Is it okay to give toddlers probiotics? How much?
The reason I'm asking is because last week my son was pooping 4-7 times a day. It was really yellow and extremely soft (not diahrea). Then, he had a "blow out" at school Thursday and Friday so I decided I needed to do something. He normally eats a lot of yogurt, but I had been out so Friday I bought some more and added kids Culterelle to it. He had the stomach bug the weekend before and I think maybe he just never go everything back to where it was supposed to be. I don't have the box for Culterelle, just assumed it was okay for a two year old. Sure enough, he has gone back to one poop a day, normal colored and not extra soft. So, I bought some Little Critters probiotics this weekend and it says to give two tablets but only for kids 4 and up. I'm planning on asking his pedi about this, but I was just wondering what the reason was. I would like to keep him on probiotics for a little while, but the age minimum has me wondering.
Thanks
I have been giving my kids pro biotics every single day ever since they were about 2 years old. THey are VERY good for them and we have no had the stomach flu in about 3 years even with my kids in preschool and kindergarten. The worst we ever get is a little cold. Nothing more. Probiotics are very good for the immune system too!
I have given my son probiotics since birth. The probiotics we get, are from Sprouts. They are in the vitamin section, where the refrigerated vitamins are. They have probiotics specifically from birth and up. (they are a powder and last a long time. I put the powder in his water.) They are completely safe and really great for your toddler!
I get my son yogurt that has added probiotics to it. When he's sick I give him 2 yogurts a day instead of just 1.
I was just in search of probiotics recently-both my kids were on crazy amounts of antib's. I found a toddler specific probiotic (kids under 4), at Whole Foods. It's one tablet once a day, chewable and tasty. My guess is that the Little Critters would be fine if you only gave him one tablet..but I bet it also depends on size/weight. Maybe two will be fine once you talk to the ped.
The stuff I found was fairly $$ - $15/30 days.
I go to our local health food store and get my son probiotics. He has been taking probiotics for a while now but when he was a toddler I was able to get him chewables and gave him one each day. Now that he is six he can move on to the jr. probiotics. His are called Primadophilus and the lady at the health food store told me that they are the only one she had that were good for the whole digestive tract. I was reading an article the other day on keeping us all healthy and sick-free and one of the major things was getting probiotics each day. I would not think that probiotics that are meant for a four year old are going to be too much for a two year old. It is probably just the fact that the body will use only what 8it needs and then he will pee out the rest and you waste your money.
i used teh culturelle for kids on my son who's 16 months old and asked the pediatrician if it was okay and i got a thumbs up.
http://www.amazon.com/Udos-Choice-Infants-Probiotic-2-64-...
I put it in my child's orange juice each morning and it disolves completely. she doesn't even know it's there.
There are probiotics even for infants so I know you can give them to toddlers....there are many kinds so I am sure you will find one---I can not remember which ones I bought when my girls were two.....
