Starting nursery is a big transition, and food is one of the parts parents worry about most. Will they eat it? Will they refuse everything? Will they be hungry all day?
The reassuring answer is that nursery is often one of the better things that happens to a child's eating. But there is preparation worth doing beforehand, and it is not complicated.
Why nursery tends to help
Nurseries can play a really good part in managing the phases toddlers go through, for a few reasons.
- Positive role modelling. Children sit around the same table and watch their peers and caregivers eating the same sorts of foods.
- Consistent mealtimes. They know what to expect, and everything is predictable, which children really like.
- Education around food. There is an opportunity for caregivers to talk about healthy eating in a fun, age appropriate way.
Starting nursery is also a good opportunity to think about a fresh start for eating habits. It is a new environment, and that naturally creates new routines, which can make it easier for children to develop positive eating behaviours.
As they settle in, children are often more willing to accept regular mealtimes, try unfamiliar foods, and learn by watching their peers and caregivers. It is a transition, so it can take a little time.
Shift the routine before they start
The most useful preparation is to start bringing some of what will happen at nursery into home life beforehand.
If you are used to getting up quite late, or offering a late breakfast, nursery might be starting a lot earlier than normal. Getting into a routine of regular meals at roughly the timings the nursery will be offering them is genuinely helpful.
Alongside that, think about sharing meals together, the timings of meals, and continuing to offer food consistently over the holidays. Summer months can be different if you are travelling or away, and in real heat appetite can definitely be altered, so take that into account. But the aim is to at least start thinking about these things at home before they start.
Talk to nursery early and honestly
Before your child starts you will have lots of forms to fill out. It is really important to share whether you have any concerns about your child's feeding right from the start.
Allergies will be well documented. What often gets left out is everyday context, and that is the part staff find useful:
- Eating habits at home.
- Whether you have quite different meal patterns.
- Whether they are used to eating very late.
- Whether they still drink a lot of milk in the morning, or have a lot of milk overnight, because that may affect their appetite at nursery.
If you have any concerns about their eating or their growth, raise them before they start, so you can work together. Starting nursery will not usually change things overnight.
Then keep nursery updated if anything changes at home that could affect your child's appetite, and have that conversation as soon as they start about anything you are worried about. Open communication is so important, and staff are very experienced with children and often have useful suggestions.
Consistency between home and nursery
Using the same strategies at home and at nursery really helps children feel positive, and it reduces confusion around food.
If you are doing something very different at home and they are having completely different mealtimes at nursery, that confusion sets in. Children love to know what to expect, so more consistency across both settings is better.
Will they eat food that is different from home?
Parents often feel a bit panicked that their child will not be used to the food offered at nursery, and that it will be too unfamiliar to accept.
What we do at V&Me is carefully plan seasonal rotational menu cycles that provide a wide variety of nutritious meals and give your child repeated exposure to foods. It is not repetitive, but every few weeks the same types of meals come around again, which is exactly the kind of repetition that builds acceptance.
Our meals have no added salt and no added sugar, and are well balanced. Instead of adding salt and sugar, we impart flavour using different cooking techniques, herbs and spices. We taste test rigorously and always look for feedback, so it is a joint effort.
What we find is that children adapt quite quickly to new flavours, even if they are used to more heavily seasoned food at home. Parents sometimes worry that because they use salt in their cooking, their child will reject plainer food. With time, children usually adapt.
It is about more than the food
Mealtimes at nursery are a social experience, and children learn important skills through them. Nurseries also provide great opportunities for cooking, growing food, or exploring food through play and books. Having different cultures represented helps children develop curiosity about foods from other parts of the world.
The longer term picture
Healthy routines established during nursery provide a strong foundation for future transitions. As children move into primary school and later secondary school, familiar healthy eating habits are more likely to continue, despite all the changes in environment and increasing independence.
Establishing these behaviours early really does help support lifelong healthy eating patterns.
If you are worried before they start
There is never a bad time to get support with your child's eating. If you are struggling a little, or thinking they are really fussy, or wondering how they will manage at nursery, working on some of this at home beforehand will stand you in good stead.
