The wintry weather is descending upon us - I came home late last night after a parent-teacher evening and had my teeth chattering because it was so cold ! - so now is the time to boost your family's immune system to help stave off colds and other end-of-year sniffles.
Boots kindly sent me a bottle of their Multivitamin syrup to try with the kids. It's suitable for children aged 4 months-12 years but I didn't give any to Pierre because he already has drops from the doctor (4 drops a day so it must be ultra-potent, I don't want to to overdo it !). The dosage depends on the child's age and you can use a Calpol (or similar brand) 5ml spoon to take out the guesswork : 1/2 spoonful daily for 4-6 month olds ; 1 spoonful daily for kids aged 6 months-1 year ; 2 spoonfuls daily for 1-3 year olds ; 3 spoonfuls daily for 3-12 year olds. It doesn't say if it should be given in one go or spread out throughout the day so I tend to give a spoonful to the kids after each meal so they get their three spoonfuls.
It's orange-flavoured and can be consumed straight from the bottle or diluted with a little water. Juliette loves the taste and asks for it if I forget, Sophie's not quite so keen. I dipped my finger in it for a little taste and it reminds me of non-diluted orange squash.
Looking at the vivid yellowy-orange colour and taking into account the sharp but sweet zingy orange taste, I was expecting the ingredients list to contain various artificial additives but the label says that it is actually free from artificial colours and flavours as well as sugar-free. It contains Vitamins A, D, E and C, Thiamin (vitamin B1), Riboflavin (vitamin B2), Niacin (vitamin B3), vitamin B6 and Pantothenic Acid (vitamin B5). (Pantothenic Acid ? Does it run up to the other vitamins in the bottle shouting "he's behind you" ?!)
One thing I didn't immediately notice is that once opened, the bottle should be kept in the fridge and used within 8 weeks. At the rate the girls are getting through it, that shouldn't be a problem (because despite wrinkling her nose, Sophie does always say she wants some too so she must quite like it really - or she just doesn't want to miss out on something her sister is getting !)
The girls already eat a pretty healthy diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables but it's still reassuring to know I'm topping up their vitamins intake, especially as it's in a product that they (especially Juliette) love so much. I haven't compared prices with the big name brands but it sounds remarkably cheap to me too. I'll definitely be using it over the winter and possibly beyond.
star rating : 4/5
RRP : £2.15
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Great review.
ReplyDeleteI use this too - its the only one my daughter will take because she likes the flavour.
I may try this on mine but they don't like Orange flavours...
ReplyDeleteThe Nordic Berries (see other reviews links at the bottom of the review) taste like strawberry sweets but they are more expensive
ReplyDeleteI have been looking for something similar and after your review i think i will give this one a go first! Thankyou
ReplyDeleteI think I shall give this a try, baby has a deficient diet and I'm always looking for good ways to keep him topped up.
ReplyDeleteCheers.
For healthy bones, make certain that you are getting sufficient calcium within your food. The body needs vitamin D to absorb calcium properly. Certain foods, sunlight and Vitamin D supplementation can aid in the absorption process. If you're able to obtain lypo spheric vitamin c , it will assist in absorbing calcium effectively.
ReplyDelete