Kindergarten food familiarization. An exploratory study of teachers' perspectives on food and nutrition in kindergartens.

This exploratory study employed a netnographic approach (netnography being a research methodology that adopts the practices of ethnography in an Internet-based setting) to reveal opportunities for kindergarten food familiarization. The study analyses kindergarten teachers' discussions on seven Internet message boards regarding the various food and nutrition experiences in their classes. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with seven kindergarten teachers to explore further the message board findings. Five opportunities for how food familiarization occurs in kindergartens emerged from the analysis. These opportunities were categorized as being either "overt": (1) nutrition lessons, (2) snack times, (3) cooking experiences, or "covert" (4) food as teaching materials, and (5) dramatic play centres. Overt refers to any opportunity centred on food, healthy eating, or nutrition, whereas covert refers to opportunities where food was involved but in a non-exclusive manner. The five opportunities are examined and discussed in terms of their implications for children's food preference development. Results should be useful for future researchers for two main reasons. First, the results demonstrate the wide variety of food and nutrition experiences kindergarten students encounter throughout the day, beyond healthy eating interventions or foods served during meals. And second, because the findings are preliminary they require further research using various methods of data collection and samples of teachers.