Early Childhood

Mission:

The mission of the Early Childhood Education and Care Workgroup was to develop realistic and measurable objectives for changing policies and environments in early childhood settings so as to improve nutrition and physical activity opportunities for children from birth through age five; and to identify and engage agencies and organizations that could accomplish these goals.

Context:

Workgroup members felt that mandating changes was not currently realistic in Montana.  There was a consensus that empowering support and regulatory agencies to educate and incentivize providers to make changes voluntarily was more feasible. Some workgroup members expressed the hope that, within the ten-year time period covered by this State Plan, policies might be adopted to codify nutrition and physical activity recommendations.   

Ten Year Vision:

By 2020:

The norm in early childhood care and education settings (Head Start programs, child care centers, home-based child care programs, and preschools) will include:

  • Physical activity opportunities (structured and unstructured; inside and outside; and integrated into lessons as appropriate) for at least the minimum number of minutes recommended for children in the target age group (see below).
  • Ample offerings of fresh, frozen and /or low-sugar canned fruit.
  • Ample offerings of fresh, frozen and/or canned vegetables (without added sauce, meat or sodium).
  • Frequent opportunities to learn about, participate in, and taste the products of local farms and/or gardens.
  • Freedom from exposure to TV, video and other screen-based media in accordance with the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (see below).
  • No offerings of sugar-sweetened beverages.
  • No offerings of foods containing more than 35% of calories from sugar (excluding dairy products); snacks, foods and beverages containing more than 30% of calories from total fat or more than 10% from saturated fat; and products containing transfats.
  • Encouragement and practical support of breastfeeding for infants.

This vision is consistent with specific Healthy People 2020 Objectives as follows:

NWS HP2020–6: Increase the contribution of fruits to the diets of the population aged 2 years and older.

NWS HP2020–7: Increase the variety and contribution of vegetables to the diets of the population aged 2 years and older.

MICH HP2020–12: Increase the proportion of mothers who breastfeed their babies.

NWS HP2020–17: Reduce consumption of calories from solid fats and added sugars in the population aged 2 years and older.

HP2010 19-9: Increase the proportion of persons aged 2 years and older who consume no more than 30 percent of calories from total fat.

NWS HP2020–9: Reduce consumption of saturated fat in the population aged 2 years and older.

PAF HP2020–8: Increase the proportion of children and adolescents that meet guidelines for television viewing and computer use.

 

Two Year Objectives:

By 12/12:

1. Integrate nutrition and physical activity criteria into the Stars to Quality incentive program. 
Who:  DPHHS Early Childhood Services Bureau, NAPA
Behavior: ↑FV ↓SSB  ↓ED ↑PA ↓TV ↑BF

2. Showcase Stars to Quality success stories related to nutrition and physical activity.
Who:  DPHHS Early Childhood Services Bureau
Behavior: ↑FV ↓SSB  ↓ED ↑PA ↓TV ↑BF

3.   Deliver education about farm-to-fork efforts to care and education providers.
Who:  Montana State University Early Childhood Program
Behavior: ↑FV

4. Extend training for cooks to all American Indian reservations in Montana.
Who:  DPHHS Child and Adult Care Food Program
Behavior:  ↑FV ↓SSB ↓ED

5. Provide mini-grants up to a combined total of $5,000 to support the initiation of one or more Five Year Goals (below).
Who:  NAPA
Behavior: ↑FV ↓SSB ↓ED

Five Year Goals:

By 12/16:

1. Education and support services for early childhood care and education providers will routinely address  the nutrition and physical activity guidelines listed below.
Who:  Agencies and organizations that support, license and educate early childhood care and education facilities.
Behavior: ↑FV ↓SSB  ↓ED ↑PA ↓TV ↑BF

NUTRITION

  • Offer only low fat (1%) or fat free milk for healthy children age two and older (children under two may receive full-fat milk)

  • Offer no sugar-sweetened beverages (including flavored milk).

  • When offering 100% fruit juice, offer only 1, 4-oz serving per day.

  • Make water freely available both inside, and outside as possible given the climate and rural environment.

  • Offer water with meals and snacks.

  • Every day, offer fruits or vegetables (fresh, frozen or canned and prepared with no meat fat, margarine, butter, or added sugar and salt) as a snack.

  • Every day, offer at least one (preferably 2) fruit or vegetable at lunch (fresh, frozen or canned and prepared with no meat fat, margarine, butter, or added sugar and salt).

  • Every day, offer at least one (preferably two) fruit or vegetable at dinner, if dinner is served (fresh, frozen or canned, and prepared with no meat fat, margarine, butter or added sugar and salt)

  • Do not offer fried or processed meat.

  • Serve snacks high in fiber, nutrient dense with no sugar, fat and salt.

  • Support breastfeeding of infants:

    • Provide parental education about, and facilities for, safely storing and feeding expressed breast milk.

    • Provides a natural, welcoming, quiet and comfortable space for nursing.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND SCREEN TIME:

For infants:

Provide developmentally appropriate, safe, nurturing and minimally structured play environments.

  • Offer outdoors activities every day as long as weather and air quality conditions do not pose a significant health risk.  (Infants shall be dressed appropriately for the weather.  Outdoor play for infants may include riding in a carriage or stroller; however, infants shall be permitted daily opportunities for independent gross motor play outdoors.)
  • Do not have infants watch television, video, or other visual recordings, or view computers.

For toddlers:

  • Schedule at least 60 minutes (for every eight hours spent in early childhood care or education settings) of unstructured physical activity (this may be integrated and cumulative).
  • Schedule so that toddlers have at least 30 minutes (for every eight hours spent in early childhood care or education settings) of structured play (this may be integrated and cumulative.
  • Schedule no periods when toddlers will be sedentary for more than 15 minutes at a time (except when sleeping).
  • Provide adequate space and equipment, indoors and outdoors, for active play that can develop gross and fine motor skills.  (This strategy will benefit from efforts to improve access to playgrounds, parks, and other facets of the built environment.) 
  • Take toddlers outside to play every day unless weather and air quality conditions pose a significant risk to health.
  • Do no expose toddlers under 24 months to any television, video, or other video recordings, or to computers.  If toddlers 24 – 36 months have the opportunity to view television, videos, or computers, do not schedule more than 60 cumulative minutes of viewing per 8 hours a day, and make sure that viewing is limited to educational programs or programs that actively engage the child in movement.  The 60 minutes should be broken up into 10-20 minute sessions based on program/activity.

For pre-school children:

  • Same as above except that pre-school children should have at least 60 minutes of structured play per day.

2. Support efforts to incorporate these recommendations into licensing requirements and other policies as possible.
Who:  To be determined.
Behavior: ↑FV ↓SSB ↓ED ↑PA ↓TV ↑BF