Lesson 11: Good Nutrition for Diverse Children

Attention

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able

• Describe a positive mealtime atmosphere
  
• Demonstrate knowledge of eating behaviors and approaches to mealtimes for diverse children
  
• Demonstrate understanding of differences between breast and bottle feeding for infants
  
• Demonstrate knowledge of safe handling procedures for handling breast milk and formula

Teaching

Read Chapter 8 SNH

Infants: When the mother is healthy, breastfeeding provides the highest amount of nutrition to a baby. Breastmilk contains nutrients that are not replicated in commercially produced formula and research shows that breastfed infants have less occurrence of illness, which means breastmilk helps babies’ immune systems.
However, there are many reasons why breastfeeding may not be a viable option for parents. Health, personal preference and comfort, non-flexible work or work schedules, or lack of support can be barriers. It is necessary for the child care provider to discuss the family’s choice and provide an adequate means for feeding the infant either breast milk or formula while in their care.

Care providers for infants need to have proper procedures for storing and serving breast milk. See page 283 of the text for a detailed list. There are also methods of preparing and serving formula. See page 284 for this list. If you are caring for infants, you should be confident in this process so that you can help the family feel comfortable about leaving their baby with you.
Introducing solid foods is a parent’s choice. The child care provider should not introduce cereals or other foods until the parent has given them to the child at home and has given permission for them to be fed at child care. Doctor’s typically recommend beginning with a think cereal around age 4-6 months, when the child is able to sit up on her own and maintain an upright posture when swallowing. Establishing an open line of communication with families and trustful atmosphere is key to working together around feeding issues.

Toddlers: Children should feed themselves as often as possible as soon as they are able to do this safely. Toddlers enjoy colorful finger foods and bite sized pieces they can easily manage independently. They also want to choose what and how much they eat. Parents and caregivers should provide scheduled meal times with plentiful options of healthy choices. If the child refuses to eat, rather than engage in a battle of wills (which most likely the toddler will win), continue to stay calm and present him with healthy options. Do not give in and offer junk food as an alternative. A toddler will eat if she is hungry, but will also learn quickly that if she refuses to eat the food provided she will be given treat food instead. Then she will develop an unhealthy habit of refusing to eat from the nutritious selections.

Don’t worry, even if the toddler decides he only wants to eat only one thing all of the time, such as crackers. Continue to give other tempting options until he decides to eat new foods. It is usually a phase that will not last, and the child’s overall health will not suffer.

Preschool: Both toddlers and preschool children benefit from a positive meal time atmosphere. It’s best to serve family style where children can pass food and serve themselves from the main dishes. Toddlers will need more help doing this, but they love the chance to choose what and how much they take. Don’t be afraid of a little mess, because teaching children how to eat this way is a benefit that far out weighs the downfall of having to clean up a little spilled food. Child sized serving dishes, pitchers and cups and utensils can help them manage this with less incident.

Teachers should role model good eating behaviors as well. Sit with the children. Serve yourself a little bit of everything and have a nice conversation with the kids. Mealtimes should be a pleasant opportunity to share food and time together. When eating, make positive comments about the taste or texture of the food. Encourage children to try new things, but never force a child to eat something, as this will not help them learn to like it. Typically, a child needs to be exposed to a new food 15-20 times before they may try it. Be patient and keep providing a variety of healthy choices. Children are also more likely to try a new food if a peer seems to like it, so encourage positive talk at the table and discourage children from saying things like “Yuck” or “Ick”. Instead, let them know it’s ok to say “I don’t care for that”. And don’t forget that children who help prepare foods are more likely to try them. So cook together if you can!

Watch this short video for an example of family style eating in preschool.

School Age Children: These kids can make more independent choices and should be able to confidently serve themselves for the most part, but they still need adults to help them make healthy choices and to provide them with nutritious options. Many children eat both breakfast and lunch at school, which is why it is important to advocate for your school to provide healthy meals. Children who are food insecure may be relying on the school to provide most of their nutritional needs for the entire day.

Children with special needs: Some children who have developmental disabilities or chronic illnesses may have special dietary needs. They may have trouble swallowing or digesting food, or have allergies. Each child is an individual and will have his or her own personal differences and needs. If you provide care to a child that needs special considerations, you should work closely with the parent and/or doctor or dietician to ensure that you are able to provide correct feeding and dietary care.

Assessment

Lesson 11 Quiz

Lesson Quizzes will consist of material from the lesson, the discussions, and from assigned reading. Questions will be True/False, Multiple Choice, and Short Answer. Be sure to review all the Lesson and Reading material prior to starting this quiz.

Lesson 11 Discussion

How would you handle a four year old picky eater who refuses to eat any vegetables?