Eating in Front of Students
Teachers often:
- Eat in front of their students in the classroom
- Eat with their students during snacks or lunchtime
- Talk about food with students and co-teachers during snacks & meals in the classroom
Role Modeling: Eating Behaviors
- Role modeling increases children's food acceptance and can persuade children's liking and intake of foods
- Children are more likely to want to taste the foods they see their teachers/caregivers eating
- Children often mimic the eating behaviors they see from their caregivers, including teachers
- Modeling unhealthy eating in front of children can increase their desire for these types of foods and persuade their eating behaviors, which can contribute to:
- Poor diet quality
- Weight gain
- Negative health outcomes
- Did you know? Studies have shown that the majority of US teachers have poor eating habits!
Common Eating Behaviors of Teachers
Many food practices teachers display in the classroom may actually influence & promote unhealthy eating behaviors in children.
- Eating a donut/pastry from the teachers' lounge
- Drinking a sugary beverage that a parent brought for the teachers
- Snacking on potato chips from the vending machine
- Bringing back candies/chocolates from the front office
- Having fast food delivered to the classroom
