Blog by Yvonne Werner, Deputy Manager/Baby Room Leader
(Ages 3 months – 12 months old)
Here at Happy Trails Play we place great importance on children’s healthy tummies as we understand the importance of healthy nutrition and diet for the children to access their learning and to develop.
Not only is food and nutrition important to promote a healthy lifestyle for children, but mealtimes are also valuable learning opportunities for children to promote their understanding and attitudes towards food. At Happy Trails Play, during mealtimes our expert practitioners sit with the children, discussing the taste of the food they are eating and having discussions about healthy food in general. This promotes the children’s personal, social, and emotional development by building relationships and a sense of community and further promotes their speech and language development and physical development.
Children are also recognised as active participants in mealtimes and are encouraged to self-serve their food and are actively involved in designing the menu – they have even gone on an outing to the shop before to buy their own food – how exciting! Practitioners and parents have an important role-model function and social learning opportunities are an influencing factor on children’s development with various child development theorists like Vygotsky and Bruner placing great importance on the crucial role of the parents and practitioners in scaffolding positive behaviours.
Here are our top tips for parents to encourage healthy tummies and mealtimes at home:
- Include your little ones in buying groceries – let them decide what food they would like to prepare, cook and eat!
- Include them in food preparation to promote life skills and to give them opportunities to express their preferences.
- During mealtimes, make sure you take time to sit and talk with them about what food you are eating, what it tastes like and how it can make their body feel.
- Set a positive example by modelling healthy eating habits yourself.
- Create a relaxed atmosphere during mealtimes, free from distractions like screens or electronic devices to promote mindful eating.
- Be patient and avoid pressuring them to eat certain foods. Offer a variety of options and allow them to choose what and how much they want to eat.
Fun Fact: Did you know that at Happy Trails Play the children get to taste yummy superfoods like avocado and acai berry as part of the menu? Our goal is for the children to try at least 100 different superfoods at the setting before the age of 5. If you would like to know more about how we do things at Happy Trails Play get in touch with us and ask away – we are always happy to help!
