"Growing Together": Nurturing Nutrition through Fun, Food and Play TE1

A new collaboration between Kitsap Community Resources and Holly Ridge Center’s Infant and Toddler Program, a neurodevelopmental center providing Early Support Services for children ages birth to three, to bring families an opportunity to participate in caregiver and child development days. Early Childhood Special Education Teachers lead weekly two hours meetings providing space for children and their caregivers to engage in a number or activities including art, sensory play and circle time with peers. Recently, children have been participating in snack preparation.

This session will explore the benefits to both children and caregivers that sensory play with food and children assisting in snack/food preparation has for this population. We will discuss specific nutrition guidelines and recommendations for this age as well as discuss parallels between these activities and recommendations for combatting selective eating in young children. Goals include participants being able to describe the importance of nutrition in the first 1,000 days, practical ways nutrition can collaborate with other specialties in early intervention programs, and benefits of "whole family" nutrition education.