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| Family Day Care Educators sought to make a difference to nourishing our children |
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Supporting Nutrition for Australian Childcare (SNAC) www.snacwa.com.au is a nutrition education website which aims to support the provision of healthy eating environments in early childhood education and care settings. SNAC was established in 2013 and currently has 2,000 members who use the site to share ideas and seek support.
SNAC is currently working on a project that seeks to understand nutrition knowledge among Family Day Care Educators, with a view to informing a future intervention to be included on the SNAC website, that will facilitate the promotion and provision of healthy eating environments in the Family Day Care setting, and assist services meet the requirements of the National Quality Framework.
This study is important as it is well-known that childhood nutrition is of vital importance for optimal physical, social and emotional development. While most Australian children are thriving, there are concerns about health issues such as overweight and obesity, nutrient deficiencies, dental caries and food safety. Furthermore, the food habits and preferences developed in childhood remain through to adulthood and can affect health in later life.
Under the National Quality Framework (NQF) all Family Day Care staff are required to hold or work towards a relevant child care qualification which does incorporate some elements of nutrition training. However, it appears that the focus of this training is food hygiene and preparation, with little emphasis on nutrition knowledge and role modelling skills.
The SNAC study aims to establish the current levels of nutrition knowledge and inform a future intervention which could add value to the statutory training by helping Family Day Care Educators improve their nutrition knowledge and skills so that a healthy eating environment for the children in their care may be promoted, developed and maintained.
SNAC is currently looking for family day care providers who’d like to be involved in this important study.
If you would like to participate, you will be invited to complete an online survey, covering questions on nutrition knowledge, confidence and behaviours, which will take around 15 minutes to complete.
By completing the survey, you are providing important information about the current levels of nutrition knowledge among Family Day Care Educators, which will enable researchers to develop a future intervention to promote healthy eating in this setting.
Complete the survey now
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