Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating Focus on Preschoolers - Background for Educators and Communicators

Table of Contents

How Preschoolers Approach Eating

Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating for Preschoolers

Striving for Variety

Energy for Growth, Development and Activity

Different Preschoolers Need Different Amounts of Food

Choosing Other Foods

Vitality

Other Food Guide Materials

Healthy Eating: A Priority during the Preschooler Years

This resource discusses how you, as an educator or communicator, can use Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating to promote healthy eating among preschool children aged two to five years. Use this resource along with the Food Guide tearsheet and Food Guide Facts: Background for Educators and Communicators.

Healthy eating is important for preschool children to:

• provide the energy and essential nutrients they need to grow, develop and be active;
• develop their sense of taste, acceptance and enjoyment of different foods;
• contribute to their sense of well-being and feeling good about themselves;
• instill attitudes and practices which form the basis for lifelong health-promoting eating and activity patterns.

* See sections, "Other Food Guide Materials", at end to find out how to get copies of these and other Food Guide resources.

How Preschoolers Approach Eating

Early childhood is an exciting time of change. Bodies are growing. Skills are being mastered. Attitudes are forming. Although every child is different, the following traits are common among preschool children and influence how they approach eating:

A natural curiosity

Youngsters explore their world by touching, seeing, hearing, smelling and tasting. Most two- and three-year-olds take great pleasure in experimenting with new foods. A banana is likely to be carefully inspected and squashed between the fingers of curious two-year-olds before reaching their lips. Three-year-olds love to discover surprises such as a special fruit or an animal-shaped sandwich served as a snack. "Why" becomes a frequently used word, especially by four- and five-year olds. Because of their innate inquisitiveness, they may, for example, need to know why the bread is brown before trying it. It is through the curiosity which preschoolers bring to food that they learn to enjoy an expanding range of foods.

Striving for independence

Two- and three-year olds are striving for greater independence. Deciding whether to eat or not is something thet can easily control. For example, they may insist on a familiar food one day and reject it the next. These whims are normal. Meanwhile, four- and five-year olds like helping adults by selecting food at the supermarket, then preparing and serving it.

A Need for security

Because they need the security of what is familiar to them, two- and three-year olds look for structure in their lives. Most prefer meals and snacks on a regular schedule and in familiar surroundings. Many toddlers insist on having their milk in a certain cup, their food cut in preferred shapes or the same food for lunch over several days. New foods may be refused with the common refrain "I don't like it, I've never tried it". As preschoolers get older, they tend to be more willing to try unfamiliar foods that are prepared and served in different ways.

Limited attention span but growing sense of purpose

The ability to focus on one thing increases considerably between the ages of two and five years. This applies at mealtimes too. When hungry, young children will focus on eating. When satisfied, their attention turns elsewhere. Playing with their spoon is more interesting than eating the food before them. Although parents may become concerned when the child dawdles over uneaten food, it is quite normal to see children lose interest in any activity in a short time.

Imitate people around them

Preschoolers can learn to like a wide assortment of foods by eating with friends and family members who enjoy these foods. Children easily pick up subtle messages about how others view foods. For example, a four-year-old boy may be reluctant to eat turnip - a food his father is not fond of, whereas he eagerly eats cabbage - his father's favourite.

For preschoolers, healthy eating is...

• being curious about new foods and ways of eating them;
• examining the chicken sandwich before they eat it;
• accepting toast only if it is cut in triangles;
• trying only a bite of squash today - maybe more tomorrow;
• drinking milk only if they can pour it into their own glass;
• loving carrots on Tuesday, refusing them on Wednesday;
• Insisting the apple be whole - not in slices;
• wanting a peanut butter sandwich for lunch every day for a week;
• gobbling up the cookies they helped to prepare when they are fresh from the oven;
• preferring simple foods they can recognize;
• drinking soup out of a coffee mug just like mom's.

Canada's Food Guide to healthy eating for preschoolers

Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating was initially designed for peoplefour years and older.

By adapting the Food Guide to take into account the smaller amounts of food preschoolers eat, it becomes a useful tool for everyone in the family over two years of age. Using one Food Guide for the family makes sense because children tend to adopt the same pattern of eating as their older siblings and parents. The following sections show how you can use the Food Guide to meet the needs of children during the preschool years, that is from two to five years of age.

Striving for variety

A key message of the Food Guide is to "Enjoy a variety of foods from each food group every day". The preschool years are important years for learning to taste and enjoy an expanding number of foods prepared in different ways.

For preschoolers, variety promotes:

• an adequate intake of essential nutrients

  Choosing a variety of food from the four food groups is the surest way to supply essential nutrients and energy needed for childhood growth and development. The Food Guide provides further advice on making food choices through its key messages. For example, "Choose whole grain and enriched products more often" and "Choose dark green and orange vegetables and orange fruit more often" encourage choosing nutrient-rich foods from the Grain Products and Vegetables and Fruit food groups.

• the positive and pleasurable aspects of eating by exploring a wide range of foods varying in colour, flavour and texture
  
  Preschoolers are eager to learn about the nature of food. From an early age most delight in exploring the textures and savouring the tastes of various foods. Even simple activities such as helping to cut open a pumpkin or make muffins are ways children learn about food. Preparing food gives young children a feeling of accomplishment. It also encourages them to eat these foods, i.e. potatoes which the preschooler has helped to mash or radishes he has picked from the garden are more appealing than those which just appear on the table.
  
  
• the use of foods and cuisines enjoyed by different ethnic and cultural groups
  
  Children eat according to the eating traditions of their family. These traditions are a valued aspect of their culture. Many of the foods appearing in the rainbow design of the Food Guide - for example, tofu, sweet potato, bok choy, rice and pasta - are those enjoyed by various ethnic and cultural groups living in Canada. Different cuisines also use common foods such as chicken and fish in ways that show their ethnic and cultural uniqueness.

Learning to appreciate food as prepared and enjoyed by other ethnic and cultural groups can add to the interest children already have in food and eating. For example, by exploring a staple food such as bread in its many forms - pita, bannock, focaccia, bagels, chapattis - children can begin to appreciate the cultural diversity that food choices reflect.

A vegetarian family

In Asha's family, no one eats meat or fish, however they do eat milk products and eggs. As lacto-ovo vegetarians, Asha's parents use the Food Guide to choose foods from all the food groups. Instead of meat they prepare a variety of dishes using tofu, other legumes such as dried peas, beans and lentils, nuts and nut butters, and eggs to meet the recommended number of servings from the Meat and Alternatives food group.

Asha gets enough protein, iron and zinc because she consumes milk products, legumes and grain products every day and eggs a few times a week. She also has at least two cups of milk every day. Besides drinking it, she likes it on her cereal at breakfast and in soups and puddings made with milk. This ensures an adequate intake of vitamin D, calcium and vitamin B12, a vitamin that is found only in foods of animal origin.

Do children need vitamin-mineral supplements?

Eating a variety of foods is the best way to ensure an adequate intake of nutrients.If a child is eating according to the Food Guide, is growing well and is healthy, vitamin-mineral supplements are rarely necessary. They may be indicated for special situations such as vitamin D supplements for children who do not consume enough vitamin D-fortified milk.

Some children may not be eating a variety of foods as recommended in the Food Guide because of cultural preferences, health concerns such as food intolerances or personal food dislikes. Ways to improve the child's eating pattern, including suggestions for alternative foods and different ways of preparing foods which the child may accept, can be discussed with parents and caregivers. If supplements are indicated, a dietitian or doctor can provide guidance on the type, amount and duration. Like all medications, supplements should be kept out of reach of preschoolers to avoid overdose.

How to introduce new foods

Parent's and Caregivers can help preschoolers accept a wider selection of foods by:

• being role models. Children are more eager to eat foods that they see family and friends enjoying;
• presenting food in appealing ways by combining different colours, textures and shapes of food; offering small quantities of a new food alongside a familiar one, without pressure to eat the new food;
• serving a new food when children are with their peers;
• encouraging them to become familiar with different foods by helping to grow, buy, prepare or serve them;
• being patient. If an unfamiliar food is not accepted the first time, it can be offered again later. The more often children are exposed to new foods, the more likely they will taste them and learn to accept them;
• not using foods as rewards. For example, withholding a sweet dessert until all the vegetables are eaten may establish a preference for the dessert and a dislike for the vegetables; respecting individual food preferences. Every child has different likes and dislikes.

Grain Products

Choose whole grain and enriched products more often.

Vegetables and Fruit

Choose dark green and orange vegetables and orange fruit more often.

Milk Products

Choose lower-fat milk products more often.

Meat and Alternatives

Choose leaner meats, poultry and fish, as well as dried peas, beans and lentils more often.

Energy for growth, development and activity

Meeting children's energy needs for growth, development and activity is a priority for healthy eating. Preschoolers can meet their energy needs by following the pattern of eating promoted by Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating.

• Both carbohydrates and fat are important sources of energy (Calories) in foods. The Food Guide recommends that energy come chiefly from foods containing complex carbohydrates. It recommends a pattern of eating that promotes a variety of foods, emphasizes breads, cereals, other grain products, vegetables and fruit, and includes lower-fat foods.
• The preschooler years are an important time for forming life-long healthy eating patterns which include learning to enjoy lower-fat foods.* In practical terms, this means that the same lower-fat foods as those eaten by other family members, can be offered to preschoolers. For example, if the familyuses lower-fat milk such as 2% or 1%, preschoolers can have it as part of their eating pattern, provided their energy needs are met.
• Higher-fat foods* are also part of healthy eating. The Food Guide recommends that these be used in moderation. When applying this message to preschoolers, more flexibility is needed. Because fat is a concentrated energy source, nutritious higher-fat foods such as peanut butter and cheese help preschoolers satisfy their energy needs. This is especially important for the younger preschooler and children who tend to eat smaller amounts of food.

* For examples of lower- and higher-fat foods, see Food Guide Facts. Background for Educators and Communicators. "A Closer Look at Fat".

Different preschoolers need different amounts of food

The amount of food preschoolers need depends on their age, body size, activity level, growth rate and appetite. The following sections on choosing the number of servings from each food group and on portion sizes for children will help you use the Food Guide to plan meals and snacks for preschoolers.

How many servings from the food groups do preschoolers need?

The Food Guide gives a lower and higher number of servings for each food group. These serving ranges make the Food Guide flexible to use with family members with different energy and nutrient needs. When choosing the number of servings for preschoolers, the following general guidelines apply:

• There is a wide range of servings for Grain Products (5-12) and Vegetables and Fruit (5-10). Preschool children will generally choose child-size servings around the lower end of the range for these food groups every day.
• The Food Guide recommends 2-3 servings per day of Milk Products. Preschoolers should consume 500 mL (2 cups) of milk every day because it is their main dietary source of vitamin D. This can be counted as two servings. In addition, they may also choose to include a child-size serving of other Milk Products such as cheese and yogourt.
• Preschool children can choose 2-3 child-size servings of Meat and Alternatives each day.

What is a child-size serving?

There is a wide variation in portions of foods consumed by preschoolers. That's why a child-size portion is anywhere from one-half to the full size for foods in each food group, as indicated in Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating. Generally the size of portion increases with age. For example, a two-year-old may eat a half slice of bread, whereas a four-year-old is more likely to eat a whole slice. Both of these can be counted as one child-size serving of Grain Products.

How to Apply Child-Size Servings

An example with jenny and tommy: Jenny is five years old and her brother, tommy, has just turned three. as shown by this example of yesterday's dinner, tommy tends to eat the same foods as jenny but in smaller portions.

Dinner

Both Jenny and Tommy drank 125 mL of milk with dinner, as part of the 500 mL of milk they have each day.

Tommy

noodles - 50 mL serving size - 1 grain products braised beef - 25 g serving size - 1 meat and alternatives carrot coins - 50 mL serving size - 1 vegetables and fruit fruit salad - 50 mL serving size - 1 vegetables and fruit with yogourt - 50 mL serving size - 1/2 milk products oatmeal cookie - 1 cookie serving size - 1 grain products

Jenny

noodles - 125 mL serving size - 1 grain products
braised beef - 50 g serving size - 1 meat and alternatives
carrot coins - 75 mL serving size - 1 vegetables and fruit
fruit salad - 125 mL serving size - 1 vegetables and fruit
with yogourt - 100 mL serving size - 1 milk products
oatmeal cookie - 1 cookie serving size - 1 grain products

"Is my child eating enough?...too much?"

Many parents and caregivers are concerned about how much their child eats. For some, their concern is that the child is eating too little; for others, it is that the child is eating too much. Children know best how much they need. Parents and caregivers can help them meet their nutrient and energy needs by providing a variety of foods and by:

• respecting the child's ability to determine how much food to eat;
• offering portions suitable for the child, with options for seconds, and allowing children to serve themselves when possible;
• setting regular meal and snack times - ones that work best for the preschooler and the family;
• making time for healthy eating so that meals and snacks are not rushed;
• providing a comfortable setting for eating - one that is without distractions such as television, which can interfere with hunger and satiety cues;
• not pressuring the child to eat.

Preschoolers can determine how much to eat

While parents and caregivers determine the selection of foods offered, preschoolers can determine how much food they need. Throughout the day, children are able to adjust their intake of energy. For example, if a child has a low energy meal or snack, the next one tends to be higher in energy. This explains why some children eat more at one meal than at another.By trusting their hunger cues, preschoolers can learn to choose an amount they can expect to eat. Parents and caregivers can help build this trust by responding appropriately to signs that indicate when the preschooler is hungry or satisfied.

Small Frequent Feedings for Preschoolers

Because preschoolers have both small stomachs and relatively high needs for energy, they may need to eat small amounts of food frequently throughout the day. This is most commonly achieved by three meals with a nutritious snack between meals. Most preschoolers prefer regularly scheduled meals and snacks.

Appetites of Preschoolers Fluctuate

Appetites tend to increase during growth spurts and periods of intense activity, and fall when the preschooler is overly tired or excited. Food intakes of preschoolers can vary from day to day. Over time, the child's intake of nutrients and energy typically average out, thus achieving a healthy balance.

Children with Small Appetites

Preschoolers who have small appetites and who typically eat smaller amounts of food - for example, the smaller child-size portions at the lowest number of servings - need foods which are high in both nutrients and energy. In feeding the smaller eater, parents and caregivers can offer:

• food without insisting that the child eat if he or she is not hungry;
• small meals with a nutritious snack between meals;
• smaller portions with the option for seconds;
• nutrient-rich foods, including foods high in iron such as meat, whole grain and enriched cereals, peas, beans and lentils;
• some energy-dense foods such as peanut butter, cheese, high-fat yogurt, whole milk and muffins, which are nutritious and higher-fat food enjoyed by many preschoolers.

Getting together for lunch

Nicholas, Amira and Mathieu look forward to meal and snack times at Marie's, their caregiver. Marie encourages the children to try new foods. For example, she suggested that five-year-old Nicholas' mother bring his favourite food - perogies - for the other children to try. When Amira and Mathieu saw how much their older friend liked them, they were eager for a taste too. Later at home Mathieu told hisparents about perogies and asked to try them for supper sometime.

Two-year-old Amira is a small eater. Sometimes she is too tired to eat much for lunch. When Amira wakes up from her mid-day nap, Mariemakes sure she gets a snack which is nutritious and energy-dense. While her parents have cut back on higher-fat foods like peanut butter, ice cream and higher-fat cheeses, they know these energy-dense food choices help Amira meet her energy needs.

Four-year-old Mathieu enjoys mealtimes at Marie's because everyone sits together. Marie knows Mathieu needs extra time to finish his meals and snacks so she doesn't rush him. Like his friends, Mathieu feels good when he is enjoying a meal with friends and he has fun trying out new foods with them.

Milk and the preschooler

Milk is an excellent source of vitamin D and calcium, nutrients that are essential for building healthy bones and strong teeth during the preschool years. Because of its key role in health, the need for vitamin D is especially high during the preschool years. Vitamin D is available through exposure to ultraviolet light in sunshine and through certain foods. Current advice to moderate children's exposure to sunlight and the increased use of sunscreens limit the vitamin D available through sunshine. This makes food sources even more important than a few years ago.

Milk is, by and large, the main source of dietary vitamin D. Vitamin D is added to all cow's milk sold on the retail market, which includes fluid milk (2%, 1%, skim or whole) and skim milk powder. Labels of goat's milk need to be checked to see if vitamin D has been added. Margarine is also a source of vitamin D.

Milk products, such as cheese and yogourt, are excellent sources of calcium, but they do not contain Vitamin D.

It is recommended that preschoolers consume two cups (500 mL) of vitamin D-fortified milk every day. Aside from drinking milk alone, this amount can be consumed by eating:

• cereal or fruit served with milk
• homemade or commercial puddings where milk needs
  to be added
• soups made with milk.

When milk is not consumed by the child, parents and caregivers should discuss with a dietitian alternative ways of providing calcium and
vitamin D.

Choosing other foods

Food other than those in the four food groups are also part of healthy eating and contribute to the taste and enjoyment of eating. When choosing from the Other Foods category in the Food Guide, parents and caregivers can be reminded that preschoolers can learn, by example, how to:

• include Other Foods in a healthy eating pattern in amounts that do not displace foods from the our food groups;
• use moderate amounts of food such as margarine, butter and salad dressing as part of healthy eating;
• enjoy the natural flavours of foods, adding high-salt seasonings and condiments only after tasting and in moderation.

Children can be encouraged to drink water to quench their thirst. Water and other water-containing foods help replenish body fluids needed especially during periods of activity or hot weather.

Snacking and dental health

Preschoolers tend to eat a large part of their day's food from snacks so it is importantart take steps to ensure that this pattern of eating does not increase the chance of tooth decay. Dental health can be promoted in preschoolers by:

• offering nutritious snacks chosen from the four food groups;
• varying the snack menu instead of serving the same snacks over and over. This helps to limit foods that are more apt to cause cavities;
• reserving sticky foods (such as dried fruit, fruit leathers and sweet sticky baked goods) for mealtimes or when the children can brush their teeth afterwards;
• avoiding day-long nibbling because it provides a steady food supply to acid-producing bacteria. The acid then attacks teeth, causing decay.

How to prevent choking

Choking is a concern in feeding young children. Parents and caregivers can help prevent choking by knowing the child's chewing and swallowing abilities, by avoiding hazardous foods, and by supervising the child while eating. The greatest risk is for children under three years.

Foods which are most likely to cause choking are those which are cylindrical in shape such as weiners, whole grapes, hard pieces of food such as candy, popcorn, nuts or vegetable pieces, and very sticky foods such as peanut butter not spread on bread. Weiners and vegetables such as carrots are safer if cut in narrow length-wise pieces. Children should be sitting upright while eating - not lying down, running or laughing.

Vitality

The VITALITY message of the Food Guide is "Enjoy eating well, being active and feeling good about yourself. That's Vitality". For children it implies that:

Children enjoy eating.

Enjoying food is one of childhood's many pleasures. Early associations with food are remembered in later years, for example, the enjoyment of corn on the cob at a summertime picnic or sharing birthday cake with neighborhood friends. Making "food times" - meals and snacks - special opportunities for family and friends to share food and spend time together can help sustain children's enjoyment of eating.

Adults can learn a lot about eating enjoyment from young children by watching them discover and savour their world of new foods. Children don't label foods as good or bad - a practice which can take away from the enjoyment of eating for many adults. Recognizing that healthy eating is the overall pattern of foods eaten over time - not one particular food, meal, or even a day's intake - can promote eating enjoyment throughoutout one's life.

Eating occasions can become filled with tension, not enjoyment, when children are pressured to eat or when food is used to control or manage their behaviour. By promoting positive attitudes, rather than fostering negative associations with food and eating, parents and caregivers can enhance the child's enjoyment of food and promote a lifetime of healthy eating.

Children enjoy being active.

Preschoolers enjoy and need physical activity every day. They rely on parents and caregivers to provide opportunities for physical activities which are fun and easy to participate in, such as bicycling, walking, or wheeling, dancing, games of ball or tag in the summer and sledding or building a snowman in the winter. Sedentary activities - such as watching television - should be moderated. Playing actively with their friends and family should be encouraged.

Children enjoy feeling good about themselves.

Like adults, children come in different shapes and sizes. Positive attitudes about body image and one's self are important. Adults can help build self-esteem by providing affection and attention. Children look to adults as models. If parents and caregivers feel good about themselves, children are more likely to as well.

Healthy eating, active play and positive feelings about their bodies and themselves, promote well-being in preschoolers and put them well on their way to establishing lifelong health. This is the essence of the VITALITY message in Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating.

Children grow according to their own patterns.

Although children move through spurts of growth then plateaus, they follow their own patterns of growth. Measuring height and weight over time will determine the individual's pattern. Single measurements at a particular age are not as meaningful. Deviations from the child's own pattern of growth is reason to look for underlying causes of such shifts.

Enjoying healthy eating, physical activity and feeling good about oneself have advantages for everyone, regardless of body size. Parents, caregivers and professionals need to help children of all sizes accept that body size and shape are determined to a large extent by genetics and are but two of the features that make individuals unique. However, learning to accept one's inherited physique does not supplant the need to adopt healthy patterns of eating and activity. All children, no matter what their size or shape, can benefit from a family and child care environment where everyone:

• accepts that there is a range of body sizes, and avoids comparing or drawing attention to body size;
• helps children develop a good sense of self by accepting their bodies without overly focusing on their appearance and by feeling good about the various skills and talents they are developing;
• encourages children to have fun every day by participating in physical activities they enjoy;
• promotes a healthy pattern of eating rather than using controlling measures such as restricting the food intake of heavier children or pressuring smaller children to eat more.

Other Food Guide materials

Canada's Food Guide To Healthy Eating...a tearsheet for consumers that provides a pattern for establishing healthy eating habits through the daily selection of foods.

Using the Food Guide...a booklet for consumers that explains the basic concepts of the tearsheet more fully. Includes a pull-out section of Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating tearsheet.

Food Guide Facts - Background for Educators and Communicators...a series of fact sheets that provides background information for nutrition professionals, health educators, home economists and others involved in promoting healthy eating.

These materials are available from provincial or local health departments, from Publications, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9, or order online.

Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating Poster...a color poster (60 cm high by 90 cm wide) available from:
Canada Communication Group Publishing,
Ottawa, Canada K1A 0S9
Tel: (819) 956-4800
Fax: (819) 994-1498
Cost $4.95 plus shipping, handling and GST. Discount available on bulk orders. (Each poster is reversible, English on one side, French on the other.)

For More Information

To find out more about healthy eating and available resources, you can contact nutritionists and dietitians through local or community health centres, public health units or provincial departments of Health.

Acknowledgements

The following people are acknowledged for their contribution to the development of Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating - Focus on Preschoolers:

Members of the Advisory Group: Halina Cyr. (Project leader), Mary Bush, Dr. Danielle Brulé, Lydia Dumais, Garima Dwivedi, Marie Labrèche, and Hélène Vigeant from Health Canada; Dr. Marian Campbell, University of Manitoba; Susan Fyshe, Canadian Dietetic Association "Nourishing Our Children's Future" Campaign; Louise Lambert-Lagacé, Consulting Dietitian and Author; Elizabeth Shears, Nova Scotia Department of Health; and Dr. Joie Zeglinski, South-East Ottawa Health Centre. Doris Gillis, consultant to the Project.

The many reviewers are also acknowledged, in particular the Canadian Dietetic Association, l'Ordre professionnel des diététistes du Québec, the Nutrition Committee of the Canadian Paediatric Society, the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Group on Nutrition and the Canadian Child Care Federation.