Best multi vitamin for children?

[InvisibleWomenMustBeRead]

Given the news of the 17 year old going blind & almost deaf due to lack of vitamins, it has me worried for my DSs & therefore wondering if I should be giving them supplements & if so, which one?

They don't have any special needs but are particularly fussy - the only vegetable they eat is sweet corn & no fruit at all. I offer lots of variety & try to get them to eat other fruit & veg, but they point blank refuse! The rest of their food is pretty beige too, but can vary a little.

They do sleep well & play lots of sport, and academically are doing well but this story really scares me as there could be internal damage being done that I'm not aware of!

They're 13, 11 & 8 years old.

[I do appreciate that the individual involved may have had issues regarding food / special needs, but it doesn't change how rubbish my DCs diet actually is, no matter what I try!].

Why don't you show them the article and state that from now on, there will colours in the plates and that is it.

And if one article is not enough , there are plenty in Australia
www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/diet/an-18yearold-has-gone-blind-after-lifetime-of-eating-junk/news-story/aea5134ff37b9c241f1cff8891fe2842

www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/85384254/fussy-eaters-could-be-faced-with-blindness-eyesight-experts-warn

And it is not only the vitamins, but the fibre, the micro biome, the antioxidants, the polyphenols, .... and I think as a family you could do some changes.
In alternative, book a GP appointment and follow their advice.

If you want to give a supplement (and I did when one of mine when through a very tedious picky phase), then the supermarket brands are as good as any other. We have ones from Wilko at the moment.

Do remember that the poor boy in that news story had an eating disorder. Even when they do through a spell with an appallling intake, your DC are very unlikely to be at risk (in the same way that a DC reducing intake to lose weight isn't inevitably going to develop anorexia)

Pediasure is the only one worth bothering with. It is a meal substitute and given to children with food disorders.

However, I think your first step should be to talk to your GP and see if it’s worth doing a blood test to check if they need supplementation in the first place.

Anyone is good enough if bought in U.K. but mine used to ask for their jelly tot style ones. We didn’t use often but one went through a period of being quite unwell in year four and I decided it would do no harm.

Agree don’t provide just beige food. Cook food with vegetables as well as offering add one. Put tomato, onion, peppers and corn on your homemade pizza, make fruit crumble with ice cream, include carrots, onion, tomato purée and peas in your shepherds pie. Make smoothies. Make your own soup - mine used to love chicken curry soup which was mainly spiced carrot, apple and parsnip with a bit of chicken and rice thrown in served with vegetable samosa.
More trendy teenage things might be sweet potato fries with sweet chilli, homemade guacamole and salsa on tortillas, homemade pizza, hummus with vegetable crudités, stir fry, crispy roasted kale etc.
Get them cooking with you.

Thanks for replying. I have tried a lot of the suggestions made here but they will fake vomit & refuse to eat anything on the plate if there's something on there they don't like.

I talked to them all at length yesterday following the story & the 13 year old has said he'll try to be more open & will try a stir fry, but the youngest said he's fine & won't change.

Meant to add, I've never thought it was GP worthy as they do eat & aren't under or over weight or lethargic & seem to be thriving. It's just this story has got me scared but if there's no special needs & just fussy children, I still think the GP will think I'm wasting her time.

Look into Direction of Responsibility, it’s one of the few approaches that helps some DCs add to their list of acceptable foods.