Obsessed with fish oil

[treespeak]

My soon-to-be 2yr old DS discovered my bottle of fish oil capsules a few days ago, and I let him try one, thinking he'd spit it out. Instead, he fell in love. He calls them "fish candy" and cries when I say 'all done'. The capsules seem healthy to me--they're Trader Joe's brand, and third-party lab-tested for heavy metals and PCBs. Usually I don't limit his intake of foods I consider healthy, but I'm weary of supplements, so I'm wondering how much fish oil would you give to a small child? Would it concern you to give more than the bottle's recommended one capsule a day, or would you be :?

Just to add: we do have fish in our diet, and DS isn't so crazy about it in it's whole-food state.

[JTA Mom]

It wouldn't concern me at all. In fact, he's getting a better balance of omegas in his diet. How does the rest of his diet look like in terms of fat? He might actually be craving the fat in the capsules. Little ones have a lot of growth to do, especially with regards to brain growth. That's why it's not recommended to give children under 2 low fat products. Honestly, I think fat is very important past age 2 as well. Maybe start adding more fat to his meals?

Ami

[treespeak]

Oh, thanks Ami, that's a really good point about the overall fat intake in his diet--he's not much into avocados, seeds, nuts, and other sources of healthy fat that I regularly enjoy. Other than mama's milk, his diet isn't that rich in fats. So I guess I'll keep up with the fish oil capules, and maybe try drizzling some good flax oil and cod liver oil on the things he likes. Thanks for your perspective; it was helpful!

[Rainbow2911]

My 2 year old is the same - he begs for more cod liver oil off a spoon! He is also a fish fanatic (pitches a fit everytime we walk past the fishmonger's stall and don't buy anything!).
I second what the pp said about fats. Ds2 also eats slices of cold butter like cheese! : So I give him access to lots of high fat snacks and add extra to his meals. I let him have fish oil (but I do limit cod liver oil to a tsp a day at most) when he asks but only if he eats lot of butter that day. My only concern with it is the possible blood thinning effects of too much fish oil without vitamin k - hence the butter. Just as well he loves both!

[treespeak]

I feel reassured Ruth...thanks for the input on the vit. K with the fish oil as well. I think he'll just squash the butter, but it's worth a try!