Nutrition and Child Development

What's In This Kit?
This training kit is designed to introduce teachers to the connection between nutrition and healthy child growth and development. It contains:

• Expected training outcomes
• Preparation instructions
• Training strategies and tips
• Implementation steps
• Follow-up activities for teachers
• Follow-up activities for administrators/directors
• A learning assessment
• A training evaluation/further needs assessment
• A resource list
• The article “Nutrition and Child Development: Global Perspectives” by Jacqueline Hayden
• A training certificate to award to teachers for attendance and participation
• A certificate for the trainer and other presenters

Who's the Target Audience?
The target audience for this kit is beginning, intermediate, and advanced teachers working with children from birth to 8. Teachers will explore ways to address good nutrition with children in the classroom through curriculum activities as well as ways to educate families about the importance of good nutrition during the early childhood years.

Teacher Skill Level

beginning intermediate advanced

Children's Age Level

infants toddlers preschoolers school-agers birth to 8

Kit Timeline:
Preparation time for this kit is estimated at 1.0-1.5 hours. Implementation time is estimated at 1.5 hours.

Training Outcomes:

1. Teachers will connect child growth and child development as key components for healthy development.
2. Teachers will explain the consequences of malnutrition.
3. Teacher will develop a plan to improve the facilitation of good nutrition and habits in their programs.
4. Teachers will identify the components of good nutrition.
5. Teachers will investigate their role in helping children acquire and use nutritional eating patterns.
6. Teachers will design and implement a nutrition education program to impact children’s nutritional health.

These training outcomes address the following:

• I-1 through I-3 of the Accreditation Criteria and Procedures of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC, 1998).
• Standard 1 of NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation, Initial Licensure Level (NAEYC, 2003).
• 1304.20, 1304.22, and 1304.23 of Head Start Performance Standards (Federal Register, Nov. 5, 1996, Volume 61, Number 215).




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