Omega 3/fish oils for babies and toddlers - any recommendations?

confusedmummy

I just wondered if anyone gives their children omega 3 oils (fish oils or flaxseed oils) and if they have seen any improvement in behaviour/sleep after using them? I am thinking of buying some omega 3 oils for both my children (to help my baby sleep better and to help my older child with his behaviour/concentration).

Equazen eye q do a special formula for babies from 6 months and they do chewy tablets for older kids/adults. They are quite expensive though.

Before I go ahead and buy them I would like to hear of anyone's experiences using this brand or any brand. My 4 year old is NOT ADHD but he is very hyper and has trouble concentrating. I have also heard that they can be good for helping babies to sleep better.

Thank you.

deborahmcgeachy

Hi there,

I work with a girl who's disability means she has the mind of a young child and is very very hyper we used the particular brand you mentioned and they have been more than successful in a matter of weeks she was like a different person!!! She would concentrate on what you were asking her and was more helpful to staff with everyday tasks!!! I would highly recommend them, she took the capsules and was on the maximum dosage which was 4 caps twice a day, we checked with the doctor to see that this was ok longterm which it was for her as when we decreased it certain behaviours came back so that was the only downside but as I say we do the maximum dosage and she is a dream to work with now!!!

As for financially we always buy them from boots on 3 for 2 or you could get them from holland and barratt I'm sure and stock up when they are on special offer too!!! Hope this is helpful to you!!!

msb5262

Could I suggest you speak to your GP and/or health visitor?
I understand you are probably exhausted from caring for small children but asking on an internet forum for the experiences of others is really not the way to go with decisions such as these.

MsB

grey_lady

I hope this isn't a stupid question, but would eating fish 5 or 6 nights a week instead of meat or chicken have the same effect?

lindseykim13

I'm of the opinion that you should get all your vits and oils from a healthy balanced diet.

Bambywamby

I would think a good combination of oily fish, nuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds added to LOs diet will supply plenty of Omega 3 & 6 oils.
You could try mackeral on toast, homemade salmon fish cakes, add seeds and nuts to cereals and home made cakes etc
Also maybe adding evening primrose oil to the diet would be beneficial. EPO contains essential fatty acids including linoleic acid (LA) and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) both LA and GLA belong to the omega-6 family of fatty acids. And from a financial point of view they are a lot cheaper than EyE Q.

x x

Also I agree, that the omega oils really do seem to improve concentration and increase a sense of calmness and wellbeing in children that can be hyperactive etc. Having had a little live wire that was chemically sensitive, I couldn't believe how well behaved and settled he became with EPO, plenty of fish and seeds and cutting all artificial chemicals and excess sugar out of his diet. x

confusedmummy

msb5262 wrote: »

Could I suggest you speak to your GP and/or health visitor?
I understand you are probably exhausted from caring for small children but asking on an internet forum for the experiences of others is really not the way to go with decisions such as these.

MsB

I have already discussed it with my health visitor. I just wanted to get some personal experiences from people who have actually had success with it before I do buy it.

grey_lady wrote: »

I hope this isn't a stupid question, but would eating fish 5 or 6 nights a week instead of meat or chicken have the same effect?

I would love nothing more than to give my son fish as often as possible but a) he hates it and I end up throwing away £££ worth of fish and b) we simply cannot afford to eat fresh fish that regularly. It's hard enough getting him to eat chicken, let alone fish and I am trying to do my best (hence my concern that my kids get some omega 3 into their diet) on a limited budget with a fussy child.

Emmzi

Please read Ben Goldacre's "bad science" on the subject of fish oil for children. You may be about to waste a very large amount of money.

http://www.badscience.net/2010/06/the-return-of-a-2bn-fishy-friend/#more-1675

pinkclouds

My MIL believes in this stuff. We humoured her for a couple of weeks and did not observe any difference in behaviour or concentration. However, my kids are totally normal (for their ages) and have the attention-spans you'd expect of toddlers. Elder child took the stuff for the whole fortnight or so. Younger child only had a couple of doses because I noticed that the label said it was not recommended for... can't remember the exact age but not someone as young as him.

In my limited experience, we tried two different fish oil brands - one of them might have been lemon or orange flavoured - and they were very oily (as you'd expect) and quite tasteless (in my opinion). The kids pretty much refused to swallow the stuff on its own. However, they were also being dosed with Haliborange baby multivitamin something or other (vitamin C for cold prevention...), which is a very orange-y flavoured thick syrup - they really liked the Haliborange stuff so we mixed the oil with it and they happily drank it down (despite the rather odd, unappealing result with globules of oil floating around in a sea of pale orange).

Frankly, I couldn't see the point of this exercise but it made MIL happy during that particular visit. Anyway, my point is that if you mix it with something they like - maybe juice or syrup or honey - then I think they will consume it more happily than if it was served up "plain". Of course, maybe your kids really like oily stuff and wouldn't object in the first place!

Finally, if you would rather your kids obtained omega-3 from food then you could just feed them eggs from hens that are fed an omega-3 rich diet. Such as this brand: http://www.noblefoods.co.uk/about-our-eggs/goldenlay/ Basically the hens have eaten the fish oil and flax seed so your kids don't have to.

lily76

I always believe that the best source for all kind of nutritions is in your food. You are what you eat. I give my son fish twice a week. I don't like salmon but for the heath of my baby, I buy it frequently. My favourate fish is sea bass which I give to my baby as well and he loves it. I am not very keen on those tablets.

Mojisola

lily76 wrote: »

I always believe that the best source for all kind of nutritions is in your food. You are what you eat. I give my son fish twice a week. I don't like salmon but for the heath of my baby, I buy it frequently. My favourate fish is sea bass which I give to my baby as well and he loves it. I am not very keen on those tablets.

Isn't this a white fish? You don't get the good oils from white fish.