Should your child take vitamins to stay healthy? There are many multivitamins marketed for kids, including fruit flavored gummy vitamins, but are they necessary?

Children’s of Alabama Nutrition Director Jeanna Jackson said that because vitamins are stored in the body, eating a variety of different food groups is adequate. “The good news is generally most of our patients will get all of the vitamins and minerals they need from a healthy and well-balanced diet.” Jackson said.

If your child is a picky eater and you have concerns about whether they are getting enough variety in their diet, Jackson recommends talking to your child’s pediatrician. In this case, she said a multivitamin may do the trick.

There are other instances when vitamins are recommended. “Babies that are exclusively breast-fed need vitamin supplementation from their first few days of life because breast milk is low in vitamin D,” Jackson said. She also said a pediatrician may recommend supplementation in the instance of diseases like Crohn’s disease or inflammatory bowel disease.

The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend a multivitamin for children. However, Jackson said if a parent chooses to give their child a multivitamin, they are generally safe. She recommends against a megadose of vitamins that may cause problems with nutrient absorption of other vitamins and minerals. An example would be a vitamin D dosage well beyond the Recommended Dietary Allowance, RDA.

About Children’s of Alabama:

Since 1911, Children’s of Alabama has provided specialized medical care for ill and injured children, offering inpatient and outpatient services throughout central Alabama. Ranked among the best pediatric medical centers in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s provided care for youngsters from every county in Alabama, 45 other states and six foreign countries last year, representing more than 677,000 outpatient visits and more than 15,000 inpatient admissions. With more than 2 million square feet, Children’s is the third largest pediatric medical facility in the U.S. More information is available at childrensal.org.

I have 3 kids. Those 3 kids alone with all of their running around take up a lot of space in my house. Now add in their necessities like, clothing, shoes, back packs, school papers and projects and I’m at capacity. THEN add in holidays, like Christmas and Birthdays where loving grandparents smother them with every little thing they ask for while they bat their cute little eye lashes. And when Santa brings ALL the things from the catalogs and wish lists, my house is busting at the seams, just begging for an additional room to be added.

Focusing more on experiences and memberships rather than a robot dog they’ll leave out for the real dog to eat before New Year’s, will will bring them way more fun in the long run

Here are my ideas for any of you that also suffer from too much stuff!

Memberships and Experiences.

Our city has a lot to offer when it comes to family fun and a Membership to an area attraction is a gift that keeps on giving.

McWane Science Center –  This is a GREAT option for grand-parents buying for multiple grand-children. They can even choose to add a Grand Parent on to the Membership for bonus together-ness. McWane is great because whether it’s hot or cold, rainy, sunny, or snowing, you can use this gift. As many days in the year as you want. PLUS you get discounts on the fun events they offer through out the year and member exclusives. Did I mention parking in the deck is FREE for members? Well, it is. That’s an additional $5 saved each trip. As a McWane member you also get free or discounted admission to over 300 other science museums across the country.

The Birmingham Zoo – Much like the McWane Center, this is a great idea to pass off to the grandparents for a family gift for a gift for all of your kids combined. They also offer member exclusives, like free admission to Zoolight Safari.

Other experiences to consider, passes for bowling, skating, rock climbing, or escape room.

Are your kiddos into sports, music, or acting? Most every kid I know is involved in some type of extracurricular activity. Think about extending their season, signing them up early for summer camp or let them try something new.

Acting Out Academy is great for your budding performer. Whether it’s to foster a love for the art or to build up their self confidence, their classes (or summer movie camps) would be a fun way to introduce them to acting.

Consider some private lessons with a trainer for their favorite sport, dance lessons, gymnastics or music classes at places like Mason Music or Stick and Strum

Gift Cards

Yes, technically gifts cards can lead to the tiny humans going on a shopping spree picking out all the things on their own, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Think Movies, itunes for app purchases or give them a Mommy/Daughter Date for Mani and Pedis. A gift card to their favorite restaurant and a movie is a fun night out and again, bonus points for family togetherness.

Ice Cream shops, yogurt places, for the older crew, coffee shops, or gift cards to have their car detailed.  Gifts cards also make great stocking stuffers.

When all else fails.. Try going the Want, Need, Wear, Read route. It keeps the Holidays simple, and doesn’t break your budget.

What ideas do you have for keeping down on all the “stuff” that accumulates during gift giving holidays?

By: Kristen Berthiaume

I am not a big fan of Elf-on-the-Shelf (although I do kind of enjoy this and this). The central premise of the book – that Elf-on-the-Shelf will tell Santa if kids misbehave – bothers me for a few reasons. First, the Elf himself often misbehaves (Flour snow angels are kind of a mess) but is supposed to monitor the kids’ behavior, which is confusing to say the least. Second, the Elf monitoring system only works for one month a year, which can leave parents with no system of managing behavior for the remaining 11. Finally, and most problematic, the arrangement sets us up for making empty threat after empty threat. Would we really follow through with giving our kids no presents from Santa? Have any of you ever actually done this? I can say for sure that my kids will not be getting coal in their stockings, no matter how atrocious their behavior. For one, I have no idea where to find coal and don’t have the time or mental energy to go looking for it. Also, knowing my kids, they would find some exceedingly messy way to play with the coal and, as I’ve mentioned, I am not looking for messes. In the midst of opening up their mountains of presents, kids will come to realize that either the Elf didn’t mean it when he said he’d tell Santa on them or that Santa will bring the goods regardless. Consequently, behavior may be even worse next December.

In a perfect world, those who enjoy creating elaborate Elf scenes and posting pictures of them on Pinterest would do that and I’d just ignore the whole thing entirely. Unfortunately, my kids talk to other kids and have started this year desperately pleading for an Elf and wondering why friends have them but they don’t. Dilemma: Shatter all the magic of Christmas in one fell swoop or find a way to make Elf-on-the-Shelf work for our family. I chose the latter and we shall see how it goes. Here are the modifications I made in case you’re an Elf-on-the-Shelf hater who feels like you need to do Elf-on-the-Shelf for your kids. By the way, I totally support you in just straight up saying no to any of this Elf business.

I saw a post I liked recently about a different kind of Elf – a Kindness Elf – and decided to do an Elf-on-the-Shelf / Kindness Elf hybrid. Our Elf looks like an Elf on the Shelf but I didn’t buy the book with all the rules.

Our Elf “wrote” the kids a letter (see below) saying that he didn’t mind if they touched him but that he had to always be returned to the same spot before bed because he could only fly from certain places (I made this rule because I don’t need to be tearing apart the house to find that #$%& Elf every night!).

Our Elf doesn’t tell Santa anything. He does dash back to the North Pole at night to fetch Kindness Challenges printed on long strips of paper to present to the kids each morning. And, when he returns, he’s sitting somewhere new. Maybe he’ll occasionally do something helpful like load the dishwasher (since I’m going to be doing that anyway…)

Some sample challenges:

1) At school, give a compliment to someone;

2) Find out your mom’s least favorite chore and secretly do it for her (I never said this couldn’t be self-serving…

and 3) Tell someone “Thank you” for something they have done for you recently.

There’s no “prize” for completing a challenge and no one’s in trouble if he or she doesn’t do one. But, completed challenges get stapled together to form a Kindness Chain so, obviously, the more the kids do, the longer the chain gets. The paper chain would be something fun to add to your Christmas tree or mantle so the kids can see their 25 days worth of kind deeds. This activity gives you a good jumping off point for discussing together why it’s important to do things for others, how it feels to be kind, and why kindness is particularly highlighted this time of year. Talk about how Santa embodies kindness and, if you’re Christian, how Jesus does, as well. Consider big, family-wide Kindness Challenges like serving at a soup kitchen, purchasing items for an Angel Tree, or saving money to send to a non-profit like Heifer Project International.

A couple of caviats. I don’t love doing things for my kids just because everyone else is doing it for theirs. However, it can be tricky to completely opt out of Elf-on-the-Shelf without totally spoiling Christmas magic if your kids feel hurt that their friends have an Elf but they don’t. Also, the deception required to convince your kids they’re being visited by Elves (and Santa for that matter) bothers me a bit. Once they know the truth – will they still trust us parents? If this concerns you, too, there are lots of ideas online
for how to tell kids the truth about Santa (and Elves, Flying Reindeer, etc.) when the time is right without losing their trust. I particularly like this idea.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure it’s something you feel you have the resources for. The holidays are a crazy busy time and there’s A LOT of pressure on parents to give their kids the “Perfect Christmas,” which can be time-consuming, and expensive, and exhausting. It might be a good idea to log out of Pinterest and decide on a mantra like “I can only do so much” to repeat to yourself. Traditions like Elf-on-the-Shelf, Kindness Elves, Santa, riding the Christmas train, or taking a tour of Christmas lights may seem like a lot of fun but you should only undertake them if they’re a good fit for your family. It’s more important to focus on enjoying each other and being kind and generous with your time, than to worry about if you’re doing all the things you’re “supposed” to do this Christmas.

Sample Letter:

Dear ___________ –

Merry December! I am so glad to be with you for the Christmas season – thanks for asking for me! You may have heard your friends talk about Elf-on-the-Shelf but I’m a bit different. I don’t tell on you to Santa if you make bad decisions (although I like to see you make good decisions). Your parents will work with you on your behavior. I also don’t make mischief because I know you wouldn’t want to clean up messes (and neither would your parents). Sometimes, I might do things to make you laugh, though. I am a very special kind of Elf – I’m a Kindness Elf. Kindness, which means treating others fairly and gently and being generous with what you have – is my very favorite thing! And Santa’s favorite thing, too. At the North Pole, we’re all CRAZY FOR KINDNESS!!!

So, you and I will be making together a Kindness Chain for Christmas. Each day in December, until Christmas Day, I will dash back to the North Pole while you’re sleeping to collect a Kindness Challenge from Santa. Once you’ve completed it, you will add that challenge to the ones before it so that, by Christmas, you’ll have a beautiful chain of Kindnesses you have shown others. You never have to complete a Kindness Challenge – these are all up to you. I hope you’ll have as much fun with these as I’ll have bringing them to you!

See your very first challenge attached. Good luck and may Kindness be with you!

Love,

Your New Elf

P.S. I know some Elves don’t like to be touched but I don’t mind it as long as you’re gentle. BUT, it is very important that you always put me back just where you found me. I can only fly off from certain places and will be stuck if you move me!

About Kristen:

Kristen Berthiaume, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist with Grayson and Associates. She obtained her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Kentucky. She completed a predoctoral internship in clinical psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a post- doctoral fellowship in the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) Program at Duke University Medical Center. She specializes in providing assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and families dealing with the following issues: ADHD, learning disorders, social skill deficits, organizational problems, behavioral difficulties, anxiety, and depression. She generally focuses on behavioral and cognitive- behavioral techniques, but maintains a flexible approach to therapy. Her other day job is as mom to her daughters, ages ten and four, and seven-year-old son.