For Growing Hearts & Minds

Family Style Eating

What Is Family Style Eating?

Here at From Time 2 Time, we launched a program called Family Style Eating. Children have really taken to this program well and they enjoy being apart of the whole process. Family Style Eating is a mealtime set up to mimic dining at home.

Children and teachers sit together at one table, sharing the same menu and talking in an informal way. Our kids learned how to pass dinner bowls, use tongs and spoons for food selection, practice saying, “Please” and “Thank you” and finally, cleaning up.

Our teachers assisted the kids by using the “hand over hand” technique to help guide the serving spoons to the right destination. We discovered our mealtimes lasted longer and our kids ate more food than expected.

Conversations actually started and picky eaters weren’t as picky when they got to put the food on their own plate. Last week’s success encourages us to keep up with our new program into the rest of year with confidence!

Want to try family style eating at home?

Introduce the process slowly, ask your children to help set the table or scoop out food items onto their plate or maybe even clean up. The main point to family style eating is to help kids with the meal time process in order to foster self- help, self confidence and life skills.

how it works

Meals and snacks are provided throughout the day at From Time 2 Time Child Care.

You are more than welcome to bring meals, snacks, and beverages from home, please label your child’s name on all personal items. A refrigerator will be available, but icepacks are preferred.

We provide nutritious food, to help your child maintain a healthy diet. All meals are served with fruit or vegetables and our weekly menu is posted for you, in the lobby area.