Studies have shown that prebiotics and probiotics have many benefits for children. Gut function and health. Please note, however, that any claims regarding prebiotics or probiotics have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition. Additionally, be sure to consult with your child’s pediatrician before starting any supplements.
In general, if you’re planning to start taking probiotics for toddlers or older kids, we recommend considering using gummies or powders until they’re ready to swallow the tablets or capsules on their own. This usually happens around the age of 4-5 years. Once ready, encapsulated probiotics typically provide a more comprehensive blend of prebiotics and probiotics than gummies or powders, as well as better timed release and viability (in the gut). That said, if you’re looking for an easier and more natural way to get your kids to take probiotics, you might want to try daily yogurt or yogurt drinks (some kids love kefir)!
Here’s our list of recommendations…
1. Hyperbiotics PRO-Kids Probiotics
These are a great, tasty, all-natural, tiny pill supplement that kids are easier to swallow than regular pills or capsules. It’s the best children’s probiotic of the year for a number of reasons. The pill itself, called a “pearl,” is about the size of a green pea. Hyperbiotics uses patented BIO-Tract preparation technology that timed the release of prebiotics and probiotics to prevent stomach acid from destroying it before it reaches the lower region of the gastrointestinal tract. They claim that this technology increases the absorption rate of the body by about 15 times compared to traditional capsules. These are all-natural, non-GMO, vegan, lactose-free, nut-free, soy-free, sugar-free, and artificial ingredients. They also do not require refrigeration, but they should be used within 1-2 months of opening.
Each pearl contains 25 mg of prebiotic FOS and 30 billion CFU (colony-forming units) of probiotics (including Lactobacillus plantaris, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium infantis, and Bifidobacterium lactis). These are great little pearls, rich in probiotics, highly recommended!The only downside is that they are a bit pricey. There are 60 pearls in a bottle, and the best price we can find online is around 33 cents per pearl.
2. SmartyPants Kids Probiotic Chewables
Find a gummy prebiotic and probiotic blend that provides stable and absorbable nutrients, has a high CFU, and tastes good enough to avoid the morning struggle!For kids who aren’t ready to swallow pills, and parents who realize that some probiotic powder is going to waste in a drink (and it’s painful to prepare!), gummies can be the perfect solution. As you know, SmartyPants makes some of the best prenatal vitamins and has recently launched these delicious vitamins for kids. Probiotic Gummies On the Market – Parents and kids love them! These gummies are available in three flavors: strawberry, grape, and strawberry cream, and they taste surprisingly good. Each serving of 2 gummies contains prebiotics and probiotics. For prebiotics, 70 mg of baker’s yeast extract per serving, and for probiotics, 40 billion total CFUs per serving: 30 billion CFU of Bacillus subtilis DE111 and 10 billion CFU of Bacillus coagulans LactoSpore. The gummies themselves are made from organic cane sugar and tapioca syrup, as well as natural colors and flavors. While sugar may worry you, each gummy contains only about 1.5 mg of sugar. Let’s be honest, we prefer to use real sugar over any substitutes or artificial sweeteners because it leaves less aftertaste and we understand the long-term effects better.
Growing bacteria can help children stay regular, reduce diarrhea and constipation, and help boost the immune system, and these are no exception. For children with any allergies or sensitivities, these gummies do not contain any milk, wheat, peanut, shellfish, soy, tree nut, or fish allergens. For the price, these gummies cost about 26 cents each, and considering that a serving size is 2 gummies, it will cost about 50 cents per day. This is more expensive than PRO-Kids probiotics, but about the same price as most powdered children’s probiotics. Overall, we think these probiotic gummies are great go-to probiotics for kids who aren’t ready to swallow tablets or capsules, have a good blend of prebiotics and probiotics, have a high CFU, and taste great!
3. LoveBug Tiny Tummies Probiotics
This is definitely the best powdered probiotic option on the market. It has the most CFU live probiotics on this list, at 150 billion live cultures! If you keep the score, it has about 5 times the number of CFUs as LoveBug pearls (below). That’s a lot of probiotics! The truth is that most of the probiotic content in a powder or gummy is broken down by stomach acid before it can be absorbed by the intestines. Therefore, this high CFU content will compensate for some of the loss. It contains 8 different probiotic strains, including Bifidobacterium lactis, Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Lactobacillus gasseri and Lactobacillus reuteri. So, this is a plethora of great strains, many of which have been shown to be beneficial for gastrointestinal comfort, regularity, immune function, skin health, and even mental health and well-being. To complement the 8 strains of probiotic powder, it also contains the prebiotic fructooligosaccharides to aid absorption. The only other ingredient is silica, which helps prevent the powder from clumping into clumps.
Mixed with water, orange juice, and apple juice, it is basically tasteless and odorless. Do not mix with milk, otherwise it will curdle like most probiotics unless the milk is consumed within about 10 minutes of mixing, and do not mix it with something warm or hot as it can harm an active culture. These products are gluten- and sugar-free and non-GMO. These packages are easy to ship, don’t require refrigeration, and you’re contributing to a small business in New York City. However, they’re a bit pricey (around 30 cents each), but to ensure that you’re getting a high CFU even if you don’t swallow the pill, it may be worth the added cost.
4. LoveBug Little Ones Probiotics
These are very similar to PRO-Kids pearls but are newer on the market. LoveBug Probiotics use the same patented BIO-Tract process and are available in tiny (6 mm diameter) spheres that look exactly like the PRO-Kids option. This isn’t entirely surprising as they use the same manufacturing techniques to achieve slow-release probiotics. There are five probiotics in this mixture, including Lactobacillus plantaris, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium lactis, Bifidobacterium infantis, and Lactobacillus reuteri. It also contains fructooligosaccharide prebiotics (25 mg FOS), which are said to aid in the absorption of probiotics. At the time of manufacturing, there were 30 billion CFUs, and they expected 10 billion CFUs during the expiration date. These are all natural, GMO-free, vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free, nut-free, soy-free, sugar-free, and don’t contain any artificial ingredients. They do use stevia to prevent odor in the mouth before swallowing. They also do not require refrigeration, but they should be used within 1-2 months of opening.
5. Culturelle Kids Purely Probiotics Packets
Nearly two decades ago, Culturelle introduced the first widely used probiotic packaging, and they’ve been popular ever since. Each containing 50 billion CFUs of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG can be easily mixed into your child’s favorite beverage or water, a well-researched probiotic with multiple gut benefits. In addition to probiotics, the package contains mannitol, inulin, silicon dioxide, sucrose, maltodextrin, and sodium ascorbate. These aren’t the best ingredients in the world, especially when compared to some of the relatively natural and organic options on this list. Mannitol is a sugar alcohol, inulin is a prebiotic, silica is an anti-caking agent, sucrose is a sugar, maltodextrin is a thickened starch, sodium ascorbate is vitamin C, and slightly salty and sour flavors are added. The package is suitable for toddlers and children over 1 year of age and contains no gluten, dairy or lactose, artificial colors or preservatives, yeast or soy.
6. Garden of Life Chewable Organic Kids Probiotics
Garden of Life has been producing a range of probiotic options for decades, and people love that they’re USDA Certified Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, Vegan, and free of gluten, dairy, soy, and other ingredients. Added sugar. They don’t explicitly state kosher on the label, but they don’t use gelatin (for what it’s worth). These chewables are about the size of Mentos candy (if you remember!). If not, they are about a penny in diameter, very thick and come in three flavors: berry cherry, strawberry banana and watermelon. Each chewable tablet contains a total of 50 billion CFU probiotics, including 9 lactic acid bacteria (acidophilus, gasseri, paracasei, plantarum, casei, brevis, rhamnosus, salivarus, bulgaricus) and 5 bifidobacteria (lactis, breve, infantis, bifidum). They are combined with the prebiotic acacia fiber and some vitamins: Alma Amla Extract and Cranberry (Vitamin C) as well as Vitamin D. Together, they form one of the most diverse blends of prebiotics and probiotics suitable for children. The tablets are stable to shelf, so there is no need for refrigeration. The manufacturer calls 4 tablet daily for ages 1 and up.