Proper Care and Feeding of Pre-K Kids

We do not have a hot lunch program at our preschool yet, and someday we hope to change that. in the meantime, we've been, shall we say, diligent about letting parents know what's healthy, what are appropriate portion sizes and what we allow kids to eat while in our facility. You can't make a child eat, but you can give them choices that you feel better about.

At the JEC, we also adhere to kosher-style guidelines. We don't have to eat certified kosher food, but we don't eat milk/dairy products and meat together and we don't allow pork or shellfish. Then we have the FDA requirements, which we ensure for each kid, so we're in complicance with the Municipality of Anchorage licensing guidelines.

By the way, the guidelines say these kids have to be offered all the FDA required items in the appropriate sizes. We aren't required to make them eat, thank goodness.

With all this regulation, it's no wonder our parents get confused sometimes. Heck, we get confused among ourselves. We send home flyers with portion sizes and what's allowed and what's not, but we still see the occasional ham sandwich or cheeseburger bites.

So we started a lunch ticket system, so we can give parents an idea of what's going on with their kid's lunch, what items we had to add or substitute and what they can do better in the next lunch. We also put up flyers when parents have a streak of good lunches.

One of our biggest difficulties is portion sizes. Surprisingly, a lot of kids aren't getting enough of all their healthy food. We all resist our kids growing up, but as they grow they need larger quantities of food. Some parents pack a ton of food, which is okay, as long as they know the kids may not eat everything and that doesn't mean they're not getting enough.

We tell parents that children of this age like to make choices, so they pack crackers, a big piece of bread, some rice or pasta and a pretzel for them to choose from. Unfortunately, none of these choices are fruit, vegetable or protein. And while we're on the subject - a Fruit Roll-Up is neither fruit, nor a roll-up, discuss. No, blue apple sauce and a green fruit roll-up don't count - we suggest buying a bag of apples and oranges instead. Kids love fresh fruit!

So what do we do about it? First of all, it helps to plan ahead. Write down healthy choices and what you know your kid eats (and it WILL change, sometimes daily). Put them in categories, like bread/grains, fruit, vegetables, protein and then make up a lunch. This can be used as a shopping list, too.

Don't worry if your kid likes PBJ and only that for a week then decides PBJ is yucky and not worthy of them. Kids go through phases (usually the above scenario occurs when you've just gone to Costco and gotten a case of Jif Creamy).

So hang in there. You can stop by the JEC any time and get our Food Chart and portion size guides. It's very helpful to hang on the fridge while you're packing lunches.

Bon Appetit!

Miss Tara and Miss Leah