SESSION DESCRIPTION: Teachers can be key partners in encouraging healthy eating among young children and their families. However, not all teachers realize this potential, and many face significant challenges in improving their own health behaviors. In this session, participants will discuss the teachers’ role in supporting children’s positive health behaviors; teachers’ personal/professional challenges with healthy eating and physical activity; and learn about best practices strategies for supporting teachers’ personal health/well-being and their confidence to serve as positive role models to the children in their classrooms.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Participants will be able to explain how school settings can support children’s health behaviors but are often not supportive of teacher health and wellbeing.
Participants will be able to describe early childhood teachers’ motivators, facilitators, and barriers to serving role-modeling positive health behaviors in young children.
Participants will be able to describe strategies for improving teacher health/well-being and confidence to serve as positive role models.
Participants will be able to describe strategies teachers can use to encourage healthy eating and physical activity among young children.