PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR ECE

There are many ways teachers can support children and families when it comes to eating healthy and being physically active. The Ministry of Education have guide lines which help early childhood education services and schools develop healthy eating habits along with educating children about being healthy and physically active (Ministry of Education, n.d).

Early childhood education services can create policies which support healthy eating and physical exercise.  It can include things such as discouraging energy dense foods with little nutritional value for those centres that have their children bring lunch boxes to school. The centres that provide lunches can make them high in nutritional value and follow the Ministry of Health’s Food and Beverage Classification System.   This system is a good guide for healthy eating.

Ministry of Education (as cited in Ministry of Education, n.d) state that:

there is considerable evidence linking children’s nutrition to educational outcomes. If children are malnourished, have nutritional deficiencies, or are obese, then their learning is likely to be affected. Numerous studies in New Zealand and overseas have demonstrated a link between nutrition and learning, and shown the beneficial effects of restoring nutrition to appropriate levels ... (p. 1).

Good nutrition can have positive effects on children’s behaviour.

The early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki can also be used by teachers, it talks about providing environments where the children’s health is promoted (Ministry of Education, 1996).  Teachers can promote healthy eating and physical activity on a daily basis by encouraging children to participate with things such as planting vegetables, preparing morning tea, using the fresh fruit and vegetables around the centre for lunches and cooking.  Teachers can also encourage the parents to get involved with these experiences.  It is important to promote healthy eating and physical activity to the children’s parents and community because they have a big influence on how children make choices.

References

Ministry of Education. (n.d.). Food and nutrition for healthy, confident kids. Retrieved from http://healthylifestyles.tki.org.nz/National-nutrition-resource-list/Food-and-nutrition-for-healthy-confident-kids

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He Whāriki mātaurana mā ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.