Practicing What We Preach: Staff-Focused Nutrition
Training in Head Start
by Christine Berman, R.D., MP.H., and Malia Ramler, M.S.W., M.P.H., National Head Start Health Training Project, James Bowman Associates, San Francisco, California
The National Head Start Health Training Project has been listening to staff in all 10 Regions, including Migrant and American Indian programs, about health concerns and issues that face children, families, and staff, in an effort to identify critical health training needs facing Head Start.
The findings indicate that poor food choices, obesity, and anemia are the top three nutrition concerns for Head Start children. Not surprisingly, poor food choices and obesity are health issues that are shared by large numbers of significant adults in the children's lives - such as parents and Head Start staff. Consequently, this article on implementing nutrition education and training in Head Start focuses on helping adults who work with children to "practice what they preach" in order to be effective teachers and models of healthy choices.
Michael sits with his mother, Sandra,for meal times. He is over weight and clearly loves to eat. Sandra becomes extremely uncomfortable when he asks for second helpings of "starchy foods," because she has battled her weight for as long as she can remember, and she doesn't want Michael to have to go through the same torture. When he asks for more macaroni and cheese, she tells him he can't have any more and to take some celery or carrot sticks instead. Michael cries until she gives him the macaroni, of which he devours a huge portion, and Sandra feels like a failure.
A successful, well-integrated nutrition program involves staff from all areas of the program, is participatory, allows time for practicing skills, and relates to the participant's own experiences. Staff should create an environment in which good nutrition is seen as important and enthusiasm for learning about food is contagious. The children and their parents cannot fail to respond.
To begin this process, observe and listen to staff. In developing training plans, the core should contain those topics that need to be addressed, but also consider topics of interest to the group. To see where the needs are, observe how many staff members are overweight and following the latest crash diets. Does staff know which foods are high in fat? What kinds of lunches do they bring to work? What are their activity patterns? How do they handle feeding problems in the class rooms? How do they feel about trying new foods? Depending on the background of staff, suitable training topics could be basic dietary guidelines, emotional issues related to eating, safe food handling, and/or low-fat cooking techniques. Super market tours, menu "make over's," cooking projects, and label reading sessions would offer participants practice in skills that may be crucial to nutritional improvement. For an awareness of financial barriers to healthful diets, a "homework" assignment, such as following a food budget for one week that does not exceed the maximum food stamp allotment in your area, could be offered.
Adults exert a profound influence on children's eating. Helping children learn healthy eating habits can be a daunting task for both parents and educators. Children and parents look to staff members as sources of reliable nutrition information and as role models of positive eating behaviors.
The foundation of a nutrition program's success is a well-trained staff committed to practicing the principles of good nutrition in their own lives. This does not mean that every one must have a perfect figure, a low cholesterol count, and the willpower to refuse any and all chocolate chip cookies. It does mean that staff should recognize the importance of nutrition to health, try new ways of eating, and examine and discard unproductive eating attitudes and habits. Their own eating patterns, their own attitudes about food, or gaps in their knowledge about food and nutrition, may prevent them from communicating what young children should know about food: that eating healthy is enjoyable, that it is a great adventure to try new foods, and that there are benefits from eating a healthful diet.
Also, keep nutrition on the front burner. Make sure healthy foods are available at meetings and retreats. Challenge staff to try new foods. Encourage staff to share their experiences in implementing dietary changes within their own families. Nutrition is basic to life. ..find opportunities to incorporate it into every aspect of your program!
It's macaroni and cheese time again. Once more, Michael asks for seconds. Sandra has been reviewing her dieting history and is considering using a new approach with her overweight child. She knows how deprived she feels when she can't eat her favorite foods and how not having them makes her want them more. She imagines how a young child who doesn't understand why he can't eat what he wants must feel. So she passes the macaroni and cheese to Michael, who takes two bites, announces he's full, and leaves the table happy.
Back to Top | Back to Table of Contents | Next Page