Kindy Zone Manoora
Food & Nutrition
Our nutrition and healthy eating policy outlines our practices for meeting children’s nutritional requirements, and how this will be achieved. As families provide the majority of their child’s food by way of lunch at this service our policy explains how families will be supported and encouraged to provide healthy food for their children. All morning and afternoon teas are provided by Kindy Zone at no extra cost, families just have to bring lunches for their children.
Our policy details how children will be provided with nutritious morning and afternoon tea choices and positive mealtime experiences from lunches provided by families. Our healthy eating policy is important part of our centre’s operations as it assists staff and families to better understand what foods promote good balanced outcomes for children.
What happens if my child has special dietary needs?
Some children may have very specific food requirements due to allergies/food intolerances, their cultural background or other family preferences. We work with families to make sure each individual children’s needs are met. In some instances, we may need to develop additional policies to promote a child’s health and wellbeing e.g. in the case of a child having an allergic reaction to certain foods, the service will need to develop policies and procedures to protect the child.
How can my child be encouraged to gain an understanding of healthy food?
Child care staff play an important role in supporting children to develop a healthy and positive attitude towards good food choices. They do this through strategies and activities such as:
- Involving children in creating a healthy menu
- Encouraging younger children and toddlers to talk about ‘healthy’ and ‘not so healthy’ food choices early on
- Providing children with opportunities to eat food and engage in the mealtime routines of different cultures
- Talking with children about nutritious food during mealtimes. Staff should also model healthy eating practices for children
- Making sure mealtimes are pleasant occasions, where children and staff can socialise with each other
- Allowing children to exercise their independence and to make some choices during mealtimes
- Including healthy food toys in the ‘home corner’ at the service to encourage children’s investigative play