Abstract:

In a constantly changing world, where man feeds "on the go" on foods that are tastier but increasingly processed, refined and with the addition of additives to increase its validity, in a world where there is an explosion of diseases caused by unhealthy nutrition, it is necessary for man to reconsider his mode of nutrition. The objectives for ensuring a quality diet during childhood include providing sufficient nutrients and energy taken from the food for proper growth. Quality nutrition is essential and mandatory for the reduction of childhood diseases, for the promotion of optimal health and for the prevention of chronic diseases in the future. The acceleration of the physical development and the earlier psychic evolution of today's children require the resizing of the living environment and the adaptation of nutrition, training and education programs to the new rhythms of youth maturation.

In this context, in this paper, the authors present a nutritional model applicable to preschool children, which is based on the national legislation in force in the field, the recommendations of specialists and internal analysis. The objectives of the research were aimed at identifying the categories of food that are offered to preschoolers by parents, identifying the level of knowledge of parents regarding the principles underlying healthy eating, identifying the amount of nutrients included in the menu offered to children in kindergarten and developing a strategy to improve the identified nonconformities.

The research was conducted for 30 days on a group of 43 children. For the collection of data, the questionnaire-based survey method and the method of researching the documents regarding the children's menu in the kindergarten were used. The analysis involved conducting a food survey, developing and applying a questionnaire that was sent to the parents of the children of a kindergarten with extended hours. The study proposes the development of a project to improve the nutritional model of the children in the analyzed institution.

The work is also intended to be an alarm signal on the current situation of children's nutrition in preschool educational institutions with extended hours in Romania.

Keywords:

Preschool education, preschool nutrition, food survey, nutritional culture.