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Victoria11
01-09-2013, 12:12 PM
Hello!

I am currently doing my CYPOP5 and also studying my level 3 in Childcare and Education. I need ideas of how to teach early years children about nutrition and making healthy food choices in a way they will understand. This will also help me once I am registered too! So far I have ordered some books for toddlers which promote eating vegetables and fruit. I am struggling to think how best to explain to a very young child why it's important to eat healthy food. I don't want to scare them or not make sense. How do you explain this to young children so they understand?

Any advice / activity suggestions would be very appreciated.

Thanks,
Victoria :)

FloraDora
01-09-2013, 01:22 PM
Some ideas:

I would constantly reinforce the language and concept whenever we eat.
" ........are really good for you, they help you to grow, eat ......and you will be big and strong and healthy etc...

Sorting activity real / pictures of/ pretend food onto plates : I can eat lots of these, I can only eat a few of these.

'Today I ate a rainbow' is a good activity- you can buy it as a pack or make your own.

A site that you can download printables has a lot of downloads available for sorting games.

I cut up my old good food magazines and laminate photos of meals to sort into I can eat lots/ only a few. Also sticking activity to display and refer to when we are eating: " is it on our poster?"

Take photos of their healthy snacks and them eating - make into a book for the individual child, reinforcing language and message when you share the book.

moggy
01-09-2013, 01:58 PM
I think the most important message for healthy eating is about fresh, unprocessed foods so we love to 'grow our own' with the children and pick and eat straight from the plant or carry home from the allotment and cook the veg for tea. They learn so much and try all kinds of things. They take home our excess produce too, so it is spreading the word to the families as well and promoting healthy eating further.

I always talk about how eating carrots helps our eyes, oranges give us vitamin C to keep us healthy, milk helps us have strong bones, about the foods we need for energy etc as we are eating our lunch/dinner so it is rarely a special 'activity' it is just what we do every day and they pick it up so quickly and are soon telling me they need their milk to help their teeth get strong etc!

Jiorjiina
01-09-2013, 03:02 PM
I think it's less important when they're very small for them to understand why they should eat healthy food, than it is for them to actually like healthy food, and be familiar with it and just open to trying it.

When they're really tiny I just get ridiculously over excited about vegetables and fruit and smile and say yum a lot. And I eat them in front of them while being very happy. It looks like I'm crazy, but they're much more predisposed to like things if they see an adult they trust liking them too. I have made some heroic efforts with things like peas and carrots since I started childminding, let me tell you.

When they're older, they help me with our veg plot. And if we buy things from the shops, we hold them, and sniff them, and look at the different colours, and talk about how they grew, and in some cases how they got to the shop. One mindee who was very into transport was thrilled by the thought of his vegetables flying on a plane. I also have a great book by Dorling Kindersley called 'Grow it, Cook it (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grow-Cook-Inc-Dorling-Kindersley/dp/0756633672/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378047275&sr=8-1&keywords=dorling+kindersley+childrens+books+grow+i t+cook+it)' which they love.

Victoria11
02-09-2013, 12:22 PM
Thank you all. Some excellent ideas to get me started here :)

supermumy
02-09-2013, 01:05 PM
My own child jut done a course on this and made people out of vegetables which se loved

Chellewilks
02-09-2013, 08:18 PM
I love taking my little lady to farm shops can really get stuck in to picking and weighing and very fresh. We also put on trays a do a little life drawring play :)x