"Beginning nutrition education in early childhood is an important part of helping to ensure that children will achieve healthful lifestyles." -Robert Earl
Meals and snacks are an important part of the daily routine at home and in early childhood classrooms. During these times young children are learning healthy eating habits and developing positive attitudes about food.
Tips to help children develop healthy eating habits: Introduce new foods without pressure. Provide opportunities for small samples of new foods allowing children to choose when they try the new food. Make sure that they see you and others eating and enjoying these new foods. Remember-not everyone likes the same things. Serve vegetables early and often. Begin offering different vegetables as soon as your child is ready for them. Offer vegetables at meals and snack times. Keep trying. Children may need to be exposed to a food many times before trying it. Make sure there are other options that the child will eat. Do it differently. Think of offering the vegetable in a different way; raw, cooked, steamed, with seasoning or without. Your child may prefer to eat a veggie in a way that you don’t normally serve. Have your child help. When children are a part of the meal prep, they are more likely to eat what they have helped make. Be a role model! Your child watches what you eat and listens to what you say. Avoid negative comments about certain foods. Children become healthy eaters over time, not in one meal. Provide many opportunities for them to make healthy choices about what they eat.
Interested in learning more about the RPS205 Early Childhood opportunities for families with children Birth-age 5? Visit https://rockfordpsil.sites.thrillshare.com/page/early-childhood or call the Early Childhood Screening and Placement Office at 815-229-2103.
Hillary Cook-Harris is the Director of Early Childhood Curriculum and Assessment. Hillary joined RPS 205 in November 2019. She has been an Early Childhood educator and director for more than 30 years.