For me 'nutrition' is the same as my sleep philosophy ~ I am passionate about instilling healthy habits in children around both these high stress issues for adults and I provide an environment that supports both healthy eating and sleep ~ however ultimately I do not CARE if they sleep just that I provided an environment conducive TO sleeping for each child in my care ~ if they choose just to rest during that quiet time period than I am willing to accept that they must not be tired and as long as they are respectful and quiet while resting doesn't bother me in the least if they fail to nap ~ I did MY job in ensuring they had access to sleep .... same with meal time!

I honestly do not CARE if a child eats or not as it is not something within my control ... I provide access to a wide variety of healthy options at 3 hour intervals for the children ... they are expected to come and sit at the table and keep their peers company in a pleasant respectful manner and to choose how much if anything they eat off their plate while sitting there ~ my only food item I limit to one serving is the GRAIN portion of a meal to avoid the child who always tries to fill up on that they all get one small serving of grain and need to eat the other things on their plate before seconds of it is provided if they ask for more of the grain I just calmly explain that you still have many healthy food options to choose from if you are 'hungry' because if they were TRULY hungry they would eat what was put in front of them like it or not ... cause we all know that the 2 year olds in Ethiopia are not turning their nose up at the stuff their mamas are able to find for them to eat ... picky eater syndrome is a first world BEHAVIOR that exists because adults cater to unfounded fear that their child will 'starve' if they miss a meal or two