Early Childhood Development

Early Childhood presents an incredible window of opportunity to help children learn healthy habits that can last a lifetime. Preschoolers are curious, eager to learn new skills, and motivated to please adults – and learning healthy habits is no exception!

What We Know From Child Development Research about Eating

Children’s rate of growth slows down dramatically after they turn 2 years old. As a result, children may eat less, become pickier eaters, and become thinner during the preschool period. If children have energy to learn, play, and interact with others, this is a sign that they are eating enough to grow well.
Children eat more or less depending on how active they are and how fast they are growing. It is natural for kids to eat a lot one day and not a lot another day. Children often eat most of their food early in the day, so dinner may be their smallest meal.
The most important thing to remember is that children know when they are hungry and when they are not hungry. Even though it may seem strange to adults, some days children will only eat a few bites, and other days, they will ask for extra helpings.
A young child’s stomach is about the same size as their fist, so a smaller amount of food will fill them up.
Children usually reject new foods at first, but most children will learn to like new foods after they have been offered them 10 to 15 different times.
Young children want to explore food by looking, smelling, and touching. They might taste the food by putting it in their mouths and taking it out again. They will eventually eat the food if they are allowed to explore at their own pace.
Children are much more likely to try new foods when they see adults eating and enjoying these foods.

What We Can Do

There are specific things parents and educators can do to help children regulate eating so their bodies get just the right amount of food to grow up to have the body size that is right for them.

An adult is responsible for the WHAT, WHEN, and WHERE of feeding. An adult’s job is to offer children a variety of healthy and delicious foods, to set a regular routine for meals and snacks, to sit down at the table and eat with children, and to help create a pleasant mealtime atmosphere.
A child is responsible for the HOW MUCH and WHETHER they eat. It’s a child’s job to choose whether to eat the foods that are served. This means a child can choose to eat only rice if they are served chicken, rice, and broccoli. It’s also a child’s job to choose how much to eat. This means that a child may choose not to eat all the food on the plate, or may choose to have extra helpings of the food that is served.
See HOPE’s:
Strategies for Educators
Strategies for Families