4.0 Learning Objectives
Nutrition in the Early Years
This chapter will discuss the importance of nutrition in early years settings. Educators play an important role in ensuring healthy feeding practices are established, in collaboration with families, dietary planners, public health, and medical professionals when necessary. Nutrition strongly impacts children’s development from the prenatal stage into adulthood. Patterns are entrenched for a lifetime so it is essential that healthy nutritional routines are established in the early years.
In this chapter nutritional practices will be discussed for each age group in the early years, along with Canada’s Food Guide, menu planning, safe food handling, food allergies, nutrition challenges, and sustainable food methods that support a stronger connection to the land. Regulations and recommendations from the Ministries of Education and Health will be shared, along with sample policies and resources to support educators as they begin their journey in modelling healthy and inclusive nutritional guidance for children and their families.
Learning Objectives
In this chapter, we will:
- Describe appropriate nutritional principles and practices for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-agers;
- Ability to develop menu for licensed child care setting by embedding Canada Food Guide recommendations;
- Understand sustainable dietary practices to support care for humans, the land, and more than human others.
