Your Baby – July 2019

JULY & AUGUST 2019 | 77

The menu plan

Breakfast Pap with milk and sugar

Morning snack Brown bread with

margarine, milk

Lunch Protein-rich food or meal, such

as dry beans, meat, fish, chicken,

eggs, cheese. Carbs such as pap,

mealie rice, samp, potatoes. Veggies,

preferably dark green or deep yellow,

like spinach, green beans, cabbage,

carrots or pumpkin. The nutritional

value of these vegetables is much

higher than other vegetables. Fruit

twice a week, if possible.

Afternoon snack Brown bread with

margarine, peanut butter or another

spread, milk to drink

guidelines for services that are provided
in early childhood development. This
document, which has been drawn
up alongside the Children’s Act, also
contains a couple of basic guidelines for
feeding children. According to these
guidelines, children should at least get
one meal a day at school. The longer
they stay at school, the more meals
should be provided.
The minimum standard also says that
the amount of food and drink provided
should be age appropriate and that the
meals and snacks should provide for
their nutritional needs. The nutritional
needs of children differ based on their
age, and for this reason, each age group

• babies, toddlers and young children –
  will need their own menu.
  This is best left to the experts on
  nutrition, and for this reason, schools are
  encouraged to call in dieticians to help
  draw up menus. They can set out general
  guidelines, such as how long veggies
  should be cooked to retain maximum
  nutritional value, for instance, and also
  provide an example of a basic meal plan.
  Because the guidelines need to serve
  a wide variety of cultures and income
  groups, they need to show the bare
  minimum in terms of what’s allowed
  on the plate. This helps the poorest
  of schools to see how one can ensure
  healthy meals for children with severely
  limited resources. But if you’re paying
  a premium at your child’s nursery
  school, you can expect a lot more than
  the minimum requirements.
  Some of the guidelines, like supplying
  enough fruit and vegetables, are very
  vague, and a dietician should for
  this reason rather guide every school
  according to their culture, age groups
  and available resources.

READ THE FINE PRINT

While you’re doing your research to

find a nursery school for your little one,

there’s a good chance every school you

visit will show you their menu.

Keep in mind how many meals your

child will be eating at school while you

study the menus.

If she’s only going to be having dinner

at home, it means that school food needs

to provide for at least two-thirds of the

nutrients your child needs per day. So,

every child will have to get at least one

glass of milk, two fruits, one protein

and one or two veggies per day. Just

a vetkoek and any of the concentrate

drinks like Oros or Sweeto for lunch will

mean that your child did not get all the

nutrients she needs for the day.

Read the menu carefully, and don’t

rush. If the school is expensive, you can

insist on more nutritional food.

Breakfast and lunch should consist of

three types of food, and snacks of two.

Check that no more than two meals

per week are processed foods such as

viennas, fish fingers or tinned food;

most of the food should be made from

fresh ingredients.

Also check that they serve mainly

whole grains such as oats, whole-wheat

bread and brown rice.

Refined carbohydrates – white bread

and buns, white rice, biscuits – and juice

should be limited to about two items per

week. The menu is unfortunately only

a small part of the food story.

It says nothing about the quality of the

food, how it’s cooked, portion sizes or

feeding practices.

To hear the full story, you’re going to

have to ask a couple of questions, and

you should also pop in during

a mealtime. YB

Here are a few questions you can ask to

ensure you get to hear the full story about

food before you choose a playschool.

We also added the right answers

you should be getting, so you can play

teacher.

› How much sugar is added to pap

and vegetables?

No sugar for babies. Maximum 1 teaspoon on boiled pap,

none on instant cereal. No sugar on vegetables.

› What kind of milk is served?

Full cream for under two years, low fat or fat free for

everyone older than two.

› How is food cooked?

Mainly steamed, boiled or baked, rarely fried.

› How much salt is added to food?

No salt or spices for babies, little salt and spices for

other children.

› How much is dished?

Small portions are dished up, and children can ask for

more if they’re still hungry.

› Are the children spoon-fed?

Babies and children are helped with eating if they need

it, the others eat without help, but they will be helped if

they ask.

› Are they encouraged or even forced to finish

their plate?

No. They are encouraged to stop eating when their

tummies are full.

› What do they drink? Water, milk, juice or

something mixed from concentrate?

Water with every meal and in-between. Milk during

snack time.

› Do they get tea, and if they do, is sugar added?

Babies don’t get tea. Older children can have tea during

one snacktime per day. Milk is added but no sugar.

› Do they run around with food in hand, or do

they eat at the table?

They sit on chairs at little tables, for all meals

and snacktimes.

› What do they get for snacks? Cookies and juice,

or a fruit and milk?

Fruit and milk daily, cookies and juice once or twice per

week at most.

› Do they only have a weekly menu, or one that

runs over two weeks or more?

The menu should run over two or more weeks.

› What bread and margarine are used?

Brown or whole-wheat bread with a low glycaemic index

and soft margarine, not block margarine.

› What veggies are served? Fresh, tinned

or frozen?

Frozen and fresh vegetables.

Questions and answers for nursery schools

School guidelines

✓ Babies should be fed on demand.

✓ Food for babies under two should

not contain extra salt or sugar.

✓ Parents should be informed of what

their children ate every day.

✓ Older children should eat under

adult supervision.

✓ Staff members need to ensure that

mealtimes are relaxed.

✓ Staff members should be role

models of healthy eating.

✓ Children should be encouraged to

try all food but should never be forced

to eat anything if they don’t want to.

✓ Provision should be made for

children with special nutritional needs.

✓ Clean drinking water should always

be available.

✓ A variety of food should be served.

✓ Children should eat food that

contains lots of vitamin A, B and

C every day.

✓ Caregivers should be able to see

the menu at all times.