Promoting Health, Nutrition, and Safety in our classrooms.By Michelle Altea-Cerbo Windsor

“Health is more than just the absence of disease or illness” (Groark, C. J. & Song, L. A., 2012).

Preschool Teachers

“Therefore, caregivers and teachers are responsible for providing information, exhibiting healthy practices, offering opportunities to apply this information, correcting unhealthy practices, and maintaining healthy environments for young children” (Groark, C. J. & Song, L. A., 2012 )

I. Health

• “Health promotion can be any activity that strives to facilitate optimum well-being. A variety of activities can encourage and support people to make dietary, behavioral, or other choices that will sustain their mental and physical health, or improve their current physical or mental condition, if needed. Health promotion methods include education, motivation, skill building, behavior reinforcement, and facilitating environmental improvements that foster good health (Allen, 2012)” (Groark, C. J. & Song, L. A.,

2012 ).

A. Strategies• Role Models• Practice

“Adults should help children develop a positive attitude regarding healthy behaviors such as eating nutritious foods, getting adequate amounts of sleep and physical activity, and reducing the impacts of stress” (Groark, C. J. & Song, L. A.,

2012 ).

B. Helpful Resources

• “A health consultant, or a qualified professional who provides health-related guidance, can be useful to a child care program, preschool, elementary school, and families…” (Groark, C. J. & Song, L. A., 2012).

• Another similar resource is the Bright Futures Guidelines available at www.brightfutures.org. This resource describes practical applications of recommendations in health supervision, health records, nutrition, and oral health…” (Groark, C. J. & Song, L. A., 2012).

C. Obstacle: Uninvolved Parents

• How to get parents involve?

“For example, educators can host events several times at the beginning of each school year, where families are invited to the school or center to see the space, meet staff, and ask questions. This type of outreach will help families feel more comfortable in the school environment, and will likely help the lessons taught in school be reinforced in the home” (Groark, C. J. & Song, L.

A., 2012 )

II. Nutrition

• Healthy food habits start early, so it is important for those involved in the care and education of children to have some understanding of the science of nutrition and be able to apply that knowledge to the guidelines for healthy eating. Childhood educators have many avenues for influencing healthful eating by teaching lessons, being role models, and creating positive health environments” (Groark, C. J. & Song, L. A., 2012 ).

A. Strategies

• “MyPlate recommends making half of the plate vegetables and fruit, a quarter of the plate grains (with an emphasis on whole grains), and a quarter of the plate lean meats and proteins” (Groark, C.

J. & Song, L. A., 2012).

• This website is helpful when it comes to food allergy:

http://www.foodallergy.org/section/back-to-school-tool-kit)

B. Resources

• Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

• The National School Lunch Program (NSLP)

C. MyPlate Game1) Families can play the MyPlate Game by placing each food on their plates.

2) Each has a printed plate like this as a guide. Then they can place all the healthy food on the table.

3) When the parents and children identify each food, they can place it on their plate.

III. Safety

• “Children are constantly learning, and the lessons they learn come in many forms. Just the simple everyday tasks of getting ready for a meal and eating that meal offer the opportunity to learn, not only about what makes food healthy and good for their little bodies, but also about how to eat in a way that keeps them safe and well” (Groark, C. J. & Song, L. A., 2012 ).

A. Strategies

• Be knowledgeable

“Those involved in the care of children have the opportunity to give children a great deal of knowledge and care through the practice of offering safe and nutritious food to nourish their bodies and minds” (Groark, C. J. & Song, L. A.,

2012 ).

 

• Hand washing

“Hand washing is one of the most valuable lessons children can learn to protect their health. Children should be encouraged to use warm water and rub soap vigorously for at least 20 seconds before rinsing” (Groark, C. J. & Song, L. A., 2012 ).

B. Resources

1) Website:

“Keeping Kids Safe: A guide for safe food handling and sanitation is a resource for child care providers that can be found online at http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/resources/appendj.pdf” (Groark, C. J. & Song, L. A.,

2012 )

2) Recognize common hazards through role playing.

“The ability to recognize common hazards that lead to illness and the knowledge of measures that can be taken to prevent illness are valuable skills for those people involved in the care of infants and young children” (Groark, C. J. &

Song, L. A., 2012 ).

C. Food Safety Activity

•Cleaning eating surfaces before and after meals and snacks

•Not using serving utensils for actual eating

•Checking with adults before sharing food (Sorte, 2011)

While at dinner time, parents can introduce and quiz kids regarding food safety:

•Using the handles of utensils (versus the end that is used for direct handling of food)

D. Obstacle: What to do when kids run around while eating?

“Children should be seated when eating, not walking, running, playing, lying down, etc” (Groark, C. J. & Song, L. A., 2012 ).

• Be firm and use “time-out” if need me. Also, let them realize and explain the importance of being seated while eating.

We have a big part in promoting Health, Nutrition, and Safety to our students!

• “Health promotion is a core principle of public health. The field of public health focuses on the health and wellness of entire populations, rather than individuals, and conceptualizes health as more than just the absence of disease or illness” (Groark, C. J. & Song, L. A., 2012 ).

Reference:

• Groark, C. J., & Song, L. A. (2012). Health and nutrition of children. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

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