Free templateChild Development & Programming

Nutrition, Brain Development & Behaviour

A two-page quick reference for educators from the ChildFriendly Lunch & Learn series. It lists what you might notice in children’s energy, focus and mood in five eating situations, with a short “Try” suggestion for most of them. It supports observation only — the guide states that educators are not diagnosing.

Format: PDF guide · A4
Pages: 2
Best for: Educators · room leads
Updated: Oct 2026

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Preview of the Nutrition, Brain Development & Behaviour

What’s inside

A two-page quick reference linking food and behaviour

ReminderThe guide opens by saying it supports observation only: educators are not diagnosing, and should look for patterns over time and communicate objectively with families.
Why It MattersA short list of what the guide says food impacts — energy, focus, mood and regulation.
What You Might NoticeFive situations: High Sugar / Processed Foods, Low Protein Intake, Limited / Selective Eating, Hunger / Not Eating Enough, and Balanced Meals. Each has a “You may see” list, and the first four have a “Try” suggestion.
What to Watch ForBehaviour changes before or after meals, patterns with certain foods, and the times of day children struggle most — with the reminder to look for patterns, not one-off moments.

How to use it

Four steps to put it to work this week

1
Read the Reminder firstStart with the note at the top: this is an observation aid, not a tool for diagnosing children.
2
Keep it where staff can see itPrint the two pages and keep them in the staff area or the room binder for reference around meal and snack times.
3
Note what you seeWhen a child’s energy, focus or mood changes around a meal, write down what was eaten and what you observed, in plain objective language.
4
Look across a few weeksUse the “What to Watch For” list to check for patterns before raising anything with a family.

Tips from operators

What centers that use this well do differently

Learned the hard way across 3,000 child care spaces — and from the directors and educators who join our Lunch & Learns and Learning Labs.

Write down the time

The guide asks you to watch the times of day children struggle most. A time on each note makes those patterns visible.

Share observations, not conclusions

Tell families what you saw and when. Leave it to them and their health provider to decide what, if anything, it means.

Read it next to your menu

The guide describes a balanced meal as protein + fat + carbs. Check whether your snacks and lunches usually offer all three.

Do it digitally in ChildFriendly Pro

Plan the week in the app — tagged to your framework automatically

Build the same plan in ChildFriendly Pro and every observation you log is tagged to FLIGHT, ELECT, ELF or your own outcomes, added to each child’s portfolio and shared with families in their daily journal.