During the past two weeks I have had the opportunity
to observe in two different early childcare settings on four different
days. One of the early childcare
settings is a Child Development Lab that is in connection with our local
Community College. The other childcare
setting is called Montessori Children’s Center.
Both of my host classrooms have children that range in age from age
three thru five.
While at these two I had the opportunity to interview
the teachers within the classrooms as well as interact with many of the
children while I observed different learning experiences.
I had a great deal of time in the past two weeks to
start gaining insights to my topic of childhood obesity. While taking with one of early childhood
teachers this week I was reminded just how important it is to do our best to
set good examples and provide positive modeling experiences for our
children.
One morning while eating breakfast the children were
encouraged to try all the foods on their plates. At
this particular center the children and teachers eat together and their food is
served family style. The children pass
the food and are encouraged to put a little of everything on their plate. This particular day one of the teachers did
not put a banana on her plate. One of
the children had seen this and pointed out that if the teacher doesn’t have to
than she doesn’t. Well……in this case I
believe that the child is correct. The
teacher even though she may not like the food should but a little on her plate,
try the food setting a good example for the children.
During the same breakfast one of the children had
asked the teacher for seconds on her oatmeal.
The teacher asked the child how much she had taken on the first round,
the child replied by saying a lot. The
teacher was quick to answer the child.
She told the child that since she had a large bowl to begin with, she
believed that she should be satisfied with just the one bowl. The child argued with the teacher and told
the teacher that there was a lot left.
The teacher replied by telling her a story. The teacher told the child that just because
there is a whole loaf of bread on the counter that doesn’t mean that she should
have more than one piece. The teacher is
trying to help the student understand how to recognize when they have had enough.
Knowing when is enough is difficult for some children.
I thought that the teacher
did a great job of telling this child that she didn’t need any more food
without lecturing her about nutrition and the effects of overeating. This particular child is overweight. From personal experience it’s not a pleasant experience
being an overweight child. I appreciate
the thoughtfulness of the teacher and her appreciation for the mental state of her
student.
It is very difficult to teach portion control especially when many of our children go home and there is no food when they get home. Many of our children do not know when their next meal will be so how do we help them with portion control when they're trying to survive.
ReplyDeleteI know that teaching portion is difficult....I have issues with my own children. Helping a child understand how to know when they are full is important but also challenging. Some children just don't have a shut off and would eat until there is no more. This has even been difficult for me as an adult.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up our family was very fortunate and never was without food. We didn't always get exactly what we wanted but there was always food. Many years ago I provided care for a child of a single parent. This child always ate very well at day care - however dinner was not always an option. When I learned that this child didn't always have dinner I made sure that he left with at least an apple and a PB & Jelly sandwich in his backpack. Since we are a family day care our family would invite this family over for dinner.
I have only had 2 families in twenty years that I knew seriously struggled to put food on their table.
I forget sometimes how hard life can be....I am very thankful for all that I have.
Amen! It is true some kids don't have the 'cut' off to eating. It is important to teach those controls. It's very sad in this country we have children starving.
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