Early care and education professionals’ perspectives on mealtime in the US and Taiwan

Abstract

Many children today are in full-time early care and education settings; they may obtain one-half to two-thirds of daily nutrient needs during their time at the centers. Because of that, early care and education professionals can play a key role not only to offer nutritious food but also to help children establish healthy eating habits. The purpose of this study was to explore 344 early care and education (ECE) professionals’ perspectives on feeding young children during mealtimes at center-based programs in the US and Taiwan. The results found both groups of professionals think it is important for children to have appropriate serving utensils for the food being offered, and menu planning is based on a nutritionally sound meal pattern. However, there are a few different perspectives between the US and Taiwan including whether children should be required to eat all the food on their plates and whether children should be quiet during mealtime. A list of recommended practices is provided for ECE professionals who feed young children with diverse backgrounds at mealtimes.