Food, Nutrition and Oral Health in early childhood services
Supporting children to consume a wide variety of nutritious food and drink is important for physical health, mental wellbeing, learning and oral health.
This health and wellbeing priority promotes food literacy and exploration, positive relationships with food, and nutritious eating for the whole service community.
This priority helps to bring together existing food, nutrition and oral health actions. It complements programs including the Healthy Eating Advisory Service and Smiles 4 Miles.
Food, Nutrition and Oral Health Action Table
This action table gives an example of how the Healthy Places Framework can be applied to Food, Nutrition and Oral Health in services.
Action area | Leadership and Commitment | Teaching & Learning | Physical Environment | Culture | Staff Wellbeing | Families & Community Engagement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Goal | There is strong leadership support and a shared commitment to a whole-service approach to food, nutrition and oral health. | Children explore food, nutrition and oral health key concepts through a variety of developmentally appropriate learning experiences. | Service facilities, eating/drinking environments and food provision (if applicable) supports nutrition and oral health. | The service fosters attitudes, behaviours and values that support nutrition and oral health. | Staff have access to resources and support for their own nutrition and oral health. | The service engages, partners and collaborates with families and community organisations to support nutrition and oral health. |
Example Actions | Demonstrate leadership’s commitment to a whole-service approach to food, nutrition and oral health. Consider environmental sustainability practices in the service’s approach to food and nutrition. | Use experiential learning strategies to develop children’s knowledge and positive attitudes and behaviours towards food, nutrition and oral health. Incorporate opportunities for children to initiate and contribute ideas for food-related play experiences and spaces. | Ensure drinking water (tap water where possible) is always available and actively promoted. Create positive, relaxed and social snack and mealtime environments. | Respect and celebrate cultural and religious diversity when implementing food, nutrition and oral health activities. Role model positive behaviour and non judgmental language related to food and nutrition and bodies. | Encourage staff to take meal breaks and provide time and facilities to prepare and store food. Share evidence based, culturally appropriate and accessible information to support staff. | Provide opportunities for families to be involved in the planning and delivery of food, nutrition and oral health activities. Engage with relevant Community organisations and health services to support food, nutrition and oral health practices. |
Join today to see the full list of suggested actions, examples in practice and links to supporting programs and resources as outlined in the Food, Nutrition and Oral Health Whole-Service Action Guide.
The Health and Wellbeing Priorities
The Healthy Places Framework helps early childhood services support all health and wellbeing priorities through a set of action guides. Six health and wellbeing priorities areas each have their own guide, and a flexible action guide is also available for any health area while still following the Framework.
