eymp 3

[lyn c]

Hi
really am struggling with this unit, mind has frozen and can't think, have looked for websites and unable to find anything on questions they are:

5.3. Identify balanced meals, snacks and drinks for children in their early years following current government guidance on nutritional needs.
I understand this question but don't know where to start and how much info to put in, so any guidance or websites would be really useful.

5.4. Describe methods of educating children and adults in effective food management.
5.4. Food management to include:-
portion control
tackling under and over weight children
food phobias


How do you educate 0-5 years?

please help need to finish this unit.

Lynne

[Alison Day]

5.3
The number of children in the UK who are overweight or obese is on the increase. As early years practitioners we have to provide healthy and nutritionally appropriate food for the children that we care for. This is a requirement of the EYFS. Most settings provide a meal or snack within their provision. The Food Standards Agency recommends that a healthy nutritious diet should contain foods from the following groups each day – starchy foods, fruit and vegetables, protein-rich foods and dairy products. A balanced diet should contain foods from these groups, all meals snacks and drinks taken throughout the day must provide children with the sufficient nutrients to make up a balanced diet. When diets become unbalanced children could suffer from health problems or become lacking in a certain vitamin.
When planning meals for children, there are several things to take into consideration to ensure that meals contain sufficient nutrients and calories. We need to look at the food labels to see how much salt, calories, fat are in foods and whether the food is rich in nutrients. Children aged 1 to 3 should have no more than 2g of salt a day and children aged 4 to 6 no more than 3g. Calorie measure how much energy is in food. The amount of calories a child needs changes as they grow and will also depend on how much physical activity they take. It is important that children do not exceed the recommended calorie intake as this may cause them to become overweight. In turn children who do not eat enough calories may become underweight. A child aged between 1-3 years should have around1230 calories a day for a boy and 1165 calories for a girl. Fat is a source of energy for children providing it is in nutritious foods. Some foods are higher in nutrients than others if a food is high in calories it should also be high in nutrients. Foods such as crisps, biscuits and sweets are high in calories but low in nutrients and so an unhealthy option. Children’s stomachs are tiny and so have a limited capacity in can sometimes be hard to make sure they eat enough nutrients before they are full.
It is important to ensure children take enough drinks throughout the day to prevent them from becoming dehydrated. Water should always be made available throughout the day and at meal times. Other drinks such as milk, fruit juices and smoothies can also be offered. These drink all contain nutrients and calories so need to be included in a child’s daily intake. Fruit juices contain a lot of natural sugar so should be given in moderation to help prevent tooth decay. Fruit drinks, squashes and fizzy drinks also contain a lot of sugar and are high in calories and low in nutrients so should not be offered to children on a daily basis.
As children’s stomachs are small they may require snacks between meals so that they can take in sufficient nutrients. Snacks should also be included in the overall daily food intake and should be nutritious. Giving snacks to close to meal times can ruin a child’s appetite and we need children to eat well at meal times. Good healthy snacks for children include fruit and vegetable, dried fruit, cheese and crackers, yoghurt, breadsticks and rice cakes.
When planning meals for children it may be useful to look at their food intake for a whole week to ensure that they are eating a varied healthy diet and to consult with the child’s parents.

[Alison Day]

5.4

Giving children healthy food is just a part of encouraging children to eat healthily, there are other issues to be considered. We need to be aware of how much food a child needs over the course of a day. Too much food can cause a child to gain weight and too little food could cause a child to be undernourished. Portion control is important to ensure a child is having the correct amount of food. Showing parents a sample of a days food and working out the calorie content is a good way of seeing how much food children need rather than telling them how many calories they need.
Parents are advised early on by professionals if their children’s weight is becoming an issue. There are lots of helpful leaflets and websites that offer parents help to understand what a healthy weight for their child’s height is. It is important that young children are not made aware of any problems with their weight as this may lead to them having problems with food at a later date.
Ideally meal times should be an enjoyable occasion which can be used to talk and catch up on the day’s events. For some families meal times can become a battleground where parents are continuously attempting to get their children to eat a good range of food. As a result of this children can sometimes develop food phobias. We need to watch out for children who are becoming distressed by food or worried about what they eat. It is important to stay relaxed during meal times. To help keep the atmosphere relaxed families could try to present food in a different way or involve the children in the preparation. Children may be more likely to try new foods if they have helped to prepare the meal.

Hope they help! xx

[lyn c]

Hi Alison
that's brilliant thankyou very much for your much needed help really appreciatte it.

your a star


Lynne

[kerrie D]

Hi Lynne

You could also add about having leaflets available for parents on healthy eating for the family, including excercise, also details about the 'change for life' programme and website, so that parents know where to get added info if they wish.

Kerrie x

[lyn c]

Originally Posted by kerrie D

Hi Lynne

You could also add about having leaflets available for parents on healthy eating for the family, including excercise, also details about the 'change for life' programme and website, so that parents know where to get added info if they wish.

Kerrie x

Hi Kerrie
thankyou for your reply i did add about leaflets and websites being available for weight, height and healthy foods.

Thankyou

I habe now finished eymp 3 yipee. just struggling with eymp 4 (2.1 and 2.2)

as not sure if what i want to write about is right but will do it and see.
Lynne