Hiya Vitamins: The Kids’ Vitamins Our Dietitians Choose For Their Families

As a team of registered dietitians that is also a team of moms, we have strong opinions and preferences when it comes to any supplements that we take, as well as any that we give to our kids. We vetted and tried Hiya Vitamins with our kids for almost six months now and have been pleased with the nutrient quality – and our kids have been pleased with the taste, which is essential if you want your kids to take vitamins. In case you’re on the search for a new mom-approved, dietitian-approved, and kid-approved children’s vitamin, we decided to put our thoughts into this honest Hiya multivitamins review post, which is not sponsored by the brand. 

Do Registered Dietitians Take Vitamins? 

While we can’t speak for all registered dietitians, our team of three dietitians plus two other full-time staff members do take some dietary supplements. Our kids do, too. 

As a team of registered dietitians who have made it our mission to help people return to real-food nutrition in a non-dogmatic way, we of course have a strong belief in the healing and thriving power of eating more whole and low-processed foods. And at the same time, we also recognize that life sometimes (often!) can get in the way of that, and that is especially true for toddlers, kids, and teens. This is where dietary supplements can help. 

Here’s what we do: Each of us spends time planning most of our weekly meals in advance to ensure we’re eating a variety of food groups and meeting most of our nutrient requirements through the foods we eat. As a group, we don’t take many dietary supplements, with the exception of vitamin D, omega 3s, and magnesium, which are three nutrients commonly lacking in many peoples’ diets, including ours. Some of us also take a greens powder and some of us also take a daily probiotic. 

And for our kids: On our team, our 10 kids who have tried Hiya vitamins vary in every way. As a group, our kids range in ages from babies to teenagers. Some of them are fairly picky eaters who enjoy only a small group of consistent foods while others are more adventurous and willingly eat almost anything we send their way. And many of them fall somewhere in between, having days when they have big hunger and happily eat what they’re served and days where they turn their noses up at almost everything and inspect each bite for any teensy offenders. Each of them has food and flavor preferences and a few of them try to avoid certain food allergens. We know this probably sounds consistent with most families out there. 

Do Kids Need To Take A Multivitamin?

The short answer is no, not all kids need to take a multivitamin. Kids who readily eat a variety of foods from a variety of food groups a few times each day most likely do not need to supplement their diet with a multivitamin. However, parents know that every child is different and kids also go through different eating phases and stages, which is a normal part of their growth and learning about foods. 

Many types of kids would benefit from taking a multivitamin. Those include: 

• Picky eaters who eat only a few foods and not very many fruits and vegetables
• Kids who don’t eat regular meals
• Kids who eat a lot of highly processed foods, which are low in vitamins and minerals, or get most of their calories from fast foods and sugary foods 
• Children with chronic medical conditions that affect nutrient absorption, such as asthma or digestive problems 
• Kids who eat special diets, such as dairy free, vegetarian, vegan, and/or gluten free

Additionally, kids who have big inconsistencies in their food intake could benefit from taking a multivitamin. While it is normal for kids to eat a lot at one meal and a little at the next, only parents have that wide-lens view at your child’s food intake over a week’s time. Offering a kid’s multivitamin can provide peace of mind that your child is getting all the essential vitamins and minerals that they need while also doing no harm. The human body is really good at excreting any excess water-soluble vitamins and minerals through urine and storing any excess fat-soluble vitamins in the liver for later use, so feeding kids too much of an essential micronutrient is typically not an issue. 

Why Our Dietitian Team Approves Of Hiya Vitamins

The short of it is that we like the quality of these vitamins. We like that:

• there’s no added sugars
• an organic fruit-and-vegetable blend is included
• it has 15 essential nutrients support our kids’ wellness

Other reasons we approve of Hiya kids vitamins are that they don’t contain artificial ingredients, such as artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners. Finally, we love that these vitamins are formulated by a company that ONLY makes kids vitamins. Pediatricians, registered dietitian nutritionists, scientists, and parents were all consulted in the creation of Hiya vitamins.

Why Our Kids Approve of Hiya Vitamins

They taste good. Our kids have one thing in mind when it comes to taking vitamins: Does it taste good?  

We’ve been giving our kids Hiya vitamins for almost 6 months now so we of course consulted them for this Hiya vitamins review. All of our kids who have tried Hiya vitamins, who fall in the age range of 2 to 16, give them their approval for taste. In fact, they often want to take more than just one! Not only that, but we find that they are actually excited to take these vitamins and ask for them every day. It doesn’t hurt that each kid gets their own bright yellow bottle of their own personal vitamins (kids love something that is their very own). They also loved using the stickers, which come in every first order, to add their names and decorations to the multivitamin bottles. 

Among the 10 kids on our team who have tried Hiya vitamins, 8 of them take them every day or very often. Of the two who don’t take them when offered, one of them doesn’t like chewable vitamins and the other is a teenager who takes a different multivitamin.  

How Does A Hiya Vitamins Subscription Work? 

Hiya kids vitamins get shipped right to your door. When you create an account at hiyahealth.com, you can select if you would like to get a monthly shipment of the Hiya Multivitamin, Hiya Probiotic, Hiya Bedtime sleep supplement, or all three. You also select how many kids are in your household (from 1 to 5) who would each need their own monthly refill. 

The original shipment contains your starter kit, which includes the first month’s worth of vitamins (30 chewables), as well as the refillable glass container. You also get two pages of stickers so each child can personalize their vitamin container (we love this cute feature, and our kids do, too!). The auto shipment of 30 refill vitamins arrives in a small non-plastic pouch once per month. Shipping is always free, and the terms are great: you can pause or cancel any time. 

• 1st order: Refillable glass container with stickers and 1 month’s supply (30 chewable vitamins)
• Once/month thereafter: 1 month’s refill pouch of kids multivitamins (30 chewable vitamins)

How Are Hiya Vitamins Different From Other Children’s Vitamins? 

Multivitamin options that are tailored just for kids have come a long way since the Flinstone’s vitamins of our own youth. Yet still, so many of them contain ingredients that could be better or just don’t need to be there in the first place. Here’s an at-a-glance look at how Hiya Kids Vitamins differ from most popular children’s vitamins today. 

The Nutrients In Hiya Vitamins

Hiya Kids Vitamins contain 15 essential vitamins and minerals and include the main nutrients that children ages 2 to 18 need. Here’s what kids get in each little chewable tablet: 

• Vitamin A – 360 mcg from beta-carotene and retinol palmitate, two important forms of this fat-soluble vitamin, which is important for immunity, eye health, and cell growth 
• Vitamin C – 40 mg from calcium ascorbate and acerola fruit, two important forms of this fat-soluble vitamin, which is necessary for immune function, as well as healthy bones, muscles, and skin
• Vitamin D – 25 mcg from vegan cholecalciferol, which is more than the recommended daily dosage since vitamin D deficiency is the most common deficiency among kids, and especially among picky eaters. This fat-soluble vitamin is beneficial for a strong immune system and bone health 
• Vitamin E – 3.5 mg of the D-Alpha Tocopherol form of this essential fat-based vitamin needed for eye health, heart health, and immune function
• Thiamin (Vitamin B1) – 0.5 mg from thiamin mononitrate and organic quinoa sprouts; connected to kids brain health and better sleep 
• Riboflavin – 0.6 mg from organic quinoa sprouts; for eye health, energy and metabolism, and cell growth
• Folate (Vitamin B9) – 200 mcg from organic quinoa sprouts and 5-methyltetrahydrofolic (5-MTHF), which is a more natural form of this essential B vitamin that’s necessary for energy production and cell growth
• Vitamin B12 – 2 mcg from methylcobalamin and organic quinoa sprouts. Many children’s vitamins mistakenly leave out B12, which is known to support sleep and especially beneficial for kids who eat mostly plant-based foods
• Biotin (Vitamin B7) – 25 mcg from organic quinoa sprouts. This essential B vitamin is known to support cell growth and healthy skin
• Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) – 2.5 mg from organic quinoa sprouts. This B vitamin is often not included in children’s vitamins, but it’s an important one for regulating kids’ mood, sleep, and focus
• Calcium – 20 mg from calcium carbonate. This nutrient is important for kids bone health and growth, and studies show many kids don’t get enough
• Iodine – 50 mcg from potassium iodide; this mineral is essential for thyroid function but it’s often not in children’s vitamins
• Zinc – 3 mg from zinc citrate; this mineral is beneficial for healing (of cuts and scrapes on kids’ skin) as well as avoiding infection
• Selenium – 15 mcg from selenomethionine; most kids vitamins leave this essential mineral out, though it’s beneficial for supporting sleep and mood, and regulating inflammation 
• Manganese – 1.5 mg from manganese citrate, this mineral supports metabolism as well as taming inflammation 
• Vitamin K – 8 mcg from menaquinone-7, this vitamin is important for blood and bone health 
• Fruit and vegetable blend – this is included so Hiya Vitamins taste sweet without having added sugars or artificial sweeteners. It also helps give the chewables three natural kid-friendly colors (from beetroot, turmeric root, and spirulina) instead of from artificial coloring  
• Sweetener blend – in addition to the flavor achieved from the added fruit and veggie blend, Hiya vitamins do contain a natural sweetener blend made from mannitol and monk fruit extract. Monk fruit is a tropical melon that is 100 times sweeter than sugar, so only a teensy amount is used. Mannitol is a sugar alcohol, also used in a teensy amount, and it’s found naturally in strawberries and pumpkins. 

Hiya vitamins are gluten-free, non-GMO, 100% plant-based (vegan), and sugar free. 

The Nutrients You Don’t Get In Hiya Vitamins

We think Hiya multivitamins are a very well-rounded vitamin that contains nearly all of the micronutrients (the vitamins and minerals) kids need to stay healthy and thrive. The following are some exceptions to consider if your child has been told by a pediatrician that they need more of a certain nutrient. In that case, you could consider giving your child the Hiya Multivitamin plus one of these additional single nutrients in whatever format they like best (liquid drops, chewables, pills, or natural gummy vitamins). 

1. Low in calcium content: It should be noted that if calcium is a nutrient of concern for your child (for example, if they never drink milk or rarely eat other dairy foods), the Hiya multivitamin does contain calcium, but in a low amount. It contains only 20 mg of calcium, which is just 3% of the Daily Value for children 2-3 years old and <2% of the Daily Value for kids 4 and older. If your child doesn’t drink milk or regularly eat these other calcium-rich foods, you may need to consider another calcium vitamin. We’re guessing one of the main reasons Hiya doesn’t contain more calcium is because the chewable tablet would have to be so much larger for it to do so.  
2. Doesn’t contain iron: Iron supplementation can be advantageous and even critically necessary for some children. The Hiya multivitamin doesn’t contain it, though, because iron supplementation is typically only necessary if your child’s pediatrician recommends it. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all babies be screened for iron deficiency at 12 months old. Many breads and cereals are fortified with iron, and it’s also found in nuts, seeds, dried fruits, beans, and legumes, and dark leafy green vegetables. 
3. Doesn’t contain omega 3s: The focus on omega-3 fatty acid intake for overall well-being has been mostly centered around benefits for adults. However, children need omega-3s, too, for healthy growth, development, and brain function. Foods naturally rich in omega-3s are fatty fish (such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines), flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, and pasture-raised eggs. There is currently no recommended Daily Value (DV) for omega-3s, but there might be someday as more research displays the importance of this type of fat. Some evidence suggests that omega-3s may be beneficial for mitigating ADHD, avoiding allergies, and improving kids’ sleep and school performance. 

Are Hiya Vitamins Worth It? Our Final Thoughts

Hiya vitamins cost $30 per month, which comes out to $1 for each daily vitamin. This price is not the cheapest kids vitamin out there, but it’s not the most expensive either. We find that the price is on par with any other high-quality children’s vitamin. When you factor in that you get a free refillable bottle, shipping is always free, and the product is shipped directly to your door, then the value you get only increases more. 

Our RDs agree that Hiya Vitamins are a high-quality, well-rounded option for a kids multivitamin that we personally choose to support our own children’s health. 

More About The Hiya Kids Daily Probiotic

Our kids have also tried (and love!) the Hiya Daily Probiotic. In fact, our kids report that they like the taste of the probiotic even more than the multivitamin. So, we barely need to convince them to take it, which has not been our experience with other kids’ probiotics. Similar to the Hiya Multivitamin, the probiotic comes in its own reusable teal glass container that holds one month’s supply of the probiotic, which are small chewable tablets. Each probiotic tablet contains 10 billion CFU of two lactobacillus strains and a bacillus strain to support gut health, immunity, and allergies, as well as healthy bowel movements and digestion in kids. The cost of the Hiya probiotic comes out to $1/day ($30 for a month’s supply), and ideally, it should be taken between meals. 

More About The Hiya Kids Bedtime Essentials 

Hiya also recently released a Bedtime Essentials supplement just for kids to support calm, relaxation, and stress relief. We love that this product does not contain melatonin, which can have unwanted side effects and be very habit-forming for kids. Instead, it’s a more natural mix of nutrients and ingredients that are safe and can support better sleep for kids, including vitamin B6, choline, calcium, magnesium, L-theanine, GABA, and chamomile flower extract and has no added sugar. 

Similar to the Hiya Multivitamin and Probiotic, the Bedtime tablet comes in its own reusable blue glass container that holds one month’s supply of the supplement, which are small yellow chewable tablets. Our only complaint about this all natural kids sleep supplement is that the yellow color of the tablet (from turmeric root) tends to stain their toothbrushes a yellow color. We find that our kids have loved incorporating these Hiya nighttime chewables into their bedtime routine. In fact, among washing faces, brushing teeth, and using the potty, taking their Hiya Bedtime chewable is their favorite part of bedtime! The cost of the Hiya sleep supplement comes out to a little more than $1/day ($35 for a month’s supply).

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