As an early years educator, you might not be involved in planning menus, cooking or even preparing food for the children in your setting, but your role in supporting and promoting positive eating behaviours is just as important, if not more so.

While nutritional quality and variety are incredibly important in the early years, we must not overlook the importance of how, as well as what, a child is fed. There’s a wealth of evidence demonstrating that the early years are a crucial window for developing eating habits and food preferences which set the foundations for future health.

Early years educators are uniquely placed to have a positive influence on how children perceive food, how they enjoy mealtimes and how they interact with food. Food is likely to be offered several times a day in childcare settings and, for some children, might be the only place they are exposed to certain foods and the only opportunity they have to eat with peers.

We must take this responsibility seriously. Meal and snack times are not just an opportunity to fill children’s tummies. They are an opportunity to instil a joyful and positive approach to eating. It’s important to seize this opportunity and help nurture a healthy relationship with food that will last a lifetime. The following important strategies can help promote healthy eating habits in your setting:

Consider your mealtime environment

Learning to eat is one of the most complex sensory tasks we do. It takes years to master and, just like any other developing skill, children need the right environment and tools to succeed. Everything from seating position to using appropriate utensils and a calm environment can influence a child’s ability to engage with food.

Mealtimes should be an opportunity for children to learn from one another and from the adults around them. Reducing distractions such as toys, activities and noise at mealtimes can help create a suitable learning environment, allow children to focus on the food and benefit from useful food exposures.

Creating a warm, inviting mealtime atmosphere can further enhance engagement. Simple touches like tablecloths, placemats, offering family-style serving (where children are encouraged to serve themselves from dishes placed in the centre of the table) or even using paper flowers can all help to transform mealtimes into a social event where children feel connected and empowered to learn about food. Older children can be invited to prepare the table which not only encourages independence but also increases interest and participation in the meal itself.

A stable and supportive seating position is essential for both comfort and concentration. When children feel secure in their seats, they are less likely to fidget or become fatigued, allowing them to approach meals with curiosity and confidence. Ensuring the child’s feet are supported (not dangling from a highchair), chairs are at the correct height and seating is appropriately adjusted can make a significant difference in a child’s mealtime experience.

The right tools can also empower children to feed themselves successfully. If utensils or serving tools are too difficult to use, children may become frustrated, discouraged or reluctant to participate in meals. Providing developmentally appropriate cutlery and ensuring children have the skills to use them can foster independence and build confidence at mealtimes.

Exposure and variety

Exposure and variety are important when it comes to food. Children naturally prefer what they know – familiarity provides comfort and security. However, to build healthy eating habits, it’s important to introduce a wide variety of foods, textures and flavours from an early age. This helps set the expectation that meals and snacks will always bring something different, encouraging flexibility and openness to new foods.

It’s easy to fall into the habit of serving children their favourites – these meals require less planning, often lead to less waste, and make it easier to report back to parents that their child “ate well today.” While this may feel reassuring in the short term, it doesn’t necessarily support balanced nutrition or a positive long-term relationship with food. Instead, normalising variety and regularly offering new and seasonal foods helps children develop a broader palate and encourages better nutritional intake.

Children may not accept a new food the first or even the tenth time they see it. Research suggests that it can take between 15 and 18 exposures before a child is willing to eat a new or previously rejected food. Instead of assuming that a child’s initial refusal means they’ll never like a food, it’s important to keep offering it in a neutral, pressure-free way. Over time, familiarity increases, and acceptance is more likely to follow.

Exposure doesn’t have to be limited to mealtimes. Engaging with food in different ways allows children to explore new foods without pressure and can lead to gradual food acceptance. Activities like cooking, planting and growing seeds, role-playing with food, messy play, arts and crafts, or even looking at pictures of foods can all build familiarity and curiosity. The goal is to make food a positive and engaging experience, because when children feel comfortable around a food, they’re more likely to try it when they are ready.

You provide, the child decides

As early years educators, it’s natural to want children to eat well. Many of us use familiar tactics to encourage eating such as “open wide – here comes the aeroplane” or “try your broccoli, then you can have pudding”. While these approaches come from a place of care, they can put pressure on children to eat and interfere with their innate ability to regulate their own appetite.

The culture of adults determining how much a child should eat creates controlling feeding practices. It encourages children to eat according to what their caregiver tells them rather than listening to their body’s cues. Research shows that this can contribute to increased fussiness, mealtime reluctance, unhealthy relationships with food, and in some cases excess weight gain.

Instead, recognising and respecting a child’s natural hunger and fullness cues helps them develop a healthy relationship with food. A useful framework to support this is Ellyn Satter’s Division of Responsibility, which follows the simple principle:

• Adults decide what, when and where food is provided.
• Children decide if and how much they eat.

This ‘you provide, the child decides’ approach discourages pressure, restriction, and using food as a reward or punishment. Instead, it promotes a positive, structured and responsive feeding environment where children can listen to their bodies and eat according to internal signals. When practitioners adopt this method, they not only support children’s self-regulation but also lay the foundations for lifelong healthy eating habits and a positive relationship with food.

Role modelling

Children learn about food by watching those around them. Parents, siblings, caregivers and friends all play a powerful role in shaping eating habits. Young children naturally imitate the behaviours they observe, meaning that simply eating a variety of foods in their presence can encourage them to do the same over time. Every bite, every smile (or frown) and every subtle interaction with food in front of children sends a message.

Research shows that children whose parents eat plenty of fruits and vegetables tend to eat more of these foods themselves. On the other hand, when adults frequently eat unhealthy snacks, children are likely to mirror those habits too. The same applies to early years settings – practitioners who demonstrate enthusiasm for balanced, varied meals can positively influence children’s food choices.

How to be a positive role model at mealtimes

• Forget personal dislikes – Avoid negative facial expressions, body language, or comments like “I don’t like this” or “Ooh that fish is really smelly”. Children pick up on even the subtlest cues.
• Keep the conversation positive – Mealtime talk doesn’t always have to be about food. Discussing other topics helps create a relaxed atmosphere and, for anxious eaters, reduces the pressure to engage with new foods.
• Focus on connection – Mealtimes should be enjoyable and social. Showing interest in children’s experiences, engaging in conversation, and making the table a welcoming place can help build positive associations with food.

Mealtimes in early years settings are about so much more than just food – they are a vital part of a child’s learning, development and overall wellbeing. Just as early years educators carefully plan activities to support speech, motor skills and social development, we must give mealtimes the same level of importance. By embracing mealtimes as a key learning opportunity, we have the power to nurture confident, curious eaters and set children on a path toward lifelong healthy relationships with food.

 

Book your free ticket for Nursery Management Show on 27 June to hear more from Catherine in the session Food – The Next Big Thing in Early Years.