Transcript Providing Good Nutrition in Child Care

Chapter Six:
Providing Good Nutrition
in Child Care
Specific Nutrition Policies
Needed because
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Children in day care for more than 8 hours
should receive at least one meal and 2 snacks
and should have between 50 and 67% of their
nutritional daily intake provided
Caregivers are being asked to take on the role
of nutritional gatekeeper for the hours children
in care
What is important?
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Cost
Convenience
Culture
Purpose of Care
Nutrition Policies Needed for
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Early Feeding and the Infant
Establishing Feeding Behavior of the Toddler
Food and the Preschool Child
School-Age Nutrition
Nutrition and the Child with Special Needs
Exercise as a Part of Diet
Early Feeding and the
Infant in Care
Breast-Feeding
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Benefits
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Providing support to nursing mother
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Safe and sanitary practices
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Optimizes cognitive development
Bottle feeding
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Formulas
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Safe and sanitary practices
Feeding pattern
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Cues
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Drawing head away from nipple, releasing it or
biting it
Sucking stops, mouth shuts tightly
Changing posture
Being attentive to surroundings and not feeding
Infant controlled feeding requires caregiver to
be attentive to behavior
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Also to allow amount to vary depending on infant’s
needs
Introducing Solid Foods
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Feeding pattern to developmental level
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Start slowly, one new food at a time for 5-7 days
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This allows for food allergy to appear
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Utensils should be small and age appropriate
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Only small amounts on tip of spoon
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Food placed in small bowl—only enough for 1 serving
Order of Introduction
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Cereals
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Vegetables
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Fruits
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Other Foods
Caregiver guidelines
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Never use food as bribery, diversion, or reward
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Try new foods at baby’s best time
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Make mealtime pleasant, not distracting
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Avoid serving foods that may cause choking
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See page 210 for more guidelines
Feeding the Toddler
Food is the first place toddler shows
autonomy/independence
Caregiver should
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Maintain good nutrition while establishing good
eating habits
Understand growth patterns and developmental
changes that affect toddler’s actions
See page 212 for common patterns
Food as an Issue of Control
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Adult is responsible for food that comes in and
how it is presented
Adult is responsible for making sure child is at
meal, on task, behaves well, and regulates time
for meals and snacks
Child is responsible for how much he or she
eats, whether he or she eats, and how his or
her body turns out
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The way an adult treats a child at mealtime
reflects how adult treats child elsewhere
Make mealtime significant to child
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Know child’s temperament, tempo, capabilities
Manage eating environment
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Set limits as to time and place for eating
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Prepare child for transition
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Child should come to table ready to eat
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Sit at the table for a few minutes if not hungry
Child’s choice not to participate—adult
reinforces child’s choice
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Keep food out of sight
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See page 215
Nutritional Considerations
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Variation in food consumption
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Food jags
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Milk should have proper place
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Not too much juice
Guidelines for Good Food Habits
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Table 6-9 (page 216)
Food and the Preschooler
Outside influences
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Peers, teachers, parents, TV
Positive reinforcement
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Cereal aisles and negative behavior
Encouraging child participation
School-Age Nutrition
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More likely to be involved with snacks and maybe
breakfast
Snacks should be substantial and ready when they
get to care
If sack lunches are prepared, the child should be
included in mealtime activities
Child should be encouraged to understand
nutrition, select and prepare healthy foods, and
have good dietary habits
Nutrition and the Child with
Special Needs
Developmental disabilities or chronic illness
may affect
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Feeding skills
Equipment needs
Feeding procedures
Foods
Can child care accommodate these needs?
Exercise as Part of Diet
Should be included as part of normal
activities
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New guideline in Dietary Guidelines for
Americans
Healthy People 2010 added physical exercise to
its list of priorities
Large motor activities versus sedentary
activities
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Caregiver should encourage physical activity
Playground play helps to ensure children are
getting exercise
Weather a factor
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Try to provide for indoor physical activity
Remove temptations to inactivity
Implications for Caregivers
Education and Role Modeling
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For parents
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With children
Cultural Competence
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Cultural influences and food selection
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Caregiver’s cultural perspective
Supervision
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Requires skills
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Selection of healthy food choices, focus on healthy
choices and preparation methods
Food sanitation and safety practices
Meals from home
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Monitor for acceptable food choices
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Proper food storage
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Directing mealtime behaviors
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Good role modeling
Reality
Check:
Television and Its Effects on
Children’s Nutrition
Children watch as many as 200,000 food ads
between 2 and 12 years of age
Food advertised is not healthy
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High sugar, high fat, empty calorie foods
 Cereals, cookies, drinks
Ads for fast foods
Less than 5% of ads were for healthy foods
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TV viewing discourages exercise—“couch
potatoes”
Some children eat in front of television
Consumption of soft drinks have increased
500% due to TV ads
Caregivers
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Promote good nutrition by helping children make
healthier choices
Can talk about misleading food ads
Help children by helping them read labels and
their own internal cues
See Saturday Morning Food Pyramid
(page 220)