Meal Times
“ Childcare programs – serving breakfast, two snacks and lunch, provide children with up to 75% of your daily nutrition part the part we play in providing substance is dovetailed with promoting social and cultural attachments. Feeding children has won the most fundamental Waze childcare supports the family specifically in the community in general. It’s an awesome privilege, but also an intimidating responsibility. And “Karen Stevens food for thought
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It is a huge responsibility to help children build a relationship with food and help them develop positive feelings and habits surrounded by the food we eat, our health and our bodies. I have struggled with healthy eating my whole life. Wouldn’t it be amazing if I could be part of the solution that breaks that cycle for just one child?
When I went to the Books city of illuminating care it really reminded me of the things that I already knew about meal time in group care.
During meal time we are absolutely and intentionally being educational. As children learn to set the table and pour their own drinks and socialize., they ask for food to be passed from one person to the next. There are so many skills embedded in the routines. That’s not even touching the tip of the iceberg if you consider the language that is exchanged at the table.
We also believe that meal time or food is not used for punishment or bribes or rewards . Having food is a RIGHT for children. Can we continue to offer new foods and encourage children to eat? Absolutely we can! But children should not be forced.
I prefer things that are salty instead of sweet. I like warm foods over cold foods. I prefer less spicy more than hot. If I prefer those things should children be allowed to develop their own pallet of what nurtures their body?
Think about the difference you feel when you’re eating at a fast food restaurant out of a cardboard carton versus sitting at a table with a tablecloth and dishes. You know in my environment I believe that children deserve beauty… Why not at meal time too?! I think having a meal in a more thought out and Beautiful way encourages the children to rise above and develop manners that will last a lifetime. It brought joy to my heart today to hear the children say… “Please pass the salad.” “Could you please pass the milk?” “Thank you.”
Did you know that studies suggest that children may need to be exposed to food between 10 to 12 times before eating it? One of the things we say here if a child tries something and does not like it is… It must not be your favorite yet.
Felicia ( Hinslee and Rowan’s mom) even made labels for my cart that made it easier for visual learners.
The chapter from Illuminating care is 50 pages solely dedicated to meal times. It was a real eye-opener for me. It is a learning process. I can promise you there may be busy days that we have to pull out Styrofoam plates but we’re going to try our best to enjoy our mealtimes in a full and rich way.
