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Food and nutrition are important to us and we know that a healthy balanced diet is essential to your child’s growth and development. Every day is an opportunity for us to satisfy your child’s appetite with delicious and nutritious meals and snacks, designed with their needs in mind, with a menu planned to broaden their food experiences.

We love to see children’s excitement when presented with a selection of colour, shape, texture, and taste for their mealtimes. It is a privilege to support you in developing their palate.

Our staff will support your child to keep healthy and hydrated enabling them to have their drink at hand for when they need one, and working regular drinks breaks into our daily routine too.

At Monkey Puzzle we always provide fresh, balanced meals and snacks, ensuring that we offer our children 100% of their recommended daily intake of fresh fruit and vegetables over the course of the day. We have our own amazing cook who is passionate about making sure our children have full tummies ready for a day of play and learning. Our cook follows recipes based on recommendations by Early Years nutritionists. All dietary requirements, food allergies and intolerances are catered for.

To get our children off to flying start, we offer a breakfast of cereals, fresh fruit and wholemeal toast. At Lunch and Teatime, we serve a hot lunch and a light tea, freshly prepared by our cook.

A sample menu is available at the nursery. Please ask our Nursery Manager.

We encourage the children to drink fresh water throughout the day – we do not offer squash. Fresh drinking water is freely available for our children.  At snack and meal times the children are also offered fresh whole milk.

Monkey Puzzle Otley chef with homecooked meal

To get our children off to flying start, we offer a breakfast of cereals, fresh fruit and wholemeal toast. At Lunch and Teatime, we serve a hot lunch and a light tea, freshly prepared by our cook.

A sample menu is available at the nursery. Please ask our Nursery Manager.

We encourage the children to drink fresh water throughout the day – we do not offer squash. Fresh drinking water is freely available for our children.  At snack and meal times the children are also offered fresh whole milk.

Fussy Eaters!

At Monkey Puzzle Otley, we encourage children to eat a varied diet with healthy snacks and meals, but we know that children can be fussy eaters and parents will experience stressful mealtimes when their child refuses certain foods. This can be a concerning time for mums and dads but fussy eating is extremely common, and there are a number of approaches that can help during this phase.

Children are unlikely to cause harm to their health if they don’t eat enough for a short time. If the problem continues, seek advice from a healthcare professional.

At Monkey Puzzle we don’t fret and fuss if a child refuses their food but we do encourage a healthy diet and eating habits. We never offer our children alternative food as this can further encourage fussing eating. We believe our children are offered enough healthy food during their day and they soon settle into trying new flavours and textures.  Children will always be offered a small portion of pudding (unless parents ask that their child only has dessert if they have eaten their main meal).

Reasons for fussy eating in children:

  • It can show a degree of independent thinking
  • It could be a demand for attention
  • It could be a reaction to seeing their peers refuse food
  • It can occur after an illness or infection

Here is some guidance and suggestions for improving mealtimes and fussy eating:

  • Offer small portions at meal times. If these are finished more can be offered.
  • Resist the temptation to give alternative foods when your child refuses to eat
  • Keep meal times away from television, gadgets, music and toys.
  • Eat the same meals with your child. Watching a parent eat and enjoy a wide variety of foods, will encourage them to try new foods.
  • Sit at a table for main meals and keep distractions to a minimum, eg no mobile phones on the table.
  • Keep meal times to around 30 minutes.
  • Be fully present to ensure meal time is a period to chat and engage with one another.
  • Involve your child in the selection, preparation and cooking of their meals.
  • Leave at least 2 hours between snacks and meals and avoid sweets/sugary treats.
  • Offer new foods alongside familiar food or in a different way e.g. chopped, mashed, roasted.
  • If your child refuses a food at first, leave it a few days and try again – it may take up to 20 times before new food is accepted, but perseverance pays off!

We hope this helps and we are always here to work with you to help your child enjoy a healthy and varied diet.

Babies’ nutrition

At this age nutrition for your child and support for you go hand in hand as we work together to find your child’s feeding rhythm throughout their daytime with us and their night time and earlier mornings with you. We support both breastfeeding and formula feed with bottle feeds at nursery, delivered with comfort and care for their feeding and winding habits. When your babies are ready to experience solid food we will complement your efforts at home, working in partnership with you as your child experiences new tastes and textures.

Toddlers’ nutrition

Your toddler’s food experiences are so important and at this age group, they really develop and secure many of their preferences. At this age we balance the opportunity to try new foods with the regularity and reliability of foods they already know and love, continuing to praise them for their food adventures, and giving them an abundance of time to enjoy these.

We delight in helping to create good habits, supporting mealtimes with learning and understanding about how foods help them and their bodies, helping them to make great food choices for life.

Preschoolers’ nutrition

Fuelling some of the most energetic beings on the planet is fun, and we love the challenge! A healthy balanced diet is essential to your child’s growth and development and at this stage, making sure they have the nutrition to match their desire to master the world.

Your preschooler will continue to learn and understand how foods help them and their bodies, helping them to make great food choices for life. At this age, your child will be a master of self-service, helping themselves to their own portions and drinks, so they can fulfill their growing appetite and tell us about their choice, with our guidance of course!

Where Next?

babies environment

Environment

babies care

Care

babies settling in

Settling In

babies curriculum

Curriculum

meet the babies team

Meet the Team

Contact Us

Contact Us