Signs of anemia maybe subtle. You may not even know that your child is anemic. I took my 5 year old in first check up in my own office poked his finger and he was slightly anemic. Other children can be very symptomatic. They can be tired, they can be pale, and if you have severe anemia, you could even have serious health concerns so what is anemia. Well basically anemia is the measure of iron in your blood and that’s something that your doctor will check as your child’s 9 month or 1 year appointment, often with a little finger poke in the office. We also check it again before kindergarten and teenage girls will check it every year, because as they are losing blood every month with their menstrual period, they maybe become anemic. It’s very important to keep your iron levels at a certain level and that’s why we often introduce iron rich foods to babies around 4 to 6 months of age. So iron fortified cereal or meat are a meats a good source of iron. Beans and lentils are other sources of iron. And green leafy vegetables can also provide good amounts of iron to your child. So if you child is anemic, talk to your doctor or dietician about ways to enrich your child’s diet with iron and in some cases I even have to prescribe an iron vitamin to help get children’s iron level s up so that way they feel better.