One of us has an eleven-year-old whose vitamin D dips now and then. Not a drama. Not every winter. Often enough that we stopped guessing from the calendar and started looking at the numbers on the pack, and once at a blood test.
The useful daily figure from EFSA is 15 µg from age 1. The safety ceiling is 50 µg up to 10, and 100 µg from 11. The percentage on a European label is measured against 5 µg, which is why 500% can just mean 25 µg.
The short answer
- EFSA's adequate intake is 15 µg a day from age 1, set for people who get little sun. A five-year-old and an adult sit on the same line.
- The pack percentage uses an adult NRV of 5 µg. Read the micrograms, then add any drops already in the house.
- Long-term upper intakes: 50 µg a day from 1 to 10, 100 µg from 11 (EFSA, 2023).
- Portugal in July is not Ireland in July. A desk week in August is not a beach week.
- Pocket Kids carries 25 µg of vitamin D3. If the week is genuinely varied, people get outside, and nobody has asked for a supplement, keep your money.
The table that does not change with age
European labels use an adult NRV of 5 µg, fixed in Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. That ruler is why a pack can say 500% and mean 25 µg. The percentage is for comparing two tubs. The micrograms are the ones to add up. The long-term ceiling is a daily total from everything: drops, a multinutrient, fortified milk.
| Age | Adequate intake (EFSA) | In IU |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 15 µg | 600 IU |
| 4 to 10 | 15 µg | 600 IU |
| 11 to 17 | 15 µg | 600 IU |
| Adults | 15 µg | 600 IU |
A five-year-old and an adult sit on the same line. That is unusual. The figure is not scaled to body weight, and it does not know whether you live in Cork, Porto, or Valencia, or whether anyone actually went outside.
Other expert bodies have used the same evidence and landed somewhere else. That is a polite way of saying this is not a settled exact science. The number that describes this child is a blood test, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, ordered by a GP when there is a reason. It is not a routine sticker for a healthy child.
Infants under 12 months are a different conversation. In Ireland that sits with the HSE and the person who already sees the baby. In Portugal, SNS 24 notes a daily 400 IU (10 µg) in the first year of life. From age 1, that public page points to food and ordinary time outdoors, not to a drop for every child. This article is not the infant page.
| Age | Too much, long term | In IU |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 10 | 50 µg | 2000 IU |
| 11 to 17 | 100 µg | 4000 IU |
| Adults | 100 µg | 4000 IU |
The typical mess is not one strong bottle. It is prescribed drops plus a multinutrient plus a fortified drink, each looking modest, the sum looking less modest.
µg, IU, D2 and D3
Some packs print micrograms. Irish and UK packs often print IU. 1 µg is 40 IU. 15 µg is 600 IU. 25 µg is 1000 IU. If the paediatrician said one unit and the lid says the other, divide or multiply by 40.
D3 is cholecalciferol, the form skin makes and the form in ours. D2 is ergocalciferol, from fungi under UV, usual in certified vegan products. If the front only says "vitamin D", the form is in the ingredients.
Skin makes vitamin D from UVB
Skin makes vitamin D from UVB. How much depends on latitude, season, hour, clothes, sunscreen, skin tone. The NHS winter leaflet is UK public advice, not EU law, and not a Portuguese or Spanish summer. Spain's Ministry of Health has said population-wide screening is not advised. A desk week in August is not a beach week. Sun protection does not get rewritten for vitamin D.
Food is modest
Food is modest: oily fish, egg yolk, some fortified drinks. A normal plate is a fraction of 15 µg.
Vitamin D is needed for normal growth and development of bone in children. It also contributes to the maintenance of normal bones. Pairing D with K2 is a formula choice, not a proof that a D-only drop is unsafe. The K2 piece is here. The summer question is here.
Our next release is on its way.
Our first small release is complete, and we're getting the next one ready. Join early access and you'll get 10% off your first order. We'll email your code as soon as ordering opens.
Where My Daily Pocket fits
| Formula | Vitamin D3 in one daily scoop | Who it is for | Who it is not for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pocket Kids (4–11) | 25 µg | A daily multinutrient for that age, if that is the job you actually want | Infants. A high-dose vitamin D course. A second D product stacked without adding the µg. |
| Pocket Teens (12–17) | 35 µg | Same idea, teen amounts | A clinician's D-only product. |
| Pocket Adults (18+) | 35 µg | Same idea, adult amounts | Pregnancy as a stand-in for prenatal care. |
25 µg is 500% of the adult NRV of 5 µg, and a little over EFSA's 15 µg adequate intake. It is half of the 50 µg ceiling for ages 1 to 10. Two things we still say out loud.
If there are already vitamin D drops in the house, do not just add ours. Add the micrograms. Two 400 IU drops plus 25 µg is 1800 IU. Still under 2000 IU for a five-year-old. Still the kind of sum you do once, on paper.
And if the child eats a varied diet, gets ordinary time outside, and nobody has asked for a supplement, they may need none of this. That belongs in front of you before you decide, not after.
We still have no iron and no omega-3. A scoop is not a meal. We publish independent tests for each batch, including whether the vitamin D on the label is actually in the pouch. Independent testing. How to read that PDF is here.
FAQ
How much vitamin D does a child need each day?
EFSA's adequate intake is 15 µg a day from age 1. That figure assumes little sun. A blood test ordered by a GP is the number that describes this child.
Why does a children's pack say 500%?
European labels measure vitamin D against 5 µg. 25 µg is 500% of that ruler, not five times a child's daily figure.
Can I add drops on top of a multinutrient?
Only after you add the micrograms. The long-term ceiling is 50 µg a day to age 10, and 100 µg from 11, from everything.
Is Ireland's winter advice the same as Portugal's?
No. The NHS winter leaflet is UK public advice. SNS 24 in Portugal advises 400 IU (10 µg) in the first year, then food and ordinary time outdoors from age 1. Spain does not advise population-wide screening.
What may we say vitamin D does?
In the authorised wording: it is needed for normal growth and development of bone in children, and it contributes to the maintenance of normal bones. There is no authorised sleep claim.
Sources
- EFSA, dietary reference values for vitamin D, 2016
- EFSA, tolerable upper intake level for vitamin D, 2023
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIII (NRVs)
- EU Register of nutrition and health claims
- NHS, vitamin D
- HSE, vitamin D for babies and children
- SNS 24, Vitamina D
- Ministerio de Sanidad, vitamin D recommendations, 2025
- Why vitamin D is sold with K2
- Vitamin D in summer
About the authors
Lina is a co-founder of My Daily Pocket and is certified in nutrition. Stanislava is a co-founder. They write the Knowledge Hub together.
Last reviewed: 14 October 2026.
Food supplements should not replace a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. No supplement is a substitute for a varied, balanced diet. Stay within the dose on the pack. This page does not replace a GP. If you are pregnant, on medicines, or a child has a medical condition, speak to a professional.
Our first small release is complete and ordering is paused. Join early access for 10% off the first order from the next release. We will email the code when ordering opens.
