Lunchtime at Sonas Gosnells: What Is Actually on the Plate

Reading time: 3 minutes

Ask most parents what they want to know about a childcare centre and the food comes up early. Not in a fussy way. They simply want to know whether their child will be properly fed by somebody who has thought about it.

At Sonas Gosnells the answer is a cooked lunch, prepared on site, built around a wide variety of wholesome foods: fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and protein-rich options.

Why the middle of the day carries so much weight

Lunchtime is a chance to refuel and recharge. That sounds obvious until you watch what happens to a room of three year olds who have not eaten properly.

A balanced meal in the middle of the day supports energy, concentration, growth and general wellbeing. Practically, it decides how the whole afternoon goes. Children who have eaten well stay engaged with what they are doing, manage frustration better, and are in far better shape for the walk to the car at pick-up.

More than fuel

Something else is happening at those tables that has nothing to do with nutrition.

Children eat together, which means passing things, waiting, noticing when somebody else needs something. They see other children eating food they might not have tried at home, which does more to broaden a fussy eater than any amount of encouragement from an adult. And they learn that mealtimes are a calm, sociable, unhurried part of the day rather than something to be got through.

Those are habits, and habits formed at three tend to stay.

What we are really aiming at

Nutritious meals keep children energised through the afternoon. The longer goal is the one that matters more: children who grow up treating good food as normal, unremarkable and enjoyable, because that is simply what lunch has always been.

We want lunchtime to be a happy, healthy and enjoyable part of every child's day. Not a battle, and not an afterthought.

Questions worth asking any centre

If you are comparing centres in the Gosnells area, these are worth asking, and the answers say a good deal:

• Is food cooked on site, or delivered in?
• Can you see this week's menu?
• Who writes the menu, and are allergies and cultural requirements built in rather than worked around?
• Do educators sit and eat with the children, or supervise from the side?

Come and see an ordinary lunchtime

The best time to visit a centre is in the middle of a normal day, not an open day. Turn up around midday and you will learn more in ten minutes than any brochure will tell you.

Sonas Gosnells is at 69 Wheatley Street, open Monday to Friday from 6:30am to 6pm, and rated Meeting the National Quality Standard by the national regulator.

Book a tour at Sonas Gosnells or read more about our programs.