Watoto World: The Mealtime Experiences
STATEMENT:
Undernutrition affects a child most harshly during the early years. The brain grows most rapidly from the fourth month of pregnancy until six
months of age. Seventy per cent (70%) of the adult brain weight has been formed before age three.
All mealtime should be a positive learning time.
Mealtime should be a happy and pleasant experience.
Children should be encouraged to eat but never forced to eat.
Food should never be used as rewards or punishments.
Children should be taught to wash their hands before and after each meal. For infants, the parents should develop a pattern [habit] of washing the child's hands before and after each meal.
Involve the child(ren) in meal planning, preparation and the serving
of the food.
Food selection should be of a healthy quality and represent the cultural backgrounds of the child(ren).
Children learn the appropriate mealtime manners from the modelling of eating practices and behaviors exhibited by the parents.
Light congenial conversation should be a daily mealtime experience.
The mealtime experience should never be used as a time to correct or modify non-mealtime controversial behavior [i.e. - note from the teacher, not putting out the garbage, not cleaning one's room, etc.].
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