What You Need to Know About Child Care

Posted on: 21 September 2018

When choosing a day care centre for your child, one of the most important things you should look at is menus. Healthy eating is one of the biggest keys to good child development, so it's crucial that your little one has a good menu to choose from when they're out of your care. In particular, here are 3 things you should look for in a day care menu.

Food From All Groups

The first thing you should look for in a day care centre menu is a healthy balance of foods from all major food groups. When it comes to child nutrition, foods can generally be broken down into four groups. The first is carbohydrates, which includes potatoes, pasta, bread and rice. Carbohydrates are important because they give children the energy they need to have an active and educational day. The next group is protein (like beans, eggs, meat and fish), which helps children grow and develop strong muscles. Third is fruits and vegetables, which deliver many essential nutrients and help protect the body from illness. Finally, the fourth group is dairy. Dairy (or dairy alternatives for intolerant children) provides calcium for strong teeth and bones as well as various other nutrients. To ensure your child develops well physically and mentally, it's important that the day care you choose has multiple servings of each food group on the daily menu.

Well-Spaced Meals

When perusing the menu for the day care you're considering, you should look at scheduling as well as the food itself. Regular meals and snacks are an important part of your child's development, and they'll also help ensure that day care doesn't affect your family meal routine at home. In general, the best all-day childcare centres will serve breakfast, lunch, an evening meal and two or three snacks (though your child may not be present for every meal if they only attend part-time). Ideally, you'll want to find a day care centre that schedules snacks between meals rather than offering them out freely, as the latter can encourage overeating and mess up your child's healthy eating habits. Water should, of course, be freely available throughout the day, so make sure you don't choose a centre that only allows drinks at mealtimes.

Safe Food Preparation

Last (but certainly not least), it's important to look for safe food preparation. Preparation details may not be listed on the paper or online menu you're shown, but any good day care will be happy to answer questions. One of the first things you should ask is how foods like fruit pieces are cut up. Children can start choking very quickly and very easily, so it's important that foods are cut into manageable strips rather than small chunks that can get lodged in the front of their throat. Protein is another area where preparation is key to health and safety. Eggs should always be fully cooked, for example, and fish should be thoroughly deboned. Finally, it's also a good idea to request to see the day care kitchens; this will give you a better idea of how clean preparation areas are and how much care is taken to reduce the risk of food-related illnesses.

Keep these tips in mind as you check out local day care centres.