We love to see kids showing an interest in their own food and sugar education.
That’s why, when we heard that the students at Waverly Foothills Preschool were interested in their sugar intake, growing their own veggie gardens and getting hands on in the kitchen, we had to check them out!
We managed to nab a chat with Harriet and Hannah, as well as Kim, Mel, Donna, Voula, Elizabeth and Keshia, the teachers that look after these 100 beautiful 3 and 4-year-olds, about how they came to be so engaged with the sugar-free message.
Take it away ladies!
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It all started with one roll-up…
In the Preschool one afternoon, we were talking about making healthy choices, particularly with sugar, when one of the kids brought us a roll-up out of their lunchbox and asked how much sugar was in their snack. As always, as soon one child knows something, they all want to know! So suddenly, all the kids were coming up to us asking “how much sugar is in my food?” And, it really just bloomed from there.
Every year we run a healthy eating module with the kids, but at first they really didn’t grasp what “healthy eating” was. However, as soon as we started looking directly into their lunchboxes, at what they eat every day, it really resonated with them. They became so engaged and interested in how to make good choices.
We decided to put together a poster of wrappers from the kids’ lunchboxes, labelling how much sugar was in each product. What we found shocked us! Products labelled as “healthy” and “low-fat” (like yoghurt), which we thought would be the better snacks, had twice, even three times as much sugar as other foods!
We put it on display in the foyer for all the parents to see but what happened next amazed us – the kids started explaining the information to their families!
Since the poster, everyone has taken something on board. We’re finally seeing more fresh vegetables and fruit in lunchboxes, rather than pre-packaged, processed snack foods. Honestly, some parents were more receptive to the poster than others, but now the kids know how to make healthy choices for themselves and they discuss what’s in their lunch with their friends in the playground.
The best bit is, the kids are now actively seeking out healthier foods and are genuinely excited to see that they’re eating healthily!
We’d love to see the continued education of healthy eating and the sugar message taught in primary and intermediate schools as we’re so proud of everything they’ve absorbed so far!
Do you know of another school spreading the sugar-free message? Let us know in the comments below.
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