Bobbie Hutchins „Child Nutrition and Health“ (su antspaudu)

In 1970 the White House Conference on Children selected child care as the most serious problem facing American children and their families. About the same time, White House Conferences on Nutrition were publicizing the nutrition problems of American families and their children.

Since World War II, the number of families with both parents working has increased drastically. So has the number of one-parent families. This has resulted in greatly increased demands for child care. The child care industry is expanding in response to the growing demand for quality care by working parents. As more and more women enter the work force, the demand is likely to continue to increase. Many opportunities exist in child care now for those who have the necessary skills. The opportunities are likely to be even greater in the future as the industry expands.

Regardless of the setting, good child care includes good nutritional and health care. A major part of caring for children is helping them to understand their health and nutritional needs. Adequate nutrition and health care are essential for sound physical, emotional, behavioral, and intellectual growth.

Early childhood is an ideal time to establish good nutrition and health habits that will carry into adulthood. Many child care settings provide food to children-some as many as three meals and two snacks each day.

This text is written for those who plan to enter child care occupations.

Child caregivers need to know and understand the health and nutritional needs of children. The text is also intended for those who are in child care occupations now and wish to expand their knowledge. It is also written for parents-to-be who want to understand health and nutritional needs of their children-to-be. Basic knowledge of nutrition and health needs is essential for all those who work with children, whether in the home, in day care centers, Head Start Programs, foster parent homes, day care homes, summer camps, or orphanages.

The emphasis in the text is on a basic understanding of general health and nutritional needs of children from birth to adolescence. It is hoped that students who use the book will be in learning settings involving actual care of children. If this is not the case, observing siblings, your own children, or a friend’s children can be substituted.

Nutrition and health are integral parts of child caregiving. They should be made an integral part of learning in the child caregiving setting. Throughout the book, the emphasis is on feeding the child’s mind as well as the child’s body.

Good child care requires ordinary people who have knowledge of how children develop, a sensitivity to children and their families, and the interest, patience, and stamina needed to work with children. In this sense, all those who work with children are not ordinary people-they are special people.

Bobbie Hutchins