Kai Time
Healthy eating in the early years lays the groundwork for children’s long-term health, growth and learning. By nurturing positive food habits and supporting overall wellbeing from the start, we help tamariki thrive now and into the future. Early learning services play a key role in creating healthy food cultures that support tamariki wellbeing and positively influence whānau and the wider community.
Te Whāriki
Holistic development – Kotahitanga: Healthy food and drink choices support holistic learning through opportunities like exploring familiar and unfamiliar foods and establishing routines around mealtimes.
Relationships – Ngā hononga: Learning about healthy food and drink through responsive and reciprocal relationships with people, places, and things in the early learning service through growing, harvesting, sharing and cooking produce.
Handy Actions are ideas, activities and initiatives that your Early Learning Service could implement relating to the topic of Kai Time. You could use the list as inspiration or as a checklist to assess what your ELS is currently doing towards 'Kai Time' and decide what other ideas could be implemented. Choose actions that suit your service, your community, and where you are at. You don’t need to do everything; these are ideas.
He Pou Oranga Tangata Whenua
Here are some examples of how the pathways of wellbeing can be interwoven into this Block:
Encouraging self-help skills and taking ownership of their wellbeing enhances the mana and rangatiratanga (self-determination) of tamariki as well as developing and growing their skills (pūkengatanga).
Serving healthy kai every day and for special hākari (celebrations) and fundraisers is a great way of showing manaakitanga (giving and receiving hospitality) by valuing wellbeing.
Providing opportunities to grow kai develops a stronger connection to Papatūānuku which can enhance wairuatanga (spiritual existence), ukaipōtanga (connection to locality) and kaitiakitanga (guardianship).
Supporting information and evidence
Traditionally, food came from te taiao and was shared as an expression of care, hospitality and connection. Kaitiakitanga guided sustainable food practices protecting the wellbeing of people and the environment. Today, affordable processed foods are widely promoted, while access to nutritious foods like fruit and vegetables is often limited, impacting the health of tamariki and whānau. Good nutrition is essential in the early years, when tamariki rely on adults for what they eat and drink and lifelong eating habits are formed.
Key messages
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Healthy eating in early childhood builds a strong foundation for lifelong wellbeing.
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A healthy diet for tamariki is based on mostly whole, minimally processed foods from the four food groups:
- fruit and vegetables
- breads and cereals
- milk and milk products
- lean meat and alternatives
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Foods should be low in saturated fat, salt and added sugar.
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Water and plain milk are the best drink choices.
Facts
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Early childhood is a period of rapid growth and development.
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A child’s brain reaches around 80% of its adult size by age two.
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Eating habits formed early often continue into adulthood.
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Well-nourished children are better able to learn, grow and thrive.
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Adequate sleep supports healthy appetite regulation and reduces obesity risk.
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Supporting nourishing balanced food intake at age five can help reduce the risk of obesity later in childhood.
