Nutrition Education Aimed at Toddlers

Health educator Heather Cook teaches a Nutrition Education Aimed at Toddlers (NEAT) class.

The Nutrition Education Aimed at Toddlers (NEAT) curriculum is designed to help parents and other adult caregivers encourage their toddlers to develop healthy eating habits and promote positive mealtime interactions. Developed by Michigan State University, this curriculum is based on current recommendations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, American Academy of Pediatrics and other recognized national organizations, as well as information gathered from focus groups with rural, low-income parents and adult caregivers of toddlers.

The program is divided into four to six lessons with accompanying activities that combine parenting with nutrition education. Lesson topics include ways to prevent choking in young children, the importance of washing hands, incorporating a variety of foods into toddlers’ diets, ideas for quick and easy meals, how to apply positive discipline techniques to common mealtime behaviors and how to keep toddlers occupied while an adult is preparing a meal.

What Parents Say

"Amazing teacher. We have fun with how she is teaching us to cook healthier foods."
"Very informative and enjoyable."