Early childhood is a crucial period for shaping lifelong habits, including how children perceive and relate to food. At our nursery school in Dubai, we are committed to fostering a positive and healthy relationship with food among the children in our care. Drawing inspiration from early childhood theorists like Emmi Pikler, Maria Montessori, and the Curiosity Approach, we focus on creating an environment that supports body autonomy, mindful eating, and a love for diverse and nutritious foods. Here’s how we implement these principles in our daily practices.
The Importance of Early Food Experiences
Research indicates that our early food experiences significantly influence our eating behaviours and preferences in adulthood. For instance, children who are encouraged to finish everything on their plates may struggle with recognising their fullness cues as adults. Children who are allowed to self-regulate their food intake tend to develop a healthier relationship with food, understanding and responding to their bodies’ hunger and satiety signals.
Key Recommendations for Positive Food Environments:
- Allow Self-Regulation: Let children decide how much they want to eat, fostering their ability to listen to their body’s hunger and fullness signals.
- Introduce Variety: Regularly expose children to a variety of foods to stimulate their interest and acceptance of different tastes and textures.
- Role Model Healthy Eating: Teachers and caregivers should always try to demonstrate healthy eating habits and positive attitudes towards food.
- Create a Pressure-Free Environment: Avoid using food as a reward or pressuring children to eat, which can lead to food aversions and disrupt their natural appetite regulation.
Understanding Picky Eating
Picky eating is a normal part of child development, so don’t worry if your child is struggling to test out new foods. It’s natural for children to be cautious about new foods and assert their independence by choosing what they want to eat. Children’s appetites also fluctuate with their growth cycles and activity levels, meaning they may eat a lot one day and very little the next. It’s important to view their nutritional intake over a week rather than focusing on daily consumption.
Strategies for Handling Picky Eating:
- Be Patient and Persistent: Continue to offer new foods without pressure. It can take multiple exposures for a child to accept a new food.
- Make Mealtimes Enjoyable: Create a relaxed and social atmosphere at the table, focusing conversations on various topics, not just food.
- Respect Their Choices: Allow children to decide what and how much they want to eat from the options provided.
Division of Responsibility in Feeding
The Division of Responsibility (DoR) in feeding, developed by Ellyn Satter, is a gold-standard model for nurturing competent eaters. This model clearly defines the roles of adults and children during mealtimes:
Adults’ Responsibilities:
- What to Eat: Provide a variety of nutritious foods.
- When to Eat: Establish regular meal and snack times.
- Where to Eat: Create a designated eating area that is calm and conducive to eating.
Children’s Responsibilities:
- Whether to Eat: They decide if they want to eat at the given time.
- How Much to Eat: They determine the quantity of food they consume.
By respecting these boundaries, children learn to trust their bodies and develop healthy eating patterns.
Creating a Structured Mealtime Routine
A predictable mealtime routine helps children understand their hunger and fullness signals, contributing to better self-regulation. At our nursery, we ensure that mealtimes are regular and predictable, allowing children to feel secure about when they will next have food available. If we ever have a child that is expressing their hunger, they are always welcome to eat whenever they feel they need to.
Tips for Establishing Mealtime Routines:
- Set Clear Start and End Times: Use age-appropriate activities, like washing hands, to signal the beginning and end of meals.
- Encourage Self-Serving: When appropriate, allow children to serve themselves to promote independence and motor skills.
- Join the Meal: Teachers should eat with the children, modelling good manners and healthy eating behaviours.
- Introduce New Foods Gradually: Pair new foods with familiar favourites to ease acceptance and reduce anxiety.
Exploring Food Through the Senses
Children are natural explorers, and using their senses to learn about food can be a fun and educational experience. By engaging in sensory exploration, children become more comfortable with new foods.
Sensory Exploration Activities:
- Sight: Discuss the colours, shapes, and sizes of different foods.
- Sound: Explore the sounds foods make, such as crunching or sizzling.
- Smell: Encourage children to smell foods and describe the scents.
- Touch: Allow them to feel the textures—smooth, bumpy, soft, or hard.
- Taste: Let children taste and describe the flavours—sweet, sour, salty, or spicy.
Engaging Families in Food Education
Parents play a vital role in shaping their children’s eating habits. We believe in collaborating with families to support the development of positive eating behaviours.
How We Engage Parents:
- Regular Communication: Keep parents informed about our mealtime practices and provide tips for home.
- Workshops and Seminars: Offer sessions with dieticians and nutritionists to educate parents on healthy feeding practices.
- Feedback and Support: Encourage parents to share their experiences and challenges, providing a supportive community for advice and reassurance.
Avoiding Food Labels
It’s crucial to avoid labelling foods as “good” or “bad.” Young children are in the pre-operational stage of development, where concrete thinking prevails. Abstract concepts like nutrition can be confusing and counterproductive.
Why We Avoid Labels:
- Promotes a Balanced View: Emphasises that all foods can fit into a healthy diet.
- Reduces Guilt and Shame: Prevents children from feeling bad about enjoying certain foods.
- Respects Diversity: Acknowledges that different families have different dietary needs and traditions.
Practical Next Steps for Teachers and Parents
Implementing positive mealtime practices requires ongoing reflection and collaboration among teachers and parents. Here are some actionable steps you can take to enhance your approach:
Reflect and Collaborate:
- Personal Reflection: Consider your own food experiences and how these may influence your interactions with children.
- Discussions: Regularly review and discuss mealtime practices as a team or family to identify areas for improvement.
- Involvement: Involve parents or family members in discussions about feeding practices and provide resources to support positive mealtime environments at home and school/nursery.
Continuous Learning:
- Professional Development: Seek out training sessions with experts, such as paediatric dieticians, to stay informed about best practices.
- Feedback Loop: Create channels for feedback from both staff and parents to continuously refine your approach.
Maintain the Division of Responsibility:
- Trust Children’s Cues: Always respect the child’s ability to regulate their own food intake.
- Support Body Autonomy: Empower children by giving them control over their eating decisions within the structured environment you provide.
In conclusion, creating a positive food environment in early childhood settings lays the foundation for lifelong healthy eating habits. By respecting children’s autonomy, providing a variety of foods, and fostering a relaxed and supportive mealtime atmosphere, we can help children develop a healthy relationship with food. If you would like to learn more, please feel free to reach out. We would love to connect with you!
