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A Focus on Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health
February 2024
Snacks and Mealtimes
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This newsletter focuses on sharing information on infant/early childhood mental health and
the importance of relationship-based approaches and supports that help infants and young children feel safe, supported, and valued by the adults around them. The newsletter, and the Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) program, is made possible by a partnership between the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and the Pennsylvania Key.
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This February issue of the IECMH Newsletter will share information on meal and snack times. Whether your program provides all food, children bring food from home, or a combination of these, mealtimes provide opportunities for social interaction, trying new things, and practicing skills. In addition, “mealtime traditions are an important part of many cultures around the world; they provide us with opportunities to connect with one another through food while learning about each other's customs and values” (nommli.com). Read on for tips and ideas for how to make the most out of meal and snack times at school and at home.
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Positive Eating Environments | |
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As a care provider, you play an important role in providing a positive eating environment that allows children to develop and maintain healthy relationships with food. Explore these resources to learn how to shape children’s learning, development, health and wellbeing in a social, responsive, pleasurable, safe environment.
Make Mealtimes in Child Care Pleasant, Easy and Appealing. Creating enjoyable mealtimes and snacks in a child care program will help young children learn health eating habits and develop positive attitudes toward food. Consider the following tips to make the meal experience positive for children in your child care program.
Family Style Meals. In early childhood programs, family style dining is when children and teachers sit together for a meal or snack. Family style dining encourages learning and development not only at the table but away from mealtime as well. Children learn independence, social skills, and other important habits that will last them through adulthood.
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Mealtime as a Learning Opportunity | |
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As a teacher, it’s important to engage with the children throughout the day and extend their learning beyond your lesson plan. Snack and lunch time is a great time to do just that! From teaching children about manners to practicing fine and gross motor skills, there are many learning opportunities for you and your class.
Meal and Snack Times: Why Meal and Snack Times Are Great for Promoting Social Skills. Meal and snack times are part of every early childhood program's schedule. Because meal and snack times have a predictable structure, they are ideal times for teaching and practicing social skills. Children are seated in groups which allows them to communicate with multiple other children about themselves and their interests. Meals are a social activity for adults, so why not make them a social time for children, too!
How Snack and Meal Times Can Help Preschoolers Learn Social Skills, Vocabulary, Math, Science and Cultural Awareness. Snack and meal times are important opportunities for preschool age children to learn and develop in a variety of areas, including social skills, vocabulary, math concepts, science concepts, and cultural awareness. By taking advantage of these times, caregivers can help set the foundation for a lifetime of learning and growth.
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Snack and Mealtime Transition and Activity Ideas | |
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From the washing of hands to playful transitions then engaging in lively conversations or listening to a good book, there are many factors working together to make mealtimes successful. Check out these practical and fun resources to support snack and lunch time routines.
Transitioning to Snacks & Lunch 4:54. If you teach in an all-day program, you most likely have three transitions involving food: a morning snack, lunch, and an afternoon snack. If the children arrive early enough, you may serve them breakfast, making a grand total of four transitions involving food. That means you’ll need a lot of food-related activities to keep these transitions calm and meaningful!
Lunch Song 1:26. Move, dance, and sing about transitioning to your delicious lunch.
Food Talk! Conversation Cards for Mealtimes. Meal and snack times provide great opportunities to learn about nutrition, social skills and other important habits. They are also a perfect time to develop and practice conversation skills. These questions can create and support conversation between children during the typical classroom mealtimes while helping children understand and appreciate healthy food and where it comes from.
20 Pre-K Conversation Starters. Conversation Starters encourage children to talk about themselves. Talking to children is important, especially when you are trying to get to know them. Young children develop speech and language skills, as well as listening skills when engaged in a conversation. As a child care provider and educator, use these conversations starters during circle time, meal and snack times, or whenever you feel like getting to know the children in your care.
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Serving nutritious snacks at before and after school programs is beneficial for all of the children in your care. Adequate nutrition is key to students’ ability to concentrate and retain information, as well as their physical development. By providing snacks at SACC programs, children not only have access to enriching learning activities, but also the nutrition necessary to retain the benefits of the out- of- school time.
Why Snack time During After-School Programs Is Important. Snack time is essential in after-school programs, serving as more than just a period for children to satiate their hunger. It offers a valuable opportunity to replenish energy levels, fostering concentration and productivity for the remaining activities of the day. Furthermore, it is an essential platform for teaching healthy eating habits and promoting student social interaction. Students need breaks during long working periods, mainly if they aren’t used to school yet. Therefore, integrating snack time in after-school programs is no less than a fundamental necessity.
Healthy Eating – Healthy Out -of-School Time Coalition. We encourage out -of-school time leaders and program staff to explore the evidence-based healthy eating research and resources.
After School Conversation Cards. No matter what after school time looks like, we can all find time for a little snack and some conversation with children. Check out these free, printable conversation cards to encourage kids to share the details of their day and imagine all the wonderful things you will learn about those in your care.
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A family meal is when the people you live with come together to eat and talk. Family meals are a simple way to build healthy relationships and promote health. Family meals don’t have to be fancy, and they can be eaten at home or away. Read more here to learn about the benefits of coming together as a family to share meals.
Who would you most like to have dinner with? 1:42. Imagine that you could have dinner with any one person in the world, who would you choose? When asked this of parents and then their children, their answers just might surprise you.
Be a healthy role model for children: 10 tips for setting good examples. You are the most important influence on your child. You can do many things to help your children develop healthy eating habits for life. Offering a variety of foods helps children get the nutrients they need from every food group. They will also be more likely to try new foods and to like more foods. When children develop a taste for many types of foods, it’s easier to plan family meals. Cook together, eat together, talk together, and make mealtime a family time.
Five creative ways to learn at mealtime. During the earliest years of life, the brain develops at a speed never repeated again. Because this period is so critical for building a child's foundation for long-term health, development and learning, it's important to take time for brain-building activities with your little one — and have fun doing it! Here are five ways to stimulate brain growth during mealtime.
Why the Family Meal Is So Essential – And How to Make It Work. Food may serve as the initial point of connection, but the stories shared over the table—and the time spent in each other’s company—are what make a meal memorable.
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IECMH Consultation helps adults strengthen their relationships with young children and build capacity to respond to children’s social-emotional needs. IECMHC can help reduce caregiver stress, as well as increase caregivers’ reflective practice skills.
IECMH Consultants are available by appointment to provide IECMHC Virtual Office Hours consultation via telephone or video conference. IECMHC Virtual Office Hours is a short-term, collaborative, problem-solving conversation to help you find next steps for: Child Social-Emotional Concerns | Child Behavioral or Developmental Concerns Emotional Well-being of Teachers and Caregivers | Partnering with Families.
Appointments are held on the first and third Fridays of the month, or other days/times by request. Get more info.
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Accessing IECMHC Services | |
Accessing SACCMHC Services | |
With the generous support of the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) the Pennsylvania Key IECMH Consultation team has expanded to include four mental Health consultants to support School Age Child Care (SACC) programs participating in Keystone STARS. This service will be primarily tele-consultation support. Click here to request support. | |
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Share your feedback! We'd like to hear what you think about infant early childhood mental health.
Are there resources you'd like to see? Questions you have? Tell us! Send your feedback to PAIECMH@pakeys.org.
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