【Objectives】This study examined applicability of the nutrition education programs and effectiveness of newsletters educating parents on nutrition.
【Methods】Teacher-led classes and nutrition education newsletters were provided to 120 kindergartners and their parents in three kindergartens in City “A” on a total of ten occasions in 2013: five occasions from February through March (Age-4 nutrition education program), and five occasions from April through July (Age-5 nutrition education program). Four kindergarten teachers assessed the nutrition education teaching plans, and parents assessed nutrition education linking home and kindergarten by using self-administered questionnaires. Given that parents were educated through the newsletters, the connection between nutrition education at home and in kindergarten was examined in terms of how carefully they had read the materials. Sixty-five parents of both the Age-4 and Age-5 programs were divided into two groups: those who read the newsletters of each nutrition education class (the “completely-read” group), and those who did not (the “partially-read” group).
【Results】Either all four or three of the four kindergarten teachers responded that the Age-4 program teaching plans were “easy to understand” and “easy to use.” For the Age-5 program teaching plans, either one or two of the four teachers gave positive answers for each of the themes of Chimaki, Onigiri, and Food Guide Pyramid. In the “completely-read” group, the parents and their kids reviewed the contents of the classes at home more in the Age-4 program, and their kids had talked more about the classes, requested and implemented cooking and handicraft more in the Age-5 program. Additionally, the “completely-read” group had more positive answers about their and their kids’diet life at the end of the program.
【Conclusion】These results indicate that the contents of the Age-4 teaching plans were easy for teachers to understand and use, but that those of the Age-5 program have room for improvement. The results also suggest that nutrition education newsletters for parents can be one of the methods for nutrition education promotion linking home and kindergarten.
