11.6: Family Style Dining

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Page ID: 221122

Heather Carter and Amber Tankersley
Pittsburg State University

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Family-Style Meal Service

Currently, traditional family-style meal service is the recommended approach to serving meals in preschool settings. Using this approach, all foods on the menu are served at the same time in serving bowls that are passed around the table, and children self-serve the amounts they desire. There are many potential advantages to traditional family-style meal service including allowing children the opportunity to self-regulate consumption (match food selection with hunger level).⁷⁴¹

four children eating family style — Figure 15.16 – Family style meals have many benefits for children.⁷⁴²

This approach to mealtime creates a number of healthy habits that are important to the growth and development of children at any age. Children tend to eat more healthy foods if they see their friends try it. They learn skills such as taking turns, sharing, and teamwork.

Family-style dining opens up opportunities for conversation, which increases vocabulary, and promotes proper use of language and interaction with friends.

There are even more benefits that support healthy growth. Children learn:

portion sizes for each food group
to recognize when they are hungry or satisfied
how to identify healthy foods and where they come from
to improve fine motor skills

Children are not the only ones who benefit. Providers get a better grasp of food costs, get help with mealtime service, and with less food being wasted, they save money.⁷⁴³

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Tips for Family-Style Dining

Start with the right equipment. When purchasing serving dishes, utensils and other place settings, keep in mind that they need to be kid-friendly and sized for little hands to maneuver
Remember each child’s skill level when choosing your menu. Finger foods and foods that are easy to navigate with a child-size fork or spoon are easiest to self-serve for younger children.
Have multiple sets of utensils and serving spoons in case someone drops one on the floor.
Give each child a task to help set the table. One child can set the plates, one can place the cups and so on. Children have a sense of pride and belonging when they have a contributing role.
Offer a variety of familiar foods and don’t forget to introduce new foods. Children are more willing to try something new when they serve themselves.
Reserve extra servings for second helpings or in case the bowl of food gets contaminated.
Provide a trash can for children in which to dispose of napkins and uneaten food. Provide a tub for them to place dirty dishes after they scrape them off.
Keep cleaning supplies nearby. Spills will happen. Be patient and use this opportunity as a teaching moment on how to clean-up.
Most importantly, eat with the children. Children learn from good role models. Sitting with them while everyone eats also allows you to start positive mealtime conversations.⁷⁴⁴

Food from Home

Some early care and education programs depend on families to provide some or all of children’s meals and snacks. According to Sweitzer et al (2011), “[o]bservations of lunches of three to five-year-old children attending fulltime childcare support the need for parent education about packing healthy lunches.” They cite several studies that show inadequate servings of fruit and vegetables and foods that fail to meet the Daily Reference Intakes for essential nutrients in foods brought from home. They also cite several studies that demonstrated that knowledge and attitudes about nutrition were positively linked to serving fruits and vegetables to children. As they stated, parents report barriers to supporting their young children’s healthy eating. “Common barriers for consumption of fruits and vegetables are the child’s preferences, preparation time involved, and higher cost of those items.”⁷⁴⁵

Food brought from home should be labeled with the child’s name and date and stored in the refrigerator when needed. When prepared and served to children it is important to follow food safety practices (discussed in the next section of the book). Food sent for one child should never be given to another child.⁷⁴⁷

Pizza school lunch - Laptop Lunches for Kindergarten bento… | Flickr — Figure 15.17 – A tasty and healthy packed lunch.⁷⁴⁶

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Tips for Supporting Families in Providing Nutritious Food From Home

In the Sweitzer et al (2011) study, parents were interviewed about how early care and education programs could help families provide better nutrition for their children. Here are some tips based on their findings:

Provide regular written information to families about nutrients and their importance for health
Provide convenient and affordable recipes and tips for families
Foster connection and interaction between families through events, support groups, and recipe exchanges
Consider including nutrition as a topic of workshops for families
Connect with community resources and local markets to expand opportunities and information for families
Remember to be budget-friendly with resources and recipes shared⁷⁴⁸

References

This page was adapted from 15: Menu Planning and Food Safety by Paris. in Paris, J. (2021). Health, safety and nutrition. LibreTexts.

For references according to subscript, please see pages 308-335 of the original Health, Safety and Nutrition book (Paris, 2021) on Google Drive.

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Tips for Family-Style Dining

Tips for Supporting Families in Providing Nutritious Food From Home