Written by April Shao.
Childhood is a time of rapid growth and development, and a time when many habits and behaviours are set. At Piccolo Park, we endeavour to work with our families and whanau to promote a healthy lifestyle, including healthy eating in childhood which will help to ensure a healthy future.
Every parent has heard that children should be eating a “balanced diet.” But a balance of what? Here are the nine nutrients that every child should be getting on a daily basis:
- Protein, e.g. meat, fish, egg, beans, dairy product
- Carbohydrates, e.g. bread, rice, potato, pasta
- Fats, e.g. meat, fish, nuts, whole dairy product
- Calcium, e.g. milk, cheese, yoghurt, broccoli, egg yolk
- Iron, e.g. red meats, poultry, beans, whole grain
- Fibre, e.g. whole-grain cereals, chickpeas, lentils, black and kidney beans, nuts
- Folate, e.g. whole-grain cereals, chickpeas, lentils, black and kidney beans
- Vitamin A, e.g. carrots, sweet potato, egg yolks, fish oil, broccoli, spinach
- Vitamin C, e.g. citrus fruit, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower
Following these guidelines, our talented cook and team have developed Piccolo Park menus that accommodate children’s nutritional and developmental needs ensuring that we meet the needs of their growing bodies and developing minds.
Another most important aspect of healthy eating is portion control and cutting down on how much salt, fat and sugar children eat or drink. Therefore, at Piccolo Park, we only offer water and milk for children to drink, use brown sugar in baking and vegetable stock instead of salt in our daily meal preparations.
We provide an adequate amount of servings following guidelines by the Heart Foundation and encourage children in developing independence giving them time and space to feed themselves if they wish to do so and follow their basic instincts as well as listen to their own body’s cues for hunger and satiation.
Research shows that when we encourage children to eat more than they can or need to, causing them to lose touch with their bodies’ basic instincts and instead they learn to look for external cues on when to stop eating. When we tell our child to finish their plate, or that they haven’t eaten enough, they begin looking for cues such as an empty plate to know they are done. This may lead to overeating, upset stomachs, and issues with eating later in life.
In light of these principles and Piccolo Park team’s heartfelt advocation for healthy bodies and healthy minds, our Sylvia Park centre is proud to be a Pā – Harakeke Awarded Early Learning service. This Gold Award issued by the Heart Foundation provides recognition of our “ flourishing nutritional and physical activity environment, the impact of which extends beyond the immediate setting into the wider community.”
Tamariki, alongside their Kaiako, are involved in gardening and various cooking experiences giving them the opportunity to explore foods in both their raw natural form as well as ready to eat. Our environment nurtures our growth as we live in harmony with the world around us.
Lunchbox days where our pre schoolers make and pack their own healthy lunch boxes in practice for when they go to school are another opportunity to learn about making healthy food choices to nourish our bodies.
It is our privilege to continuously work with our families and communities to nurture our children’s health and well-being setting them up for healthy habits to last a lifetime.
References:
- https://nutritionfoundation.org.nz
- https://www.parentingresource.nz/supporting-information/self-feeding-skills/
- https://www.parents.com
- https://www.webmd.com/children/kids-healthy-eating-habits
- https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/healthy-living/food-activity-and-sleep/healthy-weight/healthy-eating-children
