Giving Your Four Year Old AUGMENTING and Having to Give ProBiotics as Well

I have to give my 3 year old probiotics everyday and I just break the capsule apart and mix it with a little bit of juice. If it is a pill form just crush it and mix it. It works really well for me. Hope this helps!

My son had multiple ear infections, therefor was on antibiotics a lot. We used a probiotic call Florastor and it comes in a powder form. We mixed it with milk or would sprinkle it on food. You can get it at most Walgreen pharmacies. Its a little expensive, around $14 for a 5 day supply. Hope this helps!!

My son loves drinking the keefer smoothie drink for kids. It's called Probugs and it comes in a kid attractive drink pouch. My doctor told me about when my son was sick. Now he loves it and I buy it for him all the time. In fact I have to give him one in store when he sees me put it the cart or he will throw a fit. I buy it at Sprouts in the fridge section.

You can take a little gatorade, or juice that you know you son will drink and open the capsule and mix it with the juice so he will ingest the probiotic but not have to swallow a pill. Save an empty small gatorade bottle (single serving size) and put an inch or two of juice in there to mix with. He will drink it all if it isn't a large amount and you can be sure he is gettign the proper amount. If he protests then add a little more juice to it to cover the flavor more. You could also try in his cereal and mix it but he will need to finish all of the milk in order to get the dose. Pudding might be another choice to mix the powder in. You know his likes and dislikes to hide this in. It is probably best to mix it when he isn't around. It is very important to keep his good bacteria intact or you will be adressing other issues. Good luck.
J.

Hi G.,
Whole Foods is a good place to look. You can look online for locations wholefoods.com(I know there is one in Tempe and Phoenix). Here are some of the forms you can get probiotics in:
1. Primal Defense Powder for Kids (just mix it in food he likes, but don't cook it)
2. Rhino Chewable FOS & acidophilus (sweet like chewable vitamins)
3. Probugs Kefir drink (kind of like yogurt though)
4. Applegate Farms probiotic yogurt cheese (maybe cheese and crackers?)
Good luck!

I always use yogurt when I make a fruit smoothie. You could always try that. Frozen fruits, yogurt, banana, maybe a touch or orange juice or milk to thin and a touch of vanilla extract.

Hi! I recently started my 2 yr old on a probiotic supplement to help boost his immune system. I found a great powdered kind, made by Nature's Way. It's called Primadopholus Children. I got it at a vitamin shop in the east valley (sorry can't rememeber the name) but I think most vitamin stores should have a selection of these things. The one we got in particular has to be kept refrigerated & only needs to be given 1 time a day. I just mix it right into his sippy cup in the morning w/ his water & juice. Hope that helps & good luck!

When my daughter was born she had to have IV antibiotics in the hospital and we have several side effect from that (I got mastitis and she had thrush). So, my OBGYN suggested giving her probiotics too. We went to Sprouts and there you can find liquid probiotics that you refrigerate. Well actually you should refrigerate most good probiotics. We just gave it to her through a medicine dropper but you could probably just put it in a sippy cup for him. They're fruit flavored so if he likes apple which is the flavor I think we got, you'll be good!

G.,
I see you live in Peoria, so my best advice to you is go to a SPROUTS store & ask them. They will be able to recommend a Pro-biotic for your son. Sprouts is a great place to shop & find things like that.
Good Luck to you,
R.

One time I was told to give Culturelle for Kids to my son. It's in a capsule and I opened it and poured it into his yogurt and mixed it in. I give him either the Yoplait Trix ones (kind of sweet) or the YoBaby. My son had a weird, clear, mucousy diarrhea that he couldn't control and it cleared it up within a day. It's not the fresh/live probiotic but it seemed to work for us. I didn't know about the live ones at Sprouts or other stores of that type. My son is a picky eater and he loves yogurt so it worked well once I got the powder mixed in well. I would think that anything that you can stir it in and not notice it will work.

Hi G.,
The Probiotics that I have given my son has been in a grainy form that you can dump into his milk or what not. I picked it up from my pharmacist at Fry's/Kroger. If you have one in your area, perhaps ask the pharmacist. I believe it's in a green and white box that has to be refridgerated. Hope that helps. Good luck.

My daughter recently took antibiotics, twice within a few months of each other, for an ear infection. I also put her on probiotics simultaneously. If you go to Whole Foods, Sunflower Market, or La Montanita Coop, you can buy powdered, live, active cultures in the refrigerated health section. They always have knowledgeable staff in the health section that can answer any questions you have. The powdered probiotics can be mixed into any beverage, including juice, and is tasteless. I like the straight probiotics better because the dose of cultures will be greater than with yogurt.

My kids like yogurt as a topping for fruit salad. Try his favorite fruits with yogurt as a dip as well. BTW, when my kids are on Augmentin they have never gotten bad diarrhea (which is what a lack of probiotics causes). You might try just feeding him a BRAT diet instead to help ward off the diarrhea. (That's bananas, rice, applesauce, toast...any bland, easy to digest foods.)

Hi - you maybe able to crushup the pill and put the crushed up version in something he does like or try Sprouts food Store - they have alot of probiotics and esp in a fridgerated part of their vitamin centerr - they may have a childrens version or a liquid that he tolerates better - that would be your best bet - or even call Sprouts and ask b/c they are nice and will look and they have a great selection - good luck!!S. :)

I think if you go to a health food store you should be able to find it in a liquid or powder form. As for the yogurt, you can make him a smoothie with his favorite fruit, some ice, a little honey and the yogurt. Once you blend it all up in the blender he should not be able to taste it. The great thing with smoothies is that you can even add fresh spinach to it for extra nutrients and you can't even taste it!

Buy the capsules, open them and mix it into his food or drink. It has no taste. We do this for our children and our pediatrician recommended it when my baby had colic-it got rid of it in 24 hours! She was 6 wks old- we added a capsule to her bottle. Good luck!

Try opening the capsules and blending in applesauce.
The Augmentin will probably cancel out any beneficial effects of the "good bacteria" from the antibiotic though. But it is worth a try to feed it to your child.
Definately give him probiotics after the course of drugs.
Remember that all acidophilus is not created equal. I recommend the refridgerated live NOW brand with 8 billion unit capsules. You can also purchase GoodBelly which is a live liquid suspension....
B. Gettel OTR/L CHT CCH
Eclectic Body Work
Rucson, Az.
Tucson, Az.

try Sprouts for the Probiotic stuff. I had a friend tell me to get some for my son when he had some horrible diarreah.. Yogurt for him calmed him down, but she had told me that Sprouts carries like an eye dropper thing of it. I think you can mix it in with something they already eat or drink that way.

At Sprouts you can buy a jar of loose powder probiotics for children. It has almost no taste at all and you could mix it in with a beverage or applesauce or something like that. It has dosing recommendations on the bottle.

G.,

Both my daughters have had to be on daily prophylactic antiobiotics for years, and so I gave them priobiotics daily. There are several children's priobiotics out there in a powder form that you can put in milk and they don't know its there. I bought mine at Sunflower market - but any natural foods store would probably have it. It will really help. Good luck.

For my son, I found caplets that I could open and mix the probiotic into something he likes - like applesauce, juice, or his rice milk. Our homeopath's instructions were "however you can get it in him," and mixing it into highly desired foods worked perfectly. I hope this will work for you too.

Hi G.,

You can purchase powdered probiotics from a health food store in the refrigerated section. You'll want to make sure it is the "refrigerated" kind, as they are "live" and more effective. Simply add the powder to whatever he is eating or drinking. Be sure to give it to him at least 3 times per day.

Also, you can use probiotics on-going to help maintain a healthy body. With vaccinations and pesticides and antibiotics in food, we lose our good digestive bacteria. Giving him probiotics on-going, you will help keep him healthy and better equipped to fight off infections on his own.

Best wishes to you! :)

Warm Regards
G. Van Luven, H.C.
Healthy Habits Wellness Center, LLC
www.HealthyHabitsWellnessCenter.com
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I have heard of mums undoing little acidophilus (or babydophilus) capsules and sprinkling it on foods that the kiddo likes (or mixing it in). That might work!

By the way, if yogurt is introduced as one of the first foods, kids usually love it! That might work with #2.

Blessings!!!

My 2 year old was just on Augmentin last week and my DR gave my son a powered Probiotic. We mixed it with applesause. Someone told me that you can get children's probiotics at places like Sprouts. You can also mix the powered kind in juice as well. My son did great with it and he is a REALLY picky eater. Good Luck

This might be a repeat because I haven't read any other responses. You could try looking at Sprouts store to find a chewable probiotic. They have different fruit flavors that are pretty good. Also, if you want to use the yogurt, make a smoothie by adding ice, all the yogurt, strawberries or other berries, bananas, and any additional fruit you both like. My boys drink smoothies like crazy. Hope it works!

We give our daughter Nature's Way Primadophilus Kids orange flavor chewables and she loves them!!!

I also buy Trader Joe's 4 oz. serving size whole milk yogurt and my whole family absolutely loves them. It was the first "solid" that I gave to my son at 10 months and he actually cried when we ran out. I even started adding the vanilla flavor to his jarred veggies for added flavor. They come in six packs of (3) Vanilla & Cream with (3) Blueberries & Cream or (3) Strawberries & Cream with (3) Bananas & Cream. This is the only yogurt that my daughter will eat. She hates yobaby.

Hope this helps.

Try mixing the yogurt with whipped topping, aka Cool Whip. It tastes really good, especially to dip fruit in.

Hi G., Whole Foods actually sells a infant probiotic in powder form (I've used this form my 5 year old). You can dissolve it in juice, milk or whatever he'll drink. Also, they sell a kids chewable--kindof like a small vitamin C tab--that is also a probiotic if the yogurt isn't working. And one last thing, my kids love the drinkable yogurts--the only ones they like are the Vanilla Dan Active by Dannon. They are easy to drink and I just pop a straw in the top!! Good Luck!

Actually there is. Go to a health food store (whole foods, co-op) and you will find that the yogurts and other dairy have all those live bacteria in them. Activia is kind of nasty because it has corn syrup in it. Major brands like Dannon are jumping on the bacteria bandwagon that natural yogurts have been already doing for years. Just look at the labels and you'll see the bacteria listed there. You can try cottage cheese or kefir, other dairies that would have different textures you son might prefer. kefir is like a rich milk, yum.

It's an easy remedy. Hope your son is better soon, S.

Try making him a smoothie with the yogurt some fruit (fresh, frozen or even canned - they all work really well) and a little of honey. If you need to add liquid, you can use little fruit juice or even a little milk, whatever you think he'll like. The honey will take the 'edge' off the yogurt.

You can go to sprouts and speak to the person who works in the vitamin department. Most of the time they are very helpful. There is a few different kinds of probiotics. There is liquid or pill form. The liquid one looks and tastes like yogurt but you only need one spoonful. Maybe that will be better than having to eat the carton and it has more in it. Hopefully this helps. FYI Probiotics are extremely important to all of us at all times, but extremely important when you are on antibiotics or sick. Good luck, hope this helps.

Try making a smoothie-fruit, yogurt, milk, orange juice, and empty the capsule into the smoothie. I have found this a very effective way to get medicine into my boys if they don't like it. BTW-the "good bacteria" that the doctor is talking about are different cultures of the probiotics in the pill form and the more cultures you have in your gut, the easier it is on you to take the antibiotics. You can also try different yogurts-YoBaby, Mountain High, Brown Cow-look for ones that don't have high fructose corn syrup as the second ingredient.

I give my 4 & 6 yr olds probiotics everyday and have for the last couple of years. I get a chewable one from Sprouts called Yum-Yum dophilus by Jarrow Formulas. Or you can buy the capsules and break them open and put them in applesauce.

You can find probiotics in powder form at health stores or Whole Foods. The brand I buy is called Babydophilus. Then you can mix it in anything. Remember to keep it refrigerated.

My daughter and I have experienced an unpleasant reaction to probiotics (I'll tell you what it is later!) AND we don't like the yoghurt product either. I haven't been able to take any probiotics until recently. I found a product that tastes great, has high levels of antioxidants as well as the probiotics. My girls are 4 and 9 and they both use this product daily. I think it is against the rules to mention the name of the product here so please email me directly if you are interested in knowing what it is. I think you will receive lots of information from Moms about why anti-biotics are not good for us, but sometimes, we have few or no options it seems. So having a probiotic in our diet is such a good thing. My girls take their probiotic "stuff" 1-3 times daily.

My daughter had toddler's diarehha and also has had some Augmentin experience. She has NEVER liked yougurt so our pediatrician told us to get Acidopholis (not sure on the spelling) They are capsules that have powder filled. You can break the capsules apart and sprinkle it on ANY food or put it in drinks. You get it at any CVS Walgreens, WalMart. Hope that works!

The kids yogurt tends to have more flavor for the kidos..:)

Hi G., have you tried opening the capsule and sprinkling the Probiotics on his food? M.

My kids always liked yogurt, so I never had a problem with that. But, add a little granola or cereal to it to change the texture. That may help. I like it better that way myself.

When my kids were little I made popsicles out of yogurt. I used a tupperware mold but maybe there are others out there. Also, look into already made popsicles at the grocery store.

D.

How about making a smoothie with it and maybe a banana or something else that he likes? You can even call it a milk shake. Also, I was thinking you could maybe freeze the yogurt into ice pops for him, but I would check first to see whether freezing destroys the good bacteria. Personally, my favorite yogurt is Trader Joe's "Vanana" (vanilla/banana), but Activia's Vanilla is really good, too. If he just won't eat it in any way, shape or form, I recall buying some probiotics in powder form from a vitamin store like GNC. You could mix it into anything and it had no taste. Good luck!

There is something called Florastar Kids that you can get at a pharmacy. they keep it behind the counter and often you have to have them order it for you (takes about a day). Good luck!

I use Primadophilus Children from Nature's Way for my son...it mixes into food or juice easily without affecting the taste (he is SO PICKY that I would know if he could taste it). It's 1 teaspoon daily. I got it for 14 dollars at Vitamin Warehouse in the cold case/freezer area....a tad pricy but it's been worth it.

There IS a powder form of probiotics for kids... Look for it at Sprouts or even Bashas in the refridgerator section in the natural department

G.,

You should try Whole Foods or Sprouts. I am sure that both of these places carry child friendly probiotics. I gave my son a powder form one when he was a baby. I had to put it in his bottle, so I know they exist. I remember having to keep it refrigerated and I used it again months later. Talk to the specialists at both these stores and they should be able to help you. Good Luck!

I recommend trying the "yobaby" yogurt. I give it to my daughter and she loves it. I do mix it with applesauce for her so that may be one way to try it. It is a milder flavor than a lot of other types and it is made for kids. It contains some probiotics or live cultures. I have never tried the one with cereal in it, I always use the one that is yogurt only. Good luck!! -Sara

What about mixing it in with a smoothie? Throw a few bananas, the cup of yogurt, and whatever fruits he likes in the blender and blend it up, then have him drink it!

Mix it with cereal. I LOVE Sugar Pops with yogurt...all ceral works.

My kids love the Primadophilus tablets (Nature's way??). I get them at HiHealth or Whole Foods. They are chewable and come in cherry or orange flavors.

Try "Gogurt" It is in a tube container and little kids seem to think that is cool. Yogurt is the best thing I know to help with the effects of antibiotics. Bananas also work.

You can buy Acidophilus pills, open them and put them in his drink or food, they work great. i did it about 3x a day and helped with diarehha.
good luck. works good. just like a powder

Amway has a great Probiotic. IF you would like more information please do not hesitate to e-mail me. ____@____.com

M.

Hey! Shaklee has this tiny tiny probiotic "pearls" that are easy to chew and swallow. If you decide you'd like to find out more, I can put you in touch with my consultant.

You could try this! It is a powder the site below will send you to a page about the product which you could print and take into the Doctor.

http://www.shaklee.net/health_by_theresa/product/20635