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Nutrition

Nutrition

Good nutrition is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Eating healthy foods helps pregnant women and children get the nutrients their bodies need to stay healthy, active, and strong. Health managers and program staff can explore resources to support healthy eating habits and find nutrition assistance information to share with families.

Healthy Eating: Tips for Families

This fact sheet provides guidance to families on healthy eating. It offers easy tips for families to help their children learn healthy eating behaviors starting in infancy so they can become lifelong habits.

Growing Healthy Postcard

The 5-2-1-0 message provides suggestions for building healthy, active lives for everyone. Staff can share this postcard with parents to put on the refrigerator as a reminder to make healthy choices every day.

Guide to Online Breastfeeding Resources

Currently, the Head Start Program Performance Standards require breastfeeding education for expectant families and accommodations for breastfeeding children. Breastfeeding provides a true head start for the children that Head Start programs serve. Research shows that breastfeeding has important long-term impacts on the health and development of children and the health and well-being of mothers. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and many other health organizations recommend that babies breastfeed exclusively for the first six months.

Reflecting on Breastfeeding

As you know, personal experiences and issues impact your work with children and families. It is important to identify your own feelings and thoughts about breastfeeding so that you can educate and support families in making the choices that are best for them. Consider the questions on this sheet on your own.