A bumpy road: Kindergarten staff's experiences with an intervention to promote healthy diets in toddlers

The study investigates kindergarten employees’ experiences regarding a kindergarten-based intervention to reduce food neophobia and promote healthy diets in children between the ages of two and three.

Five main themes were identified throughout the interviews: (i) successful development of sensory knowledge, (ii) Food neophobia, (iii) implementation of new routines, a challenge for some, (iv) lack of cooking skills, (v) inspiration to continue. All kindergarten employees perceived the sensory sessions as successful and experienced that both toddlers and staff broadened their food repertoire; they developed their food vocabulary and taste impressions, and their attention to sensory impressions of food was heightened, although some of the children had to be introduced to new food several times before they would taste it (i). The children were more willing to try new food than the kindergarten employees had anticipated, and children with a positive attitude to trying new food had a positive impact on the other children in the group (ii). Some of the kindergarten staff expressed that they thought the new food was unfamiliar and that they were not used to letting the children serve themselves or eating together with the children, but it was also reported that mealtimes had become calmer (iii). Some of the participants reported that having to cook the food from scratch themselves was stressful, but the stress decreased with experience. Kindergartens that had employed someone to cook the food did not experience such stress (iv). Although employees found the measure to be time-consuming, they still felt positive in continuing with parts of the food convention (v). If kindergartens are to be a place to promote healthy eating habits among young children, sufficient time and resources for cooking in kindergarten are necessary. The researcher believes food and food practices should be included in the curriculum for kindergartens and be part of kindergarten teacher education.

The data used in this study was sourced from the Norwegian project called Preschoolers’ Food Courage (2014), a cluster-randomised study that involved two-year-olds in kindergarten. Qualitative data was collected through focus group interviews to reveal kindergarten employees’ experiences regarding the intervention. 15 kindergarten employees participated in focus group interviews. Three focus groups were created and each kindergarten was represented by at least two staff members who were in the same focus group. The interviews were conducted six weeks after the intervention period had finished. Each of the focus groups included four to six staff members with different educational backgrounds. The focus group interviews were audio recorded and transcribed.

Johannessen, B., Helland, S. H., Bere, E., Øverby, N. C. & Fegran, L. (2018). “A bumpy road: Kindergarten staff's experiences with an intervention to promote healthy diets in toddlers". Appetite,127:37-43.