Parents spending £234-a-year on vitamins for each child, survey suggests

The vast majority of parents (92%) have bought vitamins and supplements for their child over the past year, the poll for Clearpay found.

Sales of magnesium for children are up 296% year-on-year (Alamy/PA)

Parents are spending an average of £234-a-year on vitamins and supplements for each of their children to boost immunity and focus, a survey suggests.

The figure is almost the same as the amounts parents spend on supplements for themselves, which has reached £241-a-year, the study by Buy Now, Pay Later platform Clearpay found.

The vast majority of parents (92%) have bought vitamins and supplements for their child over the past year, with the most popular products being multivitamins (89%), Vitamin C (65%), Vitamin D (61%), probiotic yoghurts (56%) and iron (51%).

The payment platform’s own internal data shows sales of magnesium for children are up 296% year-on-year, followed by vitamin D (up 231%) and probiotic drinks (up 228%).

The survey suggests 44% of parents plan to spend more on supplements for their children this year than they did last year.

More than half of parents (51%) said they bought the supplements to boost their children’s immunity, to avoid illness (36%) and boost focus and concentration (24%).

Nearly one in five parents (17%) said they bought vitamins and supplements to avoid their children being off school or nursery.

On average, parents spend just £7 more on supplements for themselves, with adult magnesium supplement sales increasing the most at 296% and vitamin D by 231% year-on-year.

However 63% of parents say it is becoming increasingly expensive to buy vitamins and supplements for their children, while 44% struggle to know which products are genuinely effective.

Clearpay chief executive Rich Bayer said: “While many households continue to contend with rising costs across the board, health is clearly something parents want to continue investing in.

“Vitamins and supplements have become routine in how parents support their children’s health, and this is now a regular expenditure.”

OnePoll surveyed 2,000 UK parents of children under 18 between January 9-14.