Good nutrition is important for people of all ages, but especially for children. Children need good nutrition for proper growth and development. Children's bodies use nutrients from food to function properly and stay healthy. Nutrients give children the energy to grow, learn, and be active. The topic of childhood nutrition is everywhere in the media these days, but many are still confused, especially when it comes to what children eat. Childcare providers and educators have an important opportunity and responsibility to help children develop healthy eating habits.
According to the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, only 25 percent of children meet the daily recommendation for fruit and vegetable intake. In 2010, the Journal of the American Diabetic Association reported that early childhood education environments have difficulty achieving nutritional standards, and 50 percent of children in child care do not eat the recommended amount of grains and milk. It's clear that child care professionals and parents have a responsibility to improve nutritional policies to support young children. Parents and teachers should have basic knowledge of nutrition, food safety, and early childhood development so they can model proper dietary and health behaviors, create balanced meals to serve children, and supervise children and monitor their food choices.
This booklet from the United States Department of Agriculture's Team Nutrition initiative offers some fun and easy tips for building healthier family meals that include the five food groups. This is a great opportunity to talk with your child about nutrition, try new foods together, and get your child involved in making healthier meals and snacks.
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Nutrition for kids is based on the same principles as nutrition for adults. Everyone needs the same types of nutrients - such as vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein and fat. Children, however, need different amounts of specific nutrients at different ages. So what's the best formula to fuel your child's growth and development? Check out the following nutrition basics.View Article
This Month's Trial Course: Nutrition and Food Service
CCEI offers
CCEI530B: Nutrition II: Nutrition and Food Service in the Childcare Setting as an online no-cost trial
child care training course to new CCEI users during the month of September.
This course examines proper food service methods to be implemented in the childcare setting. Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to define a food and nutrition policy for a child care center, list steps to reduce choking hazards, and explain proper food preparation and food storage methods for an early childhood environment.
