Nursery World - Eating well – advice from the Early Years Nutrition Partnership (1)

Providing consistent nutrition messages both at home and at nursery can support healthy eating habits for the whole family. So how can you get families involved in good nutrition? Here, Catherine Lippe, Early Years Nutrition Partnership (EYN Partnership) registered nutrition professional, suggests some simple ideas that can be shared with parents and staff.

Be on message with healthy eating.

Display your menus so parents can see at a glance the type of varied and nutritious food you offer. You could also share recipes for some of the favourite dishes on your menus so parents can recreate them at home. Ask parents to share pictures and videos of their creations to encourage others.

Share your setting’s healthy eating policy. This will help families understand the importance of good nutrition, its impact on future health outcomes and what you are doing as a setting to support these health outcomes.

Add a healthy eating tip to your newsletters, or create a healthy eating display in your nursery. This is a great way to share nutrition tips and to focus on topics that are particularly relevant to your setting; for example: fussy eating tips, healthy snacking, moving from bottles to cups, or how to encourage children to try new foods. Check out the EYN Partnership website for blogs written by nutritionists and dietitians for content ideas and tips.

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