Forming Healthy Habits in Early Childhood.

Early childhood is a time of rapid growth and development for children. Good nutrition and healthy eating are vital to this process and promotes ongoing development giving children the best start to life.

Forming healthy eating habits in the early years is important as children need to develop a positive relationship with healthy foods to continue with good eating habits into adulthood and throughout life. Good nutrition in early childhood offers a range of benefits including physical growth, strengthening muscles, brain development and ability to learn, as well as immune system support and protection from illness and diseases. A well-balanced diet along with regular physical activity are healthy habits that are well promoted in an early childhood setting.

Here are some tips to encourage healthy eating in early childhood:

-           Family mealtimes: Use meal times as an opportunity to sit together with children and talk about food. Encourage them to share their likes and dislikes and to try new foods together in a group.

-           Explore new foods: Encourage children to get excited about tasting new foods, expanding the list of foods they have tried. This can be done through fun games.

-           Food themed play: Pretend play with food and kitchen related set-ups is a great way to encourage learning about food and cooking.

-           Food shopping and cooking: Take children along for the food shopping experience. This is a great way for them to see a wide variety of foods, in particular fresh fruits and vegetables. This can be followed up with involving children in cooking using healthy ingredients. Talk to children about the nutritional benefits of foods and how it helps their bodies and minds.

-           Food presentation: Make food look colourful, attractive and fun.

-           Books and discussions: Read books about healthy foods and nutrition with children. This is a great way for them to build on their knowledge and to ask questions.

-           Where does food come from? Involve children in seeing and learning about where food comes from. This might include farm visit, fruit picking, and gardening and harvesting experiences.

What we do at Sage:

At Sage early learning centre, we strongly value forming healthy habits at a young age. Healthy eating is integrated in all areas of our child care curriculum where we are intentional about teaching children about good food choices. Our exceptional menus are Munch & Move approved with fresh ingredients with optimal nutritional value. Our qualified chef prepares healthy meals and snack for children ensuring that they are appealing to the eyes as well as delicious.

We promote family mealtimes where children sit together with our early learning educators to enjoy meals and regular conversations about healthy eating. Water drinking is also encouraged during mealtimes and throughout the day.

Our Garden to Table program involves children in learning about food from gardening and cooking experiences. The children participate in planting herbs, fruits and vegetables, helping them to grow over time, and then harvesting in preparation for cooking experiences to follow.

At Sage child care centre, we not only educate children on forming healthy habits, but also support families and build on their knowledge of food and nutrition, supporting our partnership with families on giving children the best start in life.