CHILDREN & FEEDING TIME

CHILDREN & FEEDING TIME Why Does it Matter? Gold Sneaker Policy 1.6

Policy 1.6 Ensure appropriate infant and child feeding patterns, including adequate time for meal consumption. Adequate time for meals and snacks will be allowed for all children, and will be included in classroom lesson plans.

Further Information… Ensure that children are allowed at least 20 minutes to eat a meal – breakfast, lunch or dinner. That time amount, 20 minutes, should consist of the actual time the child is sitting down with food in front of them. This 20 minutes DOES NOT include the time to wash hands, assemble try or plate, or collect other items needed for the dining experience.

Why is this Important? Establishes healthy eating habits Students need time to eat adequate amounts of food to meet their nutritional needs, which is essential for optimal student health and behavior. Children will enjoy their food more and may try more healthy options if they can relax, eat, and socialize without feeling rushed. Takes time for your stomach to realize it is full!

Implement It! Implementation Packet Review Change policy Follow up – staff training, monitoring Documentation

CHILDREN & FOOD PORTION SIZE Why Does it Matter? Gold Sneaker Policy 1.7

Policy 1.7 Ensure appropriate infant and child feeding patterns, including appropriate portion sizes. Appropriate portion sizes will be assured through staff training and will be monitored by random spot checks for each age group on a monthly basis.

DID YOU KNOW… • In very young children, food intake appears to be relatively unaffected by portion size. • Rather than responding to portion size, they are able to self-regulate their intake by responding to physiologic cues for hunger and fullness. BECAUSE…

However… • As children age, internal cues have less effect on food intake. External factors become a stronger influence.

IN ONE STUDY… • Different portions of macaroni & cheese were served to 5 year old children, they ate significantly more food as the portion size was increased. This increased occurred although their hunger did not differ at the start of the meals.

ANOTHER STUDY FOUND… • Four year old children ate 25% more when they were served an entrée that was twice the size of an age-appropriate portion. • Four year old children who were rewarded for cleaning their plate increased their food intake.

BUT… (AND THIS IS BIG) • Children who were taught to focus on internal cues, indicated by fullness in their stomachs, ate an appropriate amount of food.

UNFORTUNATELY… • The response to portion size by children could be a learned behavior that leads to a shift of attention away from internal hunger cues toward food cues in the external environment. • A lack of response to fullness signals may lead children to overeat in an environment in which large portions of tasty foods are readily available. SO…

Get this… • The influence of large portions on intake has been shown to be moderated simply by allowing children to serve themselves.

And yet another study… • Showed that children ate 25% less of a large entrée when they decided for themselves how much food to put on their plates compared with when they were served the large portion by an adult.

To help kids eat appropriate portions… • 1) Provide children with a variety of nutritious foods and, whenever possible, allow them to decide how much they will eat by serving themselves. • 2) Encourage children to recognize hunger and fullness cues and to rely on these cues for the start and finish of eating. • 3) Children should not be required to clean their plates nor be rewarded for doing so.

Implement It! Implementation Packet Review Change policy Follow up – staff training, monitoring Documentation – see next slide

Serving Sizes Documentation Reference: Child and Adult Care Food Program Meal Pattern for Children Reprinted in implementation packet Random Spot Checks Monthly Each age group after age 1 Document, keep on file and available if needed for Gold Sneaker monitoring Spot Check Measuring cups should be used for monthly spot checks

CHILDREN & FEEDING TIME