Nutrition
My fees include a healthy,
nutritious lunch at 12:30pm and a nutritious
home cooked meal at 5:00pm. Healthy snacks
will be provided mid morning and mid afternoon.
Parents should provide food and milk/formula
for babies up to age 12 months. Please inform
me if your child has any known allergies to
particular foods.
The food provided will
be a healthy well balanced diet for your child.
Children will not be offered or permitted
to eat sweets while in my care as they detract
from a healthy balanced diet. I would appreciate
you not sending any sweets, crisps, cakes,
biscuits, chocolate or fizzy drinks with your
child.
Children are encouraged
to develop good eating skills and table manners.
They will be encouraged to sit at the table
or in a highchair during mealtimes. Children
under 5 are never left alone while they are
eating in case they choke. All children are
encouraged to use appropriate implements for
their stage of development properly, ie they
will be discouraged from putting knives in
their mouth.
I always wash my hands
with soap and water before preparing food
or helping children to eat and after changing
nappies and toileting children. Children are
encouraged to wash their hands with soap and
water after using the toilet/potty and before
mealtimes. I am also aware of food safety
issues such as storage of food, leftover food
and thorough cooking or heating of foods.
Withholding food will not be used as a form
of punishment.
Encouraging social skills / Creating
the right atmosphere
If
a child refuses a food even after gentle encouragement
to eat, I will remove the food without making
a fuss or passing judgment. I will never force
a child to eat. I encourage children to dry
different foods and offer words of praise
and encouragement to try and eat a variety
of foods. I adopt the approach that a food
refused is ‘not liked today’.
Food fads often do not last more than a couple
of weeks and children may, at another time,
accept a food that was previously rejected.
Parents will be advised if their child is
not eating well.
