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Nebraska Department of Education
Nutrition Services
301 Centennial Mall South
PO Box 94987
Lincoln, NE 68509-9487
(800) 731-2233 (Nebraska Only)
or (402) 471-2488
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Child & Adult Care Food Program
The role of the caregiver at meal time
DO:
- Encourage the children to try each food component.
- Sit down with the children while they eat.
- Encourage pleasant meal-time conversation. All meal-time conversation does NOT have to be about food.
- Emphasize proper table manners.
- Make meal time a pleasant time
- Assure that each child is served a reimbursable meal.
- Fill out meal count sheets at the point of meal service.
AVOID:
- Hovering
- Badgering
- Cajoling
- Forcing children to eat
- Withholding snack for disciplinary reasons
- Making children "clean their plate" of a food they may not like before providing seconds of a food component they do like. Every child is entitled to receive the full regulatory portion of every meal.
Related articles:
Should we force children to eat or reward them for cleaning their plates?
Adults Serve an Important Role at Meal Time