Yes we know, parenting is tough! Between juggling work, schedules, playdates, and bedtime routines, finding time to focus on nutrition can feel like a challenge.
At Gowrie NSW, we understand this - we’ve had over 84 years of educating children and partnering with families to know how to nurture happy, healthy lives. That’s why all our Early Education and Care Centres and OOSH Programs provide meals and snacks that meet children’s nutrient requirements, prioritising growth, development and enjoyment around eating!
Our Gowrie NSW cooks’ network recently worked with The Biting Truth to enhance the children’s menu served across our early education and care centres, increasing whole foods included in the menu and reviewing dietary guidelines for children 0-5 years. The menu caters for children’s allergies and provides for seasonal substitutes. Most importantly, feedback from services across NSW is that the children are enjoying the variety in the menu, loving the healthy baked goods, salmon pie and chilli con carne, they are getting used to the veggie sticks, and the infants are loving the porridge.
Why is healthy Eating Important?
In this article, we’ll chat about why healthy eating is so important for your child, the role it plays in both physical health and cognitive function, the essential nutrients they need to thrive, and some super handy tips to get them excited about nutritious food. Let’s work together to build those healthy habits now…setting the stage for a lifetime of wellness and happy, energetic children!
A pivotal time
Early childhood is a pivotal time. A child's body grows rapidly, a constant state of growth and development.
Your child needs all the amazing vitamins, nutrients and calorie requirements to meet their milestones. Beyond physical growth, nourishment is required for their brains to function, create thoughts, learn, communicate and socialise! If your child doesn’t have access to proper nutrition in early childhood, this puts them at risk of disease and health complications.
Yes, this can sound scary. Learning to understand the power of nutrition in early childhood, and speaking with educators at Gowrie NSW can help you make steps towards building balanced and adequate meals.
Essential Nutrients for Babies and Toddlers
This time of rapid growth comes with the need for particular vitamins and minerals, to promote development of your child’s body, brain, and help protect them from disease.
From 6 months old, children are introduced to solid food, as breastmilk and formula doesn’t provide all essential vitamins and minerals needed from this age.
Typically, babies start with mashed, smooth textures, and progress to a variety of textures, flavours and tastes. This helps build a diverse diet, promote chewing behaviours, jaw strength and swallowing!
Essential nutrients for your little ones include:
- Iron: prevent fatigue, delayed brain growth, and muscle weakness
- Calcium: strong teeth and bones.
- Vitamin D: prevents bone and muscle pain and promotes strong teeth.
- Vitamin A: maintains strong vision, prevents viral infection, and promotes healthy skin, nails, and hair.
- Vitamin C: boost that immune system, and fight off that nasty cold!
The Importance of Iron
The most common deficiency in children is iron.
Iron is super important throughout all bodies, but particularly during childhood. Iron is a mineral that is required for your baby or toddler to meet its growth milestones, but some children don’t have enough iron.
Too little iron can mean your child has slowed and delayed growth, making it hard for your child to function well.
Iron-rich sources for children include:
- Iron-fortified cereals
- Soft meats (no added salt!)
- Baked beans
- Eggs
- Leafy green vegetables
How Do I Make Sure They Are Getting These Nutrients?
A healthy, balanced and varied diet should provide plenty of these vitamins and minerals. By the time your baby is a toddler, they should be eating the same foods as the rest of the family.
Ensuring these nutrients are met means considering how balanced your meals are.
Is your child eating a range of proteins, carbohydrates and fats? Are you modelling healthy eating behaviours?
This may sound overwhelming - so let’s break this down.
Proteins - The Building Blocks
Proteins are an essential building block for our muscles. Encouraging your child to learn this, can make them excited about food. Children love the idea of being strong, and this can be a way to make mealtimes fun!
Adequate protein in your child's diet can help:
- Promote growth and development
- Fight infection
- Build muscle
- Help break down foods into energy to fuel our children's bodies!
Protein can be found in:
- Dairy products
- Soy
- Eggs
- Meat
- Fish
The protein requirements of your child also increase with age, so keep an eye on how much protein you are serving them.
At Gowrie NSW centres and programs, nutrition is adjusted with age - ensuring the needs of your growing child are met.
Carbohydrates - Our Primary Source of Energy
Carbohydrates are the primary fuel source for all humans. Carbohydrates are an organic nutrient, a crucial form of energy for your body to break down and store for energy release.
Your child needs these carb-rich foods for energy to run around, play with friends, play sports, create thoughts, learn and grow! Teaching them the power of this nutrient can help them build a healthy relationship with food from a young age.
Carb-rich sources include:
- Cereals
- Breads
- Crackers
- Potatoes
- Pasta
- Rice
Fats - Help Absorb Vitamins
Fats help our babies, toddlers and preschoolers absorb those crucial vitamins.
Fats are a wonderful source of energy, able to be stored by the body to be broken down when needed. Importantly - they make your child's meal super yummy!
Sources include:
- Full fat dairy
- Cooking oils - olive oil
- Nuts/nut and seed butter
- Avocado
- Meat
Tips for Encouraging Healthy Eating in Children
Children are naturally curious. They are often open to learning more about foods, and with age they develop preferences and learn what foods they love!
They also reflect the people close to them - if they see parents and educators modelling a healthy, balanced and nourishing diet, they are more likely to follow in these footsteps.
Some methods include:
- Serving healthy, nourishing meals
- Encouraging food curiosity
- Sitting together as a family for meals
- Helping them to be a part of food shopping and preparation
- Educating them about the importance of nutrition, and how to support a healthy body
- Explore new foods and flavours - learn what they love
- Make foods fun - cutting into different shapes, decorating
- Exploring fresh, in season produce, educating about how it is grown
Good vs Bad
Importantly - never refer to food as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Instead, ensure they know that food has no moral value.
All foods fit in a balanced and varied diet. Allow discretionary items when appropriate, to encourage a healthy relationship with food. The more you exclude foods from them, teaching them that particular foods are ‘bad’, the more likely they are to want to eat them wherever they can!
Ultimately, building an unhealthy relationship with food.
Teaching about food from the perspective of ‘nutrient dense’ and ‘low nutrient value’ encourages education around these foods - and with time, allows your child to make educated choices about which foods they want to eat.
The Role of an Educator
Our educators play a crucial role in helping your little one build a healthy relationship with food. In a childcare setting, children typically receive more than 50% of their daily Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI), if they spend 8 hours in care. This helps ensure they meet a significant portion of their nutritional needs while in care.
As primary educators, our teachers and educators play a key role in modelling healthy eating behaviours and thoughts about food.
Educators at Gowrie NSW practice the following:
- Inclusion of children in conversations and routines that create enjoyable, relaxed mealtimes
- Use cooking together to help your child understand healthy food and nutrition
- Never labelling foods ‘good’ or ‘bad’
- Never use food to punish or reward children
- Helping children to recognise hunger and fullness cues
- Model healthy eating behaviours
- Using ‘real’ cutlery and plates.
- Encouraging children’s independence and empowerment by allowing them to serve themselves
What We Provide at Gowrie NSW
Our centres provide adequate, nourishing age-appropriate meals.
Most of our centres have in-residence chefs who design weekly menus aligned with the Early Years Learning Framework. At Shirley Road Preschool and Clemton Park, children bring their own lunches in preparation for Primary School but are served morning and afternoon tea. We encourage the parents at these centres to provide their children with a balanced and nourishing lunch to optimise their health and wellbeing.
For all meals provided, we ensure a balance of protein, carbs and fats. These sources are rich with essential vitamins and nutrients, so children can be their best, strongest selves.
A day on a plate with Gowrie NSW may look like:
(Credit: The Biting Truth)
The best gift we can give our children
Encouraging healthy eating habits in early childhood is one of the best gifts we can give our children. By understanding the importance of nutrition, identifying essential nutrients, and implementing fun, practical tips, we can help our children develop a love for healthy foods that will last a lifetime. Remember, it's all about making small, consistent changes and celebrating every little victory.
Reach out to your Centre Director or Program Manager if you have any concerns. Together, we can ensure our children grow up strong, healthy, and full of vitality. Happy, healthy eating!
