Flintstones Chewable Vitamins
Encyclopedia
History
Flintstones Chewable Vitamins are supplemental multivitamins for children based on the animatedAnimated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
sitcom The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
. They were introduced in 1968 by Miles Laboratories
Miles Laboratories
Miles Laboratories was founded as the Dr. Miles Medical Company in Elkhart, Indiana, in 1884 by Franklin Miles, a specialist in the treatment of eye and ear disorders, with an interest in the connection of the nervous system to overall health...
and taste faintly like candy. Miles Laboratories was acquired by Bayer
Bayer
Bayer AG is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen , Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.-History:...
in 1979.
The vitamins are one of the most successful Flintstones products. Some advertisements have been under heavy rotation without being related to The Flintstones. Their jingles of "We are Flintstone kids!" and "Ten million strong and growing!" (composed by Martin O'Donnell
Martin O'Donnell
Martin "Marty" O'Donnell is an American composer known for his work on video game developer Bungie's series, such as Myth, Oni, and Halo...
) has reached fame through the heavy circulation of advertisements.
The vitamins can be purchased in pharmacies, grocery stores, and on the Internet. They feature pills in the shapes of the following characters: Fred Flintstone
Fred Flintstone
Frederick Joseph “Fred” Flintstone, also known as Fred W. Flintstone or Frederick J. Flintstone, is the protagonist of the animated sitcom The Flintstones, which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960-66. He is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles...
, Wilma Flintstone
Wilma Flintstone
Wilma Anna Flintstone is a fictional character in the television animated series The Flintstones. She was the red-headed wife of caveman Fred Flintstone, daughter of Pearl Slaghoople, mother of Pebbles Flintstone and a grandmother...
, Pebbles Flintstone
Pebbles Flintstone
Pebbles Flintstone is a fictional character, the red-haired daughter of Fred and Wilma Flintstone...
, Barney Rubble
Barney Rubble
Bernard "Barney" Rubble is the deuteragonist of the television animated series The Flintstones. He is the diminutive blonde-haired caveman husband of Betty Rubble and father of Bamm-Bamm Rubble...
, Betty Rubble
Betty Rubble
Elizabeth 'Betty' Jean Rubble is a fictional character in the television animated series The Flintstones and its spin-offs and live-action motion pictures. She is the black-haired wife of caveman Barney Rubble and the adoptive mother of Bamm-Bamm Rubble...
, Bamm-Bamm Rubble
Bamm-Bamm Rubble
Bamm-Bamm Rubble is the adopted son of fictitious characters Barney and Betty Rubble. He is most famous in his infant form on the animated series The Flintstones, but has also appeared at various other ages, including as a teenager on the early 1970s spinoff The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show and as an...
, Dino
Dino (The Flintstones)
Dino is a fictional character featured in the Hanna-Barbera animated television series The Flintstones, and its TV spinoffs and feature films. He is a pet dinosaur of the series' main characters, Fred and Wilma Flintstone. In the show, he is a metaphorical pet dog, and exhibits the characteristics...
, and The Great Gazoo
The Great Gazoo
The Great Gazoo is a character from The Flintstones animated series. He first appeared on the show on October 29, 1965. The Great Gazoo was voiced by the late Harvey Korman.-Biography:...
. For over twenty years, Betty was not included as one of the vitamins. However, after a grassroots campaign and the results of a Bayer telephone poll came in favor of including Betty, the character was added to the lineup, replacing the Flintstone car.
Available Products
Flintstones Chewable Vitamins are currently available in six variations:- Flintstones Complete
- Flintstones with Iron
- Flintstones Plus Omega-3 DHA
- Flintstones Plus Immunity Support
- Flintstones Plus Bone Building Support
- My First Flintstones
Flintstones Complete
Flintstones Complete comes in three forms: chewable, gummy and sour gummy.It is designed for children 2 years of age and older. Flintstones Complete has a high supplementation of iron, iodine, vitamin D and vitamin E. Iron is supplemented because children between one to three years old are at risk for iron deficiency anemia due to their rapid growth. Flintstones Complete supplements iodine because it is essential for thyroid hormone synthesis and general immune function. Vitamin D is necessary for the maintenance and growth of bones in children. Vitamin D deficiency is a concern for infants, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. This is because infants often have very limited exposure to sunlight, which is the main source of endogenous Vitamin D production. Vitamin D deficiency can result in rickets, a disease in which bones become soft and pliable. Vitamin E is a potent anti-oxidant in the body. Vitamin E deficiencies leads to neuromuscular, vascular and reproductive abnormalities.
The chewable form of Flintstones Complete contains higher amounts of vitamins and minerals than the gummy version. As well, the chewable form has a larger variety of vitamins than the gummy version. The chewable form, unlike the gummy version, contains: Vitamins B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), Niacin, Calcium, Iron, Copper and Selenium.
Flintstones with Iron
Flintstones with Iron has a similar vitamin profile as Flintstones Complete gummy version. The iron content meets 75% of the Daily Value of iron for children over 2 years of age.Flintstones Plus Immunity Support
Flintstones Plus Immunity Support has a similar vitamin profile as Flintstones Complete gummy version. However, Flintstones Plus Immunity Support provides 250mg of Vitamin C, which far exceeds the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for children. The RDA of vitamin C for children 1 - 3 years of age is 15mg; 4 - 8 years of age is 25mg; 9 - 14 years of age is 45mg. The dosage of Vitamin C in one tablet of Flintstones Plus Immunity Support Vitamin C is still below the tolerable upper intake levels (UL). The UL for children 1-3years of age is 400mg; 4-8years of age is 650mg; 9-11 years of age is 1200mg. Parents should not give their child more than the recommended dose of Flintstones Plus Immunity Support because they can easily exceed their child's UL for vitamin C. This can lead to adverse effects, such as diarrhoea and kidney stones.Vitamin C is one of the most common supplements used in North America. It promotes resistance to infection through an upregulation of inflammatory processes, leukocyte activity, and improved integrity of mucous membranes.