Special occasions

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If children regularly fill up on cakes and treat foods, they will have little room left for the nutritious food they need. In addition, when eaten between meals these foods are damaging to growing teeth.

In a large childcare setting, there will be occasions where the food provided varies due to the location or on special occasions such as birthdays and other celebrations. We would encourage that services do not mark celebrations with sweets, crisps or fizzy drinks and instead consider non-food treats.

Special occasions

It is still important to celebrate birthdays and special occasions. Tips for dealing with them include:

• Mark the occasion with fun games and activities rather than foods.
• If a number of birthdays fall in the same week, consider marking them on the same day.
• Advise parents to keep sweet ‘treats’ for home celebrations.

Rewards

Children love sweet ‘treats’ and it is tempting to use sweets such as marshmallows and jellies as a reward. This isn’t helpful to a child’s relationship with these foods as they soon learn to associate ‘treat’ foods with doing what is asked of them.

Instead encourage children with praise and attention, and non-food rewards such as stickers and games.