It’s lunchtime at Family Time Child Care Centre. In the preschool classroom, RECEs Kiranpreet and Kwaku are struggling to get the children: Health and Nutrition Assignment, UCC, Ireland

It’s lunchtime at Family Time Child Care Centre. In the preschool classroom, RECEs Kiranpreet and Kwaku are struggling to get the children to eat their full meals, especially the vegetables. To motivate the children, the educators made a rule that only children who eat all of the food on their plates get dessert. Some children leave the table in tears after being told they haven’t eaten enough to join for dessert. Kiranpreet and Kwaku aren’t sure their motivation is working but don’t know what else to try.

Questions:

1. What are you noticing about this case study?
2. How does this relate to what you’ve learned about developmentally appropriate eating practices and norms?
3. What might you want to tell Kiranpreet and Kwaku?
4. If you were the educator in this classroom, what would you do to create a safe and healthy eating environment for children? Includes ideas specifically about helping children to try new food.