Nutrition Practices 

 Daily Nutritional Practices

Teachers and Staff should support daily developmentally appropriate practices that permit:

• Bottle-fed infants are held during feeding.

• Direct service providers make serving dishes and utensils available on the table so all in attendance can serve themselves.

• Disposable products can be used in Head Start classrooms serving children 3-5 years old. Products must be made of paper and may not contain Styrofoam.

• Disposable products may not be used in Early Head Start classrooms serving 0-3 years old.

• Adults sit at the table with toddlers and preschool children, serving and eating the meal or snack together in the classroom or group socialization area.

• Adults eat the same food items that are served to toddlers and preschool children because they meet nutrition standards. 

• Adults encourage, but do not force toddlers and preschool children to help themselves to all food components offered at the meal or snack, as developmentally appropriate.

• Adults assist children when needed so that children can eat an adequate amount of food to promote growth and prevent hunger.

• Adults engage with toddlers and preschool children in pleasant mealtime conversation.

• As they sit and eat with toddlers and preschool children, adults informally model appropriate eating behaviors.

• Adults provide extra assistance and time to toddlers and preschool children who eat slowly.

• Direct service providers make special accommodations for children who cannot have the food that is being served (i.e., food allergies and/or religious practices of the family).

• When developmentally appropriate, toddlers and preschool children are involved in activities such as setting the table, scraping dishes, and cleaning tables.

Bottle and Breast Feeding

Bottle Preparation (breast milk, formula, or milk) shall be followed:

• Bottles must never be warmed or thawed in a microwave oven.

• A crock-pot or other warming device may be used to warm a bottle if the breast

milk or formula is thawed and warmed for immediate consumption and not

returned to the refrigerator.

• All warming containers must be emptied, cleaned, sanitized, and refilled daily with fresh water.

• Crock pot temperature must not exceed 120 degrees and if needed thermometer is put in water to maintain temperature.

• Frozen bottles of breast milk may be thawed under cold running water, in a crock

pot/warming device or in a refrigerator.

•Heated bottles should be shaken and tested on the preparer’s wrist prior to feeding.

•Commercially prepared formula must be mixed in accordance with the directions of the manufacturer or the child’s health care provider.

•If a child does not finish the bottle within 1 hour, the contents must be discarded.

•Breast milk will be returned to the parent at the end of the day, if unused.

•Formula must be discarded at the end of each day, if unused.