The question for a lot of parents (including me) is which vitamins for kids are the best? I want high-quality ingredients, but most of all, I need something my kids will like and enjoy.

I’m so excited to share our experience with the First Day gummy vitamins for kids. 

NOTE: Get a 20% discount on one-time purchases and a 30% discount on your first month of a subscription order with code 2MAMABEARS.

Why We Give Our Toddlers Vitamins

On days when it feels like all my toddlers ate were noodles and bread, I feel like I’ve failed as a mom. If you have a picky eater in your home, you already know how stressful it can be when it feels like your kids aren’t getting the nutrients they need.

For many months, I’ve been learning about how to help my picky eater, and we have made some progress with the Division of Responsibility philosophy. I’ve learned how to let go, involve my kids in meal prep, provide many options at dinner, and most importantly, never give up! Hopefully, one day I’ll look back on this and have some amazing advice to give, but for now, I’m still in the process of figuring it out.

During this time, it eases my mind to give my kids some vitamins in the morning to make sure they’re getting the vitamins and nutrients they need to reach their full potential. 

While I don’t replace offering fruits and vegetables with vitamins, I like ensuring they get what they need with the “backup” of a daily multivitamin formulated for kids.

This worksheet from Kids Discover offers a great visualization of the vitamins kids need. If your child isn’t eating from each category, it might be a good idea to consider supplementing with a multivitamin.

Talk to Your Pediatrician About Vitamins For Your Child

It’s important to say here that you should talk to your pediatrician about whether or not your kids need or should take vitamins. According to Rachel Dawkins, M.D., director of the Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine Clinic at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, kids typically don’t need vitamins, but every child is different.

The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that healthy children who get a well-balanced diet don’t need vitamins over and above the recommended dietary allowances. 

However, the AAP also states that most children in the U.S. don’t get enough iron and calcium in their diets. They also share that any child not consuming at least 32 ounces of vitamin-D fortified milk per day should supplement with vitamin D drops or pills.

Ultimately, the information we get as parents can be confusing, and it may be best to talk to your pediatrician before giving vitamins to your child.

Ideally, all of the nutritional needs of your kids would be met through their diet, but we parents of picky eaters know that’s often easier said than done.

First Day Brand and Vitamin Highlights

I’m going to get into our experience with First Day vitamins (and what my two toddlers thought), but I do want to share some highlights about the brand and their vitamins first.

• First Day was founded by Alice and Andy, two friends who studied at Yale and Stanford that wanted to address unaddressed questions in the wellness industry.
• The brand’s team of experts investigated thousands of clinical studies before formulating these vitamin gummies for kids.
• First Day is focused on sourcing absorbable, or bioavailable, ingredients so what’s listed on the label actually gets absorbed into your body.
• Each nutrient included in First Day gummy vitamins is designed to fill a gap in our everyday needs.
• First Day gummy vitamins include organic fruits and vegetables that are taken straight from the farms, dried, and blended into gummies.
• The ingredients in First Day gummy vitamins for kids include Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B9 (Folate), Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, Vitamin K2.

• The color of First Day vitamins is from carrots and grape extract (not artificial coloring), and the flavor is from strawberry and orange (not artificial flavoring).
• Compared to other children’s vitamins, First Day vitamins have 50-80% less sugar, or 2 grams of sugar per daily serving. 
• Each batch of vitamins is tested at least 3 times for potency and contaminates.

First Day Gummy Vitamins Unboxing + First Impressions

First Day was kind enough to send me a sample of the kid’s gummy vitamins to test out with my toddlers.

Note: if you click any of the First Day links in this article and go on to purchase vitamins, I will earn a small commission. I so appreciate it when you do this because it helps support my blog and allows me to keep writing reviews like this one!

My first impression of First Day is the packaging is amazing. I love the vitamin container, which twists on and is very sturdy. 

The actual vitamins come in a packet, which you pour into the container. You never have to throw away containers when you use First Day, because each month, you get a refill packet. I really appreciate that.

My kids also love the animal pattern on the base of the vitamin bottle.

I don’t know about you, but I smell everything, and the smell of these vitamins is pleasant. It’s a fruity citrus smell. It tastes just like it smells, too. There is no odd aftertaste or those weird vitamin burps you can sometimes get later in the day (please tell me it’s not just me?!).

Over the next several weeks, my family tested out these vitamins every morning, and I have some thoughts on the pros and cons!

Pros of First Day Gummy Vitamins For Kids

• My kids love the taste of these vitamins.

These vitamins taste like a mix between gummy bears and fruit snacks. It’s no wonder my toddlers beg for their vitamins!

If you want a vitamin that your kids will love, First Day will not disappoint.

• The consistency of the vitamins is ideal for kids – not hard or rubbery!

I avoid giving my toddlers gummy bears and other gummy candies for fear that they’ll choke on them since they’re difficult to chew. You don’t have to worry about that with the First Day gummies. They are soft gummies, so once you gently bite into them, they immediately break apart. 

It doesn’t stick to the roof of your mouth, and I have absolutely no concerns about my kids not chewing it enough or choking on them.

• The ingredients are organic fruits and veggies, and there are no synthetic colors or flavors.

One of the main reasons to seek out a vitamin gummy for kids online is to find a brand offering the highest quality. While it may be more convenient to pick up a mass-produced vitamin at the grocery store, you have no idea what goes into those, and they’re often full of synthetic colorings and flavorings.

It gives me peace of mind that First Day gummy vitamins are made with organic fruits and vegetables, and no synthetic chemicals are used to color or flavor them.

The color of First Day vitamins is from carrots and grape extract (not artificial coloring), and the flavor is from strawberry and orange (not artificial flavoring).

• The sustainable packaging is convenient and avoids vitamin bottles going in the trash.

I’ve mentioned this in other articles before, but I really appreciate brands who find ways to reduce waste. I’m not perfect, but I do try to reuse things and avoid acquiring a ton of things that will just end up in the trash.

I love that the First Day vitamins come with a reusable, high-quality bottle, and after that, you simply get refill packets to fill it back up. It’s always bothered me to throw away vitamin and supplement bottles because they can definitely be reused! That’s taken care of with First Day.

This also keeps costs down – you’re paying for the highest quality vitamins instead of a new bottle each month.

• The gummy vitamins for kids are competitively priced.

Finally, the price is right in line with competitors on these vitamins for kids. If you plan to subscribe & save, each bottle’s worth is $30. The more kids you have, the more you save. For example, if you have three kids, your price drops to $24 per bottle.

Plus, you can get a 20% discount on one-time purchases and a 30% discount on your first month of a subscription order with code 2MAMABEARS.

Here’s a quick chart showing price comparisons for a one-month supply of other high-quality kids vitamin brands:

P.S.: We’re working on testing the Ritual and Hiya versions soon! Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter to get notified when those reviews are published.

June 2022 UPDATE: Get the Hiya review here: Are Hiya Vitamins the Best Multivitamins for Kids?

Cons of First Day Gummy Vitamins For Kids

I don’t have that many complaints about the First Day gummy vitamins – they check all the boxes I care about, including being high-quality, competitive in price, and a consistency that isn’t too chewy or stiff for my toddlers.

The only con is how much my kids love them.

They taste so much like fruit snacks that my kids think they’re candy. They will have actual meltdowns when I explain they can only have two gummies. Despite being very low in sugar, my kids still see these as a special treat, and it can be frustrating to associate vitamin time with tantrums.

I don’t really know how you could avoid this, though, because if they tasted horrible, my kids would refuse to take them, and that defeats the entire purpose.

But, for what it’s worth, your kids might like these so much that they’ll cry and whine for more than the serving size, and you literally cannot give in. Getting too many vitamins can cause side effects, including headaches, nausea, and rashes. It’s tough to be a kid, right?!

Final Thoughts on First Day Vitamins

If you struggle to find vitamins for your kids that are low in sugar, high in quality, and taste amazing, check out First Day.

The vitamins are essentially a dollar a day, and that price is worth it for peace of mind that I’m helping my kids grow to their full potential, no matter how picky they were with food that day.

Don’t forget to get a 20% discount on one-time purchases and a 30% discount on your first month of a subscription order with code 2MAMABEARS.