Parent Education

The home food environment plays a crucial role in forming children's food preferences and eating habits. Parents can influence the development of food acceptance patterns by structuring children's early eating environments. They decide the types and amounts of food that are served to their children, determine the timing of children's meals and snacks, and provide the social context in which eating occurs. This is why engaging parents and other caregivers in discussions about nutrition and food are important to nurture the development of healthy habits for preschoolers.  Preschool is also a unique time in a child’s life when there is a high level of family involvement and more family members are involved in the day to day caretaking of a preschooler, such as grandparents, siblings and other family members.  

Understand that parents have very busy schedules so it is important to find a day and time that works best for most parents and be sure to provide child care if outside of normal school hours.  When possible, offer incentive items such give-aways or raffles of market baskets of local produce, gift cards to the local market or farmers’ market, seeds and seedlings, or cookbooks.

Below are a few workshop templates and materials on nutrition education and parent advocacy topics.

Farm to Preschool, UEPI, Occidental College

A sample template from this program’s parent workshops, focusing on eating healthy on a budget and healthy snacking with an emphasis on farmers markets’ and local food.

Let’s Move! Child Care

Through the website of the First Lady’s federal initiative, parent education resources are available.

Network for a Healthy California

Fruit, Vegetable, and Physical Activity Toolbox for Community Educators

Network for a Healthy California - LAUSD

Los Angeles Unified School District Nutrition education materials and English/Spanish PowerPoint presentations

Project LEAN

Parent/Promotora School Wellness Policy Lesson Plans and Parent Engagement Toolkit

Sesame Street’s Food for Thought – Eating Well on a Budget

A bilingual multimedia program designed to help support families who have children between the ages of 2 and 8 with limited access to affordable and nutritious food

USDA’s Team Nutrition

Comprehensive resources for parents and caregivers, schools and communities.