Nature's Plus Animal Parade Vitamins Review

Gosh, is it 2012 already? 11 days in and not a Squeak!  It's been kind of busy around here with Christmas, New Year's, my birthday, the impending SqueakyBirthday, and general STUFF, but hey, we're back.  Did you miss us?

Well anyways.  You remember not long back, I posted about Vitamin D deficiencies in toddlers?  It was quite apt that Nature's Plus sent me some of their Animal Parade vitamins for Squeaky to try, following that post.  I got a bottle of multivitamin, and a pack of samples of Vitamin D3.  They're normally recommended for children aged 2 and over, so as Squeaky isn't 2 until next week, I checked with my health visitor that it was OK for her to take them, and she was quite happy. I'd advise you to seek appropriate advice if you're not sure whether supplements are suitable for your child.

The vitamin supplements are tailored for children's needs, and are sugar free, vegetarian & have natural flavourings.  The tablets are animal shaped (I've seen  hippos, elephants, lions & tigers so far, but there may be more!) and are chewable.  Here's a learning point for me.  Chewable is not the same as chewy.  Chewy is jelly-like, or like chewits.  Chewable is hard, solid tablets that you can crunch or suck, like polos.  I didn't know this, so I was a bit surprised to find hard tablets & not the jellies I was expecting.

That didn't stop Squeaky enjoying them.  The multivitamins are natural cherry flavour & the Vitamin D3 are black cherry (I'm not quite sure of the difference, but I have the same problem with yogurts!), which seemed to go down very well.  I don't like artificial fruit flavours, so it was good to see that the flavours were natural.  The tablets are coloured with rosehip, which makes them look quite pretty, BUT.  If your child is anything like Squeaky, the tablets will be in & out of their mouths really quite a bit.  Not because she didn't like it, just because it was something new & she needed to look at it.  A lot.  Thankfully, with the colours being natural, they washed off her face easily, and came out of her pyjamas in a single wash, so no worries there. (Yes. I know. They're boy's PJs. She chose them and wouldn't let go.)

It's hard to tell with a toddler whether a supplement is doing any good.  Let's face it, they're whirlwinds at the best of times, so the judgement can only really come with whether or not she likes them.  She's come back for more every day so far, so that seems to be a positive reaction from a very fussy eater.

I'm glad to have found something that she will happily take, I do honestly worry about what she eats, even though I know she's just being a toddler, and being fussy because she can.  There's only so much toast & marmite that one child can eat, so including a daily vitamin supplement means I can be confident that she's getting the balance she needs.  It won't stop me trying to get her to eat a more varied diet, but it does stop me worrying if she doesn't.

Nature's Plus Animal Parade vitamins are available through Amazon and other sources. (I am not an Amazon Affiliate, I will not gain anything through use of this link)

Disclosure: I was provided with a bottle of multivitamins & a pack of Vitamin D3 tablets free of charge for the purpose of this review.  I was not told what to write, and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for your convenience only, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.