Gummy Vitamins for Children

So, ever since my charge was able to, she has been getting her vitamins from the pharmacy via a prescription from the doctor.  These tablets combined a multivitamin and fluoride and tasted like grape.  She was more than happy to take them every day.  One day we picked them up and realized they were a slightly different colour but figured it was the same vitamin so went ahead and gave them to her.  They tasted completely different and after a couple of times trying them she wouldn't take them anymore.  So the solution was to get  fluoride from the doctor and then to buy the gummy vitamins that she had been asking for for quite a while now.

As I sit here and research the gummies for children I wonder if there are any disadvantages to taking them.  The obvious ones that spring to my mind is that they are very much like candy and an unsupervised and uneducated child may end up eating way too many at once just like candy.  But this wouldn't happen in my care....the child I look after knows they are vitamins and not to abuse them (even if her mother eats more than she should, I have to admit there has been a time or 2 when I have done the same).

The other aspect I worry about is the amount of sugar that is in them and the fact that they are gummy they will probably stick to teeth longer and cause greater decay.  On our last visit to the dentist he told us that really chewy and gummy candy are the biggest culprits of cavities.  So I think the only way around this is that she takes the vitamins and then brushes her teeth.  This will also mean that we have to give her her fluoride at a separate time because it needs to sit on the teeth for 30 mins without eating, drinking and brushing.

So today I am off to Whole Foods to find the best gummies out there for my girl!  I think it is important to know your child's diet.  A lot of studies say that children really don't need a daily vitamin and that they should be getting everything they need from food and drink.  The girl I take care of is in fact a fantastic eater.  She eats more fruits and vegetables than any man I know but has to be pushed to drink her milk or yogurt and she dislikes cheese so I am going to make sure that the multivitamin I choose has a good supply of calcium and vitamin D.  The other thing i will be looking for is no food colouring.....do you think that's possible???

Anyone got any healthy gummy vitamins they love?