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I want to share a letter with you that I sent out to the parent’s of my students last year:
Dear Parents,
We have observed a direct correlation between your child’s capacity to learn, his mood (aggressiveness, easily distractible, cries often, etc.) and what he has or (doesn’t have) for breakfast. We never give the children any food items for snack that have a high sugar content because we know this might interfere with their concentration. As educators, we want to insure that the toddler has every opportunity to gain positively from the enriched learning environment.
The focus of toddler education is the development of concentration through education of movement. I’m sure you can understand our nutritional concerns. I know it is difficult to persuade the children to eat a healthy breakfast, but we know that with a little trial and error and especially if you have breakfast with your toddler, it’ll work!
Many children come to school with their breakfasts in hand and rarely finish them because they would rather play. Please make sure your child has wholesome food for fuel and energy before he comes to school.
Breakfast Ideas
- Whole grain tortillas with melted cheese, peanut or almond butter, milk, fruit
Egg omelet with ham, cheese or mushrooms, milk or grain toast, fruit
- Whole grain bagel with cream cheese, vanilla soy milk or water, under-ripe banana (lower on the glycemic index chart)
- Whole grain low sugar cereal or oatmeal, raisins, milk or soy milk, bacon, orange juice
- Sandwich with meat or cheese on whole grain bread (plenty of mayo), fruit, milk or soy milk.
Please check all labels for sugar content, they can be misleading.
Lunch Ideas
- Sandwich on whole grain bread, cut-up fruit, carrots, milk or vegetable juice
- Warm or cold pasta, spaghetti, macaroni and cheese or beans in a small thermos, salad with dressing, vegetable, cut-up fruit, mild or soy milk
- Brown rice, a protein source and vegetables fried in olive oil, fruit, bottled water
- A protein source, mashed potatoes or corn, butter, cherry tomatoes, fruit
- Mountain Yogurt (low sugar) or plain yogurt sweetened with fruit or a touch of maple syrup, whole grain bread with butter, whole grain crackers, cream cheese
Snack Ideas
- Celery stuffed with cream cheese, peanut butter or a wholesome soft cheese spread
- Whole wheat pretzels
- An under-ripe banana spread with peanut or almond butter
- Whole grain corn tortilla chips, mild salsa, fruit
- Cut-up vegetables (can be cooked), unsweetened blue cheese dressing
- Rice cakes, plain or with cream cheese or sugar-free peanut butter
The letter was received quite well and the breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner ideas came pouring in. Many were designed for the family on the “go.” I loved the microwave sweet potato chips!
I know it’s not a perfect world and we can’t eat nutritionally balanced meals all of the time, but we can become conscious eaters.
My best to you and your children!
You might refer to the following resources to get information on children’s nutritional needs.
How To Get Your Kid To Eat But Not Too Much, Ellen Satter RD, ACSW
Food Before Six, A Feeding Guide for the First Two Years, and The Snacking Generation, National Dairy Council, Rosemont, Il 60018-4233
Fuel Foods by Nancy Clark, M.S., R.D. (American Fitness Magazine, January 1997)
Dietician
The Sneaky Kitchen
Keep Kids Healthy
KinderStart
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