Vitamin D for babies and children: everything you need to know

Vitamin D is essential for our wellbeing and bone health and it's crucial your little one gets enough, especially in winter.

Giving your baby or child a supplement can cost from as little as 3.4p a day for some formulations right up to 27p a day for others, even though they contain exactly the same amount of vitamin D.

Find out what you need to know about vitamin D, the most cost-effective way to give your child the 'sunshine vitamin' and whether gummies, drops or sprays are best. 

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Do babies and children need a vitamin D supplement?

The best natural source of vitamin D comes from the action of sunlight on our skin, but rheumatologist Professor Cyrus Cooper says evidence suggests that a daily supplement of 400IU (10mcg) may be beneficial for little ones throughout the year, including summer.

This is because it's hard for babies and children to get enough from their diet or sunlight - especially in the winter months -  and they need a plentiful supply to support rapid bone growth.

Low vitamin D symptoms are largely bone and joint-related including pain that's severe enough to wake your little one in the night, bone deformity (such as rickets), swollen wrists or ribs, aching and painful joints, getting more respiratory infections and not growing sufficiently.

Although severe vitamin D deficiency is rare in the UK, almost one in five children have low vitamin D - take a look below to see how much your little one needs, depending on their age.

How much vitamin D do babies and children need?

Under six months old. The NHS says breastfed babies should have a daily vitamin D supplement of 8.5-10mcg (micrograms) equivalent to 400IU (international units) from birth, even if you're taking a supplement containing it yourself. Bottle-fed babies having more than 500ml of infant formula milk do not need one because their formula is vitamin D fortified. If you're mixed feeding don't supplement unless the formula intake falls below 500ml. 

Birth to one year old. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health advises a daily vitamin D supplementation of 8.5-10mcg/400IU all year round.

One to five years old. Children should take a daily vitamin D supplement of 10mcg/400IU as well as vitamins A and C from six months to five years of age, and this is all year. 

Over five years old. The government advises everyone to take a 10mcg/400IU vitamin D supplement during the winter months (defined by the National Osteoporosis Society as between the end of September and the beginning of April).

Vitamin D - find out our advice for adults, including how much it's recommended to take

Gummies, drops or spray vitamin D: what's best and what does it cost?

Gummies, drops and sprays are as good as each other for delivering a vitamin D dose - for example, a 2020 metastudy published in the journal Nutrients found no evidence that vitamin D is delivered more effectively by oral spray than any other mode of delivery.

What is 'best' comes down to what your child is happy to take. Paediatrician Dr Yiannis Ionnou says: 'If they don't like the taste of one, then try another.'

So how much can you expect to pay per daily dose for your child?

Drops: 5.5p-15p per day

Ideal for babies and toddlers, options for taking them include putting them straight onto their tongue, onto your nipple if you are breastfeeding, or into formula, expressed milk, juice or a small amount of food.

The cheapest we found were ProHealth Vitamin D3 Drops for Kids from newborn upwards, which cost the equivalent of 5.5p per day (£6.59 for 2.4ml/four months supply, Amazon), with Wellbaby Vitamin D Drops for kids from birth to four years costing 8.3p per daily dose (£5 for 30ml, Tesco and Ocado).

However, they're generally 14-15p per daily dose, including Apokra Kids Vegan Vitamin V3 drops from newborn (£8.50 for 30ml/60 days supply, 14p per daily dose, Boots), Boots Baby Vitamin D3 drops from birth (£9 for 60 drops, 15p per daily dose, Boots) and Nature's Aid Mini Drops Vitamin D (£7.45 for 50ml, 15p per daily dose, Nature's Aid).

Spray: 3.4p-30p per day

This may be ideal for kids who don't like taking tablets or aren't able to swallow them, as you simply spray it into the mouth.

The cheapest we found was BetterYou Vitamin D Infant Daily Oral Spray 400IU for under three years of age on offer for the equivalent of 3.4p per daily dose (£3.40 for 15ml, Holland and Barrett, normally £7.45 for 15ml or 7.5p per daily dose, BetterYou).

However, it can also cost as much as 30p per daily dose, such as Natures Aid Super Stars Vitamin D3 spray for ages four to 12 (£8.95 for 30ml, Natures Aid) so it's worth shopping around if it's spray you're after.

Gummies: 14p-27p per day

These may suit picky eaters but the cheapest vitamin D gummies we found were 14p per daily dose for Chewy Vites Kids High Strength vegan vitamin D for aged three-plus (£4.19 for 30, Superdrug) while the most expensive were around double that at 27p each. 

Gummies are sometimes promoted on packaging with cartoon or licensed characters and these tend to be pricey - for example, Wellkid Peppa Pig Vitamin D,  which ranged in price from 23p each (£6.95 for 30 gummies, Vitabiotics) to 27p each (£8 for 30 gummies, Tesco)

Not only that but although small, each gummy contains the equivalent of around half a teaspoon of sugar (Haliborange says its Softies contain around 2-2.5g of sugar each), even though the NHS says children aged four to six should have no more than 19g of free sugars a day (and under-fours should avoid food with sugar added to it altogether.

Remember to keep these out of reach when not being administered - they aren't sweets.

Vitamin D tablets for over 12s

Once your child is over 12 you'll have a wide range of great value 10mg/400IU options to choose from, such as Boots 10mcg vitamin D tablets for over 12s (£4 for 180, 2p per daily dose, Boots) or flavoured, effervescent varieties.

However, up to that age you should stick with supplements that are age-appropriate because they'll be correctly dosed for their age as per official UK guidance.

The BDA, the Association of UK Dietitians, says that fizzy supplements contain around a gram of salt per tablet so you might want to consider an alternative, especially if you've been advised to limit your salt intake.

Preparing for a growing family

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How to get free vitamin D and other tips

• Make the most of offers. Three-for-two deals will help to bring the overall price down, look for 'subscribe and save' options from some online retailers including Holland and Barrett or go straight to supplement companies, as they often have the cheapest prices because you're buying from source.
• Get your vitamins for free. Alison Morton, acting executive director of the Institute of Health Visiting, says: 'Women and children who qualify for the Healthy Start scheme can get free supplements containing vitamin D.' See the Healthy Start website for more information on eligibility.
• Save money by going non-branded. This can bring the cost right down so ask in store or search for non-branded or generic if shopping online. Don't be wooed by cartoon or licensed character branding, although if it means your child will make less fuss about taking their daily supplement, you may feel it's worth the money. 
• Choose a formulation with vitamin D3. This is the type most readily absorbed by the body compared to vitamin D2.
• Check the packaging before giving to your child. This is to help prevent you doubling up on certain ingredients, which can happen if you are considering multiple supplements, and to ensure the supplement is age-appropriate.

Which is the cheapest supermarket? Discover the UK's cheapest and most expensive supermarkets based on Which? analysis of thousands of grocery prices 

Which foods contain vitamin D?

It's hard to reach your daily needs through diet alone, but you can boost your family's intake by eating the following foods:

• Oily fish (including salmon, herring, pilchards, sardines and mackerel)
• Eggs
• Some pork products (including cuts from the belly and shoulder)
• Lamb's liver
• Fortified bread, breakfast cereal, yoghurt and spread
• Specially processed mushrooms (tip: leave mushrooms by the window in sunlight as this boosts their vitamin D levels)

How bad is ultra-processed food? We investigate whether UPF foods can ever be part of a health diet