Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/everybody-loves-the-cook!/5016946/
“Amanda is a very picky eater. She will never get enough to eat unless I bring her lunch.”“Brandon is overweight and I want you to make sure he doesn’t eat too much food.”
“My daughter, Sarah, will never eat that kind of food. I have to fight with her to eat at all.”
Directors hear statements like these all the time from enrolled families, prospective parents, and teachers in their program. Conversations and concerns regarding children and food are popular among parents and teachers. At a fundamental level, caring for young children means feeding them and meeting their nutritional needs. From a parent’s first visit to a prospective center �" including a tour of the kitchen �" to monthly menus posted and distributed to parents, and daily conversations about “what she ate,” the focus on children’s eating habits and attitudes is primary.
For children the connection between food and the person preparing the food is clear. We nurture children in many ways; one of the first and most enduring connections for children, then, is between the person who feeds them and their feeling of being cared for. The person responsible for the food program in many early childhood programs is the cook. No ...