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158 5.3 Feeding Preschool Children in Childcare Settings
eater to eat the foods served by the childcare setting childcare: a nursery or other childcare setting can
will have a negative effect. serve whatever foods they choose. There are
voluntary guidelines but they are not enforceable.
Toddlers who eat poorly at nursery may leave This is a failing of our education system as a
feeling tired and hungry. Parents or carers need to be nutritious diet is very important for preschool
advised that their toddler has eaten very little so that children to:
a nutritious meal or snack can be offered
immediately on arrival at home. It may be more ●● ensure they eat nutrient-rich foods to fulfil their
appropriate to offer a quick snack if they are ready high requirement for nutrients
for a sleep and then a nutritious meal after the sleep.
●● teach them healthy eating habits.
Nutritious snacks for a toddler who has not
eaten well at nursery include: Some nurseries will have had expert nutritional
input in developing a food and drink policy and
●● slices of fruit with a small cup of milk planning their menus, however, others may not.
Ideally, a working group to develop a food policy
●● ham sandwich with cherry tomatoes and a cup and plan menus will include:
of water
●● the catering staff
●● peanut butter and banana sandwich
●● community dietitians or nutritionists
●● slices of apple spread with cream cheese
●● teaching staff
●● pancakes spread with fruit purée and a cup of
milk ●● parents.
●● pancakes spread with chocolate spread and a The children should be asked about their likes and
cup of water dislikes.
●● breadsticks or crackers with cubes of cheese and Menu planning for nurseries should be based on
celery sticks with a cup of water the principles of healthy eating for under-fives
outlined in Chapters 1.2 and 5.1.
●● pitta bread with hummus and apple slices and a
cup of water Poor menu planning can lead to a non-nutritious
diet being offered, particularly a diet low in iron,
●● muffin with grapes and a small cup of milk thus exacerbating the common occurrence of iron
deficiency in this age group.
●● crumpet spread with honey and a cup of water
Case Study
●● scone with butter and jam, clementine segments
and a cup of milk The pupils in a nursery in north-east
London come from a wide variety of
●● yogurt or fromage frais and fruit slices cultural backgrounds and parents of many
children requested specific dietary
●● small piece of fruit cake and a cup of milk restrictions. Many requests were for the
children not to be given certain types of
●● small slice of pizza and a cup of water meat. Some requested no meat as the
family only ate halal meat. Other parents
●● small bowl of breakfast cereal with banana slices were concerned about previous food scares
and milk and preferred their children not to have red
meat. Some were from vegetarian families.
●● toast with peanut butter, carrot sticks and a cup
of water. ➔
Nutritional Standards for Food and
Drinks Offered in Childcare
Settings
There are currently no nutritional standards
governing the food that is served to under-fives in
