A Parents Guide To Pre-School Nutrition

A growing child needs to ensure that they receive the right amount of vitamins and nutrients from their diet in order for them to develop fully and reach their potential. Excellent dietary habits started as a young child can have a positive effect on how a child develops socially, emotionally and physically and will give them a far better chance of avoiding them becoming obese, which has been identified as a key concern amongst medical staff who have witnessed an increasing number of obese children coming into pre school or nurseries in the UK at a younger and younger age.

So what can you do as a parent to ensure that your child is receiving the right diet at nursery? The first step of course, is to examine what exactly is the ‘right’ diet for a child between the ages of 2 and 5, as this is something of a contentious issue.

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT PRE-SCHOOL NUTRITION

Assuming your child is now eating a diet similar to the rest of the family and is not still being bottle fed, it is fair to assume that a child’s diet should consist of 3 meals a day and 2 snacks during the day.

Experts have suggested that a growing child needs no more than 16 ounces of milk or dairy products each day and that 100% fruit juices should be kept to 4-6 ounces per day. The reason for this is that dairy products tend to be high in saturated fat, excess consumption of which can lead to obesity, and excessive consumption of fruit juices has been found to be a leading cause of tooth decay as well as adding excess sugar into the body, the excess of which is stored as fat in the body.

Your child’s diet should only consist of a minimal amount of;
-Sweet Desserts
-Soft Drinks
-Fruit Flavoured Drinks
-Sugar Coated Cereals
-Crisps
-Sweets
-High Fat/Fried food

While experts may disagree on what proportion a child should each of the different types of food groups that are nutritious and beneficial, there are certain general rules of thumb that parents of nursery age children should follow. Namely that their child should;
-Eat a wide variety of foods and be encouraged to try as many different foods as possible.
-Ensure that they get plenty of exercise
-Choose a diet with plenty of grains, pulses, vegetables and fruit.
-Ensure their diet is low in fat, especially saturated fat and cholesterol
-Ensure their diet does not contain too much sugar or salt
-Ensure that their diet contains enough calcium and iron to sustain a growing body.

Although this may sound unnecessarily complex, a great deal of dietary habits is now viewed as simply a matter of common sense for most parents and if their child is encouraged to eat healthily and exercise, they can avoid some of the problems that manifest themselves at increasingly younger ages. Such as obesity, diabetes, lethargy and tiredness in nursery and bone weakness.

WHAT YOUR PRE-SCHOOL, PLAYGROUP OR NURSERY SHOULD PROVIDE FOR YOUR CHILD

Assuming you are setting a fine example at home to your child by providing them with a diet which matches the requirements stated above, what can you do to ensure that your child is receiving the best possible nutrition when they are in attendance at nursery or pre school?

1. ASK DIRECTLY ABOUT THE FOOD ON OFFER AT THE NURSERY – When you visit a nursery, go prepared with a series of questions you want answering. One of these should be what the menu for the children in their care on a daily basis is. The nursery leader should be able to tell you exactly the diet that they offer the children and they should reassure you that the diet is nutritionally balanced. Many nurseries in the uk will have their own menu available which will outline not only what the children eat, but also how they prepare the food, who it is prepared by and how they source their food to ensure that it is not only nutritious but as fresh as possible. It is also worth asking if the nursery have water and/or fresh fruit available throughout the day for the children to snack on.

2. ARRANGE A VISIT AT MEAL TIME – If you are concerned about your child’s dietary habits, or just would like to see the kind of food on offer at a nursery you are considering placing your child with, why not ask to arrange a visit at meal times? It is even better if you can bring your child with you and they can then see other children eating the meals and how the nursery staff organise meal times. It may also be reassuring for you to see how the nursery staff are organising meal times, how they deal with children who are ‘fussy eaters’ and how cleanliness should be a priority for the children.

3. IF YOU ARE GOING TO PROVIDE YOUR OWN MEALS, SPEAK WITH THE NURSERY FIRST – Many parents choose to send their child to nursery with their own packed lunch / tea so that they still control what their child eats. Most nurseries have no problems with this, but you should speak with the nursery owner first to ensure that this will not be a problem. Many UK nurseries and playgroups are keen to promote healthy eating and will ask parents to ensure that the packed lunch provided for the child fits in with their policy on healthy eating.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR CHILD IS A ‘FUSSY EATER’

A common worry for parents who send their children to nursery is if their child is a ‘fussy eater’. Most parents like to know their child has eaten well and healthily during the day and if they are not, then it can cause stress and worry to parents. The key issue here is not to panic. All children are different and will want to eat when they feel like it. Your nursery staff will have plenty of ideas and strategies on how to make the fussiest of eater sit and eat at least some of their meal. If there are issues, then they will speak with you about it at the first available opportunity and together you can resolve the issue with the assistance of your nursery staff and your child.

Nutrition is important for all children and thankfully nursery schools, playgroups and pre schools do take this responsibility very seriously and will offer every available opportunity to ensure that your child, regardless of their age, gets the healthy, sustaining meals that they require on a daily basis.

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