Feed pre-school children well... but not too much

Julia Deakin was chosen to pilot the new national guidelines on how to feed young children well in childcare, developed by the independent charity on behalf of the Department of Education.

The initiative means that for the first time, childcare providers have a nationally-recognised source of information on how to make sure the food and drinks they provide meet young children’s nutritional needs.

Areas such as the types of foods children under the age of five should be given, portion sizes, sample menus and recipes, advice on tackling fussy eating and involving children in food and cooking activities at nursery, are all covered in the guidelines.

“As childminders lack the support network of a whole team of employees for help and advice that nurseries and day care centres have, it is incredibly important that any new guidelines are tried and tested as they have to be easy to use and understand,” says Julia. “I have found the whole experience very rewarding and have been able to make simple yet important changes to the way I feed children in my care. They made me think differently about the food I cook and the portion sizes I give children.”

One of the main issues that was brought to Julia’s attention through the pilot scheme, was that she often over-faced children with portion sizes that were just too big.

“Like many other childminders, I learnt my childcare skills from my mother. Learning through somebody else’s experience has its advantages and disadvantages. Every mother has her own opinion on what is best to feed their child, so it can be difficult to know how much to feed, when to feed and how to keep in varied and healthy.”

Since using the new guidelines, Julia has not only seen an increase in the amount of new foods the children will try and enjoy but also in her confidence in trying new recipes.

“The children I care for are now happier to try new vegetables and enjoy helping me cook their meals. I now provide much smaller portions at more regular times. The children are eating better and the amount of food I throw away everyday has significantly dropped.

Nutritionist Patricia Mucavele from the School Food Trust, said: “There’s lots of support being put into place to help any setting start to use these guidelines – we are piloting training with five local authorities already and will be coming to more areas in the coming year. This is just the beginning, and we hope that as many settings as possible will use this guidelines to help children get a healthy start in life.”

Other organisations that also supported the scheme include The National Day Nurseries Association and the National Childminding Association.