It is crucial to fill up their lunchbox with the right mix of nutrients that they need. These healthy preschool lunches give them a balanced diet and the extra goodness of vitamins. However, dealing with their moods and taste buds, packing a healthy lunchbox can be a tiresome task for parents.

Source – https://www.telethonkids.org.au/news–events/news-and-events-nav/2020/april/healthy-lunch-ideas-kids-covid-19/

What is a good healthy lunch for school?
An ideal lunchbox for pre-schoolers is one that focuses on necessary dietary supplements rather than candy bars or biscuits. It should contain fruits and food from each of the five main groups. It should include immunity boosting food for kids.

Source – https://stepbystepnursery.ae/what-to-pack-in-your-preschoolers-lunch-box/
Here are some ideas for healthy preschool lunchbox

• The base ingredients can be – vegetables, bread, cereals, fruits, dairy, proteins
• Carrot and cucumber sticks with a hummus or cheese dip – fun to look at and fun to eat it
• A wholemeal sandwich or wrap – who doesn’t love a wrap, right? Just use their filling of choice such as chicken, tuna, avocado etc
• Low-fat yoghurt with fresh fruit to avoid unnecessary sweetness
• Healthy savoury muffins or sweet wholemeal muffins
• Whole wheat sandwich roll-ups or pinwheel sandwiches with filling of choice
• Rice crackers with cream cheese and vegetables

Healthy eating doesn’t have to be boring and restrictive! Play with the shapes and colours when it comes to wholesome foods for your kids. Try a variety of healthy foods at home before packing it in the lunchbox.

Benefits of healthy eating in early childhood
While healthy eating is required in all stages of life, it is even more critical for young children’s physical as well as mental growth and development.

• Providing the kids with an abundant supply of nutrients and vitamins will boost their immunity
• Fruits and complex carbohydrates drive the energy levels in kids and increase stamina throughout the day. However ensure to also include protein and healthy fats as essentials in their diet.
• Try and include fruits and vegetables of rainbow colours in children’s diet – not only is this a good recipe for building immunity and ensuring a varied diet, but it also keeps it interesting for the children to eat the food too
• Healthy eating habits are the backbone of the holistic growth of children

Parents must encourage healthy eating habits in their kids from early childhood. However preschools play a major part in this too. Toddler Town, a British nursery in Dubai stands for the wholesome growth of children.

Click the link to book a Toddler Town tour TODAY!

https://demo.dvio.global/websites/toddler/

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Source – https://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler-health/hand-washing.aspx

Why hygiene is important in a nursery?
It’s easy for toddlers to catch a cold, flu viruses, or tummy bugs as they roam around touching objects, doors, and various surfaces followed by touching their face, eyes, mouth and nose using unwashed hands. Hence, it’s essential for nurseries to make sure that they follow extra hygiene protocols, especially during the COVID times. Below are some of the ways through which nurseries can keep the health of the kids in check.

-Campus Sanitization
Ensure to sanitize each room thoroughly after every class or session and before the students’ arrivals, in addition to regular cleaning throughout the nursery day. Make sure to cover every nook and corner of the campus while cleaning up.

-Social Distance Markings
Since young children don’t really understand the concept or reasoning being maintaining social distance, it’s important for nurseries to keep reminding them and reinforcing the need for it, as well as put up markers for them to identify where they need to stand or sit, while maintaining a gap from other children.

-Provide Sanitizers or practice frequent handwashing
Make sure to keep sanitizers in front of every room, so that kids know they need to sanitize their hands before entering into the class. If children are too young to use sanitizers safely (below the age of 2), ensure they wash their hands at regular intervals throughout the day, in addition to mealtimes and after using the toilet or nappy change.

How do you teach hygiene to preschoolers?

Source – https://indianexpress.com/article/parenting/health-fitness/how-parents-can-teach-good-habit-of-personal-hygiene-to-kids-6352963/

The first step towards protecting preschoolers from falling ill is to educate them about hygiene and how to practice it. Below are a few pointers to feed into the minds of these little ones:
-Wash hands on a regular basis
-Sanitize hands if washing hands with soap isn’t possible
-Use masks at all times
-Cover your mouth while sneezing and coughing
-Sometimes, it’s okay to not share the lunch with others

Benefits of personal hygiene
Personal hygiene not only keeps oneself clean but helps ward off infectious illnesses as well. Teaching personal hygiene to kids, while they spend their time in schools away from their parents, is crucial.
Personal hygiene comprises washing hands before and after doing any activity that includes dust and dirt, cleaning hands with soap before consuming food or after using the toilet, bathing properly, maintaining distance from other kids who are suffering from cold or flu, and more.

However, while these hygiene habits are inculcated at the parent’s level first, Toddler Town British Nursery – a British nursery school in Dubai, makes sure to continuously educate and reinforce the importance of health and hygiene precautions amongst it’s young students.

Click the link to book a Toddler Town British Nursery Tour today – www.toddlertown.ae.

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As a parent, one wants to provide one’s child with the best opportunity by complementing their parenting with an appropriate Early Years educational setting. A playschool, also known as the nursery, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to a child before a he/she progresses to a more formal education system.

Here are some of the potential benefits to your child’s overall development if enrolled in a nursery.

A Safe Space for Exploration

The key to a nursery education is to provide children with a comfortable environment in which they feel safe, as they would in their own homes. This creates an atmosphere in which they feel encouraged to explore their surroundings, and engage in activities like drawing, playing, music, singing, etc. The top nurseries in Dubai, Dubai Marina, and Jumeirah area uphold these standards.

Builds social and emotional growth

Nurseries provide the ideal, monitored environment in which children learn to identify, interact and communicate with peers. They are introduced to the practice and importance of teamwork and cooperation. Such exposure inculcates in them the indispensable values of sharing and camaraderie. These are essential foundations that will equip them for    learning that will occur in elementary school. While identifying an appropriate nursery or preschool for your child, it is imperative to find a setting which offers a formal and well-planned curriculum

Preparing children for Big School

The foundation built during these formative years prepares toddlers and young children for “Big School”n, both socially and academically. They not only get accustomed to being in an environment with other children outside of their home, but start thriving when given the ideal stimulation and exposure. Structured learning experiences and being familiarized with instructions also prepare them for a more formal education. It is an essential stepping stone in their growth as it helps them develop communication and social skills which they will need as they grow older.

Things to consider when choosing a nursery or preschool

Children as young as 6 months can greatly benefit from the social interaction and learning experiences they would be exposed to in a nursery setting. Parents may choose to start off with sending their children 2 or 3 times a week, and then increase to 5 days a week later.

Children usually spend between 3-4 hours per day under under the supervision of qualified and experienced teachers. The teacher-child ratio should ideally be around 1:3 for babies below 1 year, 1:4 for 1-2 year olds, 1:5 for 2-3 year olds and 1:7 for 3-4 year olds.

Staff and Safety

The staff, and most importantly the teaching staff, will play an important role in your child’s early development. The bond or connection between the child and the teacher will help children not only academically, but will also encourage socializing and making real-life connections. The teachers need to have an Early Years qualification, good credentials, and a professional yet warm approach. While visiting the preschool, it would be advisable to  observe the interaction between teachers and the children, so that you can assess for yourself whether it is aligned with what you would want for your child.Be fully satisfied with the credentials of the school staff and school facilities before enrolling your child; you are leaving a part of yourself in their care, and deserve that peace of mind.

Visit

After narrowing down your choices based on recommendations, reviews and location, make an appointment with the schools for a visit. Make sure to check out all facilities the school has to offer. You can make a checklist beforehand of what you would like to assess, and also input additional observations that you make as you tour. Do not hesitate to ask what you might think are the most basic of questions.  Bear in mind some basics like – fire drills, safety, medical care, playground equipment, cleanliness, etc.

Another important factor to consider is the safety and security of your child. Make sure that the school adheres to all safety protocols required by authorities.

Curriculum

Make sure to ask which curriculum or educational framework the nursery follows, or accreditation, if any; these are a reflection of the standards in level of care in an academic environment. There is a wide variety of different curriculum options available, depending on what works best for your family and child’s requirements. British nurseries in Dubai have a reputation for their unique curriculum and effective approach focusing on individual children’s differing needs, which have caused a surge in their popularity in Dubai recently.

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