Supporting healthy eating among preschoolers: challenges for child care staff

Abstract

Purpose: The child care setting can help preschoolers develop healthy eating habits. Establishing such habits may increase preschoolers' likelihood of carrying them into adulthood, which can decrease the risk of nutrition-related chronic diseases. Challenges in supporting preschoolers' healthy eating were investigated among child care staff.

Methods: Three focus group interviews were conducted with 29 child care staff members. Audiotapes of the sessions were transcribed.

Results: Several themes were identified from the analysis of the transcripts. An intrapersonal (individual) factor was children's picky eating. Interpersonal factors (interactions) included perceptions that parents do not encourage their children to eat in a healthy way, and that child care staff's use of practices were inconsistent with health professional recommendations. Physical environment factors included perceptions that healthy food was not accessible at child care centres and that children have unhealthy food at home.

Conclusions: Program planners and health professionals can develop and implement strategies to overcome some of the identified challenges to supporting preschoolers' healthy eating.