While teachers can’t tell parents what to do in regards to healthy eating choices, there are things they can do to prevent childhood obesity from escalating further. Journalist Fiona Stutz looks at research from a Queensland university which shows teachers should convey a positive message about healthy lifestyle to children.
It is during the early years that teachers, as well as families, can influence children’s choices regarding movement and diet.
A recent Queensland University of Technology (QUT) survey of more than 1700 early childhood education professionals showed that while teachers were highly confident in their knowledge of nutrition, their actual knowledge in this area was low.
Participants were asked questions about the current Get Up & Grow healthy eating and physical activity guidelines, their confidence and attitudes towards the guidelines and how they would implement them into their teaching.
Of the 11 questions in the survey, only 2% of participants answered all questions correctly.
Only one in two participants could identify red meat as a source of iron, one third overstated children’s daily dairy needs and 55% overestimated daily fruit requirements.
Research Fellow from the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at QUT, Phoebe Cleland, said while they did not expect the participants to be nutritionists or dieticians, there was an expectation they should know where to go for the right information.
“Our survey found many early childhood education staff need support to build their nutrition knowledge, but they’re not aware of this, with many teachers and educators saying they feel confident in this area.
To counter this, Ms Cleland suggests that further professional development on the guidelines is needed to make sure teachers have a better understanding of nutrition and where to source further information.
Professional development opportunities
To help with this, a professional development program for early childhood teachers funded by the Queensland Government has been developed.
LEAPS (Learning, Eating, Active Play, Sleep) is specifically designed to help early childhood teachers gain the knowledge, practical skills and confidence to implement the Get Up & Grow healthy eating and physical activity guidelines in their centre.
QUT, in partnership with Nutrition Australia Queensland and the Australian Council of Health and Physical Education and Recreation, helped deliver the program.
Participants who successfully complete the course should be able to not only integrate the guidelines into their teaching, but to effectively convey the guidelines’ messages to the families in order to implement these in their daily lives.
The LEAPS online course explores how the guidelines can fit in with the National Quality Framework and Early Years Learning Framework, healthy eating for 0-5 year olds, positive meal times, food safety, physical activity and how to communicate with families.
The workshops can also be delivered to all employees within a centre.
While the LEAPS program was originally funded for three years by the State Government, Nutrition Australia Queensland will now continue to make LEAPS available both in person and online.
Ms Cleland said it was encouraging that all survey participants had now undertaken LEAPS.
Once participants finish the program a post survey is completed to find out if their knowledge has improved and if their confidence has changed.
Participants’ confidence tended to remain unchanged “because they were already putting themselves as quite confident so they stayed reasonably confident”, while there was a significant increase in their knowledge, she said.
“The post survey has found significant increase in knowledge across several areas which is pleasing.
“Any questions where knowledge wasn’t quite as large of an increase, we decided to develop tools for teachers such as new fact sheets, and disseminated more information and articles to try and get that information out there to them as well.”
A final LEAPS evaluation report on the post survey results is being analysed and will be released later this year.
Resources for teachers in NSW and Queensland
In addition to LEAPS, early childhood providers and teachers can access other programs to help support healthy eating habits and exercise for children in their care.
In NSW, Munch & Move offers training and resources to assist early childhood teachers implement a fun, play based approach to support healthy eating and physical habits in young children. The program fits within the National Quality Framework and Early Years Learning Framework and offers free training via a webinar series run by experienced trainers from the Early Childhood Training and Resource Centre (ECTARC).
Queensland teachers also have access to the ‘Get Active Queensland Children and Young People’ strategy, accessing practical and easy to use resources, training and skill development and ongoing support to help get more children physically active.
Let’s Get Moving by the Queensland Government is another resource designed to help children learn basic movement skills and how to get active while their teachers learn about the importance of movement in early childhood.
Available in Queensland early learning settings, it explains that the need for movement is as important as a child’s need for food, drink, rest and sleep.
Resources for Queensland
LEAPS
http://training.naqnutrition.org/courses/#/filter/early-years
Get Active Queensland Children and Young People strategy http://www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/get-active/kids/strategy.html
Let’s Get Moving
http://www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/community-programs/school-community/childhood-programs/preschooler.html
Resource for NSW
Munch & Move
https://www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au/campaigns-programs/about-munch-move.aspx
