Healthy Eating
Encouraging healthy eating habits sets children up for the rest of their lives. A balanced diet helps concentration, energy levels and immunity.
At Weston Way, we strive to promote healthy eating. We feel it is important for children, even as young as ours, to understand the importance of looking after our bodies and eating healthily.
With this in mind, we try to encourage our children to make healthy choices through circle time discussions. The children have the opportunity to access fresh drinking water, which is available throughout the nursery session. Staff emphasise the importance of drinking water, reminding the children throughout the session that water is available. Milk is also a very important part of young children’s nutritional requirements. All nursery children are entitled to a free carton of milk each day, funded by the government, which they have at nursery at snack time.
Below are a few suggestions you may find helpful when packing a lunch for your child
- Small portions are always a good idea.
- A variety of foods in little containers looks interesting.
- Think about foods of different colours to make the lunch look more appealing.
- Drink containers with sports type lids are easier and less likely to spill.
- Foods that your child can manage independently encourage their self help skills and boost self esteem.
- Foods that will sustain your child throughout their busy nursery session, particularly if they access the longer nursery day.
- Think about health and safety, cherries need to be stoned, grapes quartered length way and NO PEANUTS OR NUT PRODUCTS are permitted at nursery.
- No sweets or lollipops although chocolate covered wafer bars are permitted.
- Above all please do pack foods your children like. You know your child best and it is important that they feel happy coming to lunch at nursery!!
Remember when collecting children after their lunch session to wait at your child’s lunch room door and a member of staff will see your child out to you.
We have a small supply of recipe books and leaflets, giving a variety of interesting and varied ideas for children’s lunch boxes, available for you to borrow or flick through for ideas.
You may also find the following document helpful when planning the contents of your child’s lunch box each day.
Documents
Healthy Start - Financial Support
What is Healthy Start?
If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4, you may be entitled to get help to buy healthy food and milk.
If you’re eligible, you’ll be sent a Healthy Start card with money on it that you can use in some UK shops. We’ll add your benefit onto this card every 4 weeks.
You can use your card to buy:
- plain liquid cow’s milk
- fresh, frozen, and tinned fruit and vegetables
- fresh, dried, and tinned pulses
- infant formula milk based on cow’s milk
You can also use your card to collect:
- Healthy Start vitamins – these support you during pregnancy and breastfeeding
- Vitamin drops for babies and young children – these are suitable from birth to 4 years old