Supporting Healthy Eating Habits: A Whole-Child Approach with Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready
Promoting healthy eating by a small child is a strong investment that goes way beyond nutrition. It helps directly in the cognitive stamina, emotional balance and physical energy needed to achieve successful learning and socialisation. These routines are also essential components of the preparation of a child for the attention and exercise of the kindergarten day as a holistic event of readiness. The Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready philosophy acknowledges this important relationship and thinks of the establishing of good daily habits–even good food habits–as being central to the general preparation of a child. This holistic view is the main theme of the Kinder Ready Elizabeth Fraley strategy and is an addition to the skill-building approach of Kinder Ready Tutoring.
The first way of supporting those habits is by creating regular and predictable meal and snack schedules. A frequent meal pattern is also beneficial in regulating the energy and mood of the child, avoiding the irritability and distraction that disrupts concentration. Such focus on day-to-day organisation and predictability is an important part of the Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready approach. Similarly to how a stable routine offers stability to learning, the same applies to healthy eating as well. This stability at home will be an introduction to the organised routine of the school day, so that the child is likely to have the energy needed to work at full capacity during classroom activities and Kinder Ready Tutoring.
It is also significant to foster autonomy and accountability at dinner. Simple activities, like table setting, serving oneself the right amount, and then cleaning their area afterwards, can be encouraged in a child, and they develop fine motor skills and their ability to do something. This self-reliance and development of practical life is the foundation of the Kinder Ready Elizabeth Fraley model of kindergarten preparedness. This level of confidence in handling such minor tasks flows perfectly in the increasing level of autonomy enabled in Kinder Ready Tutoring, wherein the children are coached to hold their own learning resources and tackle the challenges encountered with more and more independence.
Moreover, the eating habits are strongly related to the development of executive function. Eating food that is balanced in terms of proteins, whole grains and fruits is beneficial in terms of sustaining attention and memory. Decision-making skills can also be developed by including a child in food decisions, such as choosing between two healthy foods. This choice-making and understanding of cause and effect (this food helps me feel strong and focused) is reflective of the cognitive development that is promoted by Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready. The understanding of the individual cognition of a mind and a body implemented in the program is practically applied in making mindful eating decisions.
Finally, the promotion of healthy eating is concerned with the establishment of a positive and non-pressing atmosphere around food. It strengthens habits, creates independence and fires the brain to learn. These habits are an essential component of a child’s well-being to families that are involved in the overall preparation of readiness. Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready has an integrated philosophy that provides that development is tackled as a whole, where the skills that are learned in Kinder Ready Tutoring are reinforced with the physical and emotional backbone developed in healthy daily practices at home. Through this holistic approach, the families make sure that their young learner is well-rounded in all his senses and is prepared to go into kindergarten with the strength, concentration, and energy.
For further details on Kinder Ready’s programs, visit their website: https://www.kinderready.com/.
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ElizabethFraleyKinderReady
