Step up the fiber
Although it’s better to get adequate fiber from their diet, if your child loves his or her mac-and-cheese, adding a little extra fiber to their diet may be a good idea. “As a general rule most folks do not take enough fiber in their regular diet,” Dr. Davis-Dash says. “Fiber supplementation is not a bad idea, but not a necessity.” Read more on the health benefits of fiber.
Make a multivitamin part of the teen years
As kids hit their final growth spurt—and their dietary habits start to shift—a little extra supplementation won’t hurt. “Remember how you ate as a teen?” Dr. Davis-Dash says. “As children grow into adolescence and through young adulthood, it is a good idea to supplement their increasingly poor diets with a complete multivitamin, making sure that teenage girls get folate, calcium, and vitamin D.”