Healthy Eating and Active Living in Child Care Settings

The early years are an important time to establish healthy behaviours that will promote children’s development, readiness to learn and life-long health. Child care centres are   perfect settings to help children develop healthy behaviours and to support parents to provide healthy eating and active play at home.

The resources on this page are evidence-informed and support creating healthy environments in the child care setting. They discuss the importance of, and provide information on how to:

  • Provide children with healthy food and a positive eating environment.
  • Help children to spend less time sitting and more time learning basic movement skills through play.
  • Provide children with a wide range of opportunities to be active, including adult-led activities, and active free play indoors and outdoors.
  • Create a sun safe environment for children and staff.
  • Encourage staff to role model healthy eating and physical activity behaviours.
Healthy Eating

Child care centres promote healthy eating by providing a wide range of nutritious and safe foods in a positive and supportive environment in accordance with the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, Canada's food guide and Nutrition for Healthy Term Infants.

Child care resources (Ontario Dietitians in Public Health)

Ontario Dietitians in Public Health (ODPH) is the official voice of registered dietitians working in the Ontario Public Health System. ODPH has several working groups to support the implementation of the Ontario Public Health Standards. OPH is a contributing member of the ODPH Child Care Working Group.  

Image of the front cover of the Child Care Menu Planning - Practical GuideImage of the front cover of the Child Care Menu Planning - Practical Guide

Recipes

Recipes approved by Registered Dietitians at Ottawa Public Health.

Most recipes serve 20 to 50 preschool children. Adjust the recipe servings for the number of children who attend your child care setting.

Snacks

Bars
 Cookies and Crackers
 Loaves
 Muffins and Scones
 Vegetable and Fruit
 Other

Mains

Recipes for meat and vegetarian dishes, sandwiches and soups.

Please note: a vegetarian substitution (*) is included in some main meal meat recipes, or in the Vegetarian Substitutions section. You can substitute pork with chicken or beef in most recipes.

 Fish
 Poultry
 Meat
 Vegetarian
 Soups

Vegetarian substitutions

These small batch recipes for vegetarian substitutions serve 5 to 8 children. They look like meat-based main meals.

Legumes
 Tofu and Eggs

Sides

Recipes for side dishes like pasta, rice, vegetables and more.

Pasta and couscous
 Rice and grains
 Salads, Vegetables and Fruit
 Breads

Kitchen basics

Basic recipes for everyday kitchen preparations

Dips and sauces

Recipes for dips, sauces and salad dressings

Dips and Sauces
 Salad Dressings

Celebrations

 Healthy and fun recipes for special events and celebrations.
Active Living

Child care centres promote active living by providing children with a range of opportunities to be active in accordance with the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, and the Canadian 24 Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years (0-4).

Time spent outdoors in nature is very important for healthy child development. Children in child care should be provided with the opportunity to spend time outdoors each day, engaging in self-directed play, in a variety of weather conditions. To learn more about the benefits of active play, check out the 2025 Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play, released by Outdoor Play Canada and available in all UN official languages.

Implementing a physical activity policy is the best way to ensure that children in child care get the recommended levels of physical activity and spend less time being sedentary (sitting or not moving much).

Physical Literacy

“Physical literacy is the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life.”
– The International Physical Literacy Association, May 2014

Children need to learn fundamental movement skills – basic movement skills such as running, jumping, throwing, catching, hopping and skipping - to be able to participate in many types of physical activity. Child care settings play an important role in helping young children learn and practice fundamental movement skills.

For more information on physical literacy and physical activity:

Sun Safety

Limiting children’s exposure to ultraviolet radiation is important, as it increases the risk of skin cancer when they are older. 

The Canadian Cancer Society recommends the following for being safe in the sun:

  • Check the UV index daily
  • Seek shade
  • Cover up with clothing
  • Wear a wide brimmed hat
  • Wear sunglasses with UVA and UVB protection
  • Use sunscreen correctly

For key messages related to sun safety, review Sun Safety and Tanning and the following links:

Training for Child Care Providers

Child care plays a key role in creating healthy environments where children learn and thrive and child care providers are well-positioned to influence the health of young children. 

The following evidenced-informed trainings will help you to feel more confident and able to create a supportive environment for children in your care. These online trainings are self-paced and provide supporting resources. A certificate of completion is provided following the completion of all the modules for each of the two eLearning courses. These can contribute to your professional portfolio.

 Nutrition in Child Care Settings eLearning course

Learn about menu planning and how to apply the recommendations outlined in the Child Care Menu Planning Practical Guide.

Cooks, supervisors and managers will benefit from exploring menu planning, how to select nutritious food for children in their care, and managing allergies and substitutions.

Educators will benefit from learning practical strategies for successful mealtimes, how to talk about food and tips to nurture a positive relationship with food.

This eLearning course covers:

  • Module 1: Responsive Feeding
  • Module 2: Menu Planning
  • Module 3: Label Reading
  • Module 4: Beverages
  • Module 5: Food and Beverage Choices
  • Module 6: Allergies 

To take this 2-hour online training, go to Nutrition in Child Care Settings.  If you do not have an account, you will need to create one. 

Training pre-service EArly Childhood educators in physical activity (TEACH) e-learning course

Child care providers will benefit from learning more about the importance of physical activity in child care settings, and practical tips for how promote and role model physical activity. 

Note: This eLearning course is only available for childcare educators working in Ottawa, Ontario.

To access this online training, go to TEACH eLearning. You will need to create a new account to take the training. It should take about 5 hours to complete these interactive modules:

  • Module 1: An Introduction to Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour in the Early Years 

  • Module 2: Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour in the Childcare Environment 

  • Module 3: How to Promote Physical Activity and Minimize Sedentary Time in Childcare 

  • Module 4: Professional Learning, Resources, and Video Library of Activities. 

 Sun Safety Training

You can create a sun safe environment for children in your care by registering your child care centre for the Sunsense program offered by the Canadian Cancer Society. The program gives access to a one hour training and resources, and provides a certificate of completion.

The SunSense program offers child cares, schools and summer camps access to free tools, resources, and parent information to protect children from harmful ultraviolet radiation. Information about best practices will help your organization to develop policies, provide shade where children play, and teach young children sun safety habits that will contribute to their health for years to come.
 Supporting Families

Parents/guardians can be positive role models for children by leading by example. Their actions and words shape what children perceive as normal. The resources below can be shared with families to help them create a supportive environment for healthy eating and active living at home.

Talking to children about food

Physical activity resources for parents

Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology)

Active Kids, Healthy Kids (Canadian Paediatric Society)

What is Physical Literacy (Learn Through Active Play)

Active for Life

Have a Ball Together! (Best Start)

2020 ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth: Family Influence: The Role of the Family in the Physical Activity, Sedentary and Sleep Behaviours of Children and Youth. (Highlight Report)

Do you have questions about immunization, food safety or other public health topics? Visit the Child Care Providers page for additional public health child care resources.

Share feedback or ask questions about nutrition and physical activity in child care setting at NutritionPhysicalActivity@ottawa.ca

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