.
2. Make it a Family Thing
Some children like to copy what mum and dad are doing. So making ‘taking our supplements’ a family thing can be really helpful. If everyone is taking a supplement at breakfast time, your child is more likely see it as a positive experience and won’t feel singled out.
3. Be Honest
Supplements aren’t sweets and they aren’t a ‘treat’. Be honest about how the supplements taste, but also be honest about why nutrients are so important. From an early age, children have the ability to understand the concept of something being good for us, even if it isn’t the best taste. Explaining that supplements help us to be healthy, just like medicine makes us feel better, helps to engage and encourage.
4. Teddy Takes Supplements Too
Younger children often respond well to being able to give a favourite teddy, doll or toy their supplements first before taking their own. This gives the child some control over the situation and also gives them time to process that they then need to swallow the supplement themselves. This can be a part of the ‘family takes supplements’ concept: first teddy, then child, then mummy. Statements such as “we all take our supplements to be healthy” could be very helpful to reinforce this and make it feel like more of a group effort. Perhaps don't try this with liquid supplements, or things could get a bit messy for teddy!
5. Reward Chart
Older children who might not like taking children’s supplements can be motivated by a reward chart. Try making a chart and placing it on the fridge. Every day they take their supplements for good child nutrition, they get a sticker, building up to a small healthy reward at the end of the month. This is another way to make taking children’s supplements a positive activity, for which they can take responsibility and feel a sense of achievement.
6. Disguise The Supplement In Food
If you are struggling with getting your child to take supplements, you may be able to disguise them in food or drink. This is of course dependent on the supplement, but many are in liquid form. Be sure to carefully read dosage instructions and suitability first. Many omega-3 and Vitamin D3 supplements are available as liquids that can be added to foods and stirred into items such as smoothies and yoghurts. It reminds me of being a child and my Mother hiding turnip in mashed potato in an effort to sneak more goodness onto my plate!
