Guernsey Press

Pupils at La Houguette enjoy trying new foods

YOUNGSTERS at La Houguette Primary School were being encouraged to try different sorts of food yesterday.

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Pupils at La Houguette School have been learning about healthy eating. With specialist nurse for children’s weight management Katie Hill are, left to right, five-year-olds Katy-Rose Barlow, Mya Newby and Hugo Le Gallez. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 21644785)

Specialist nurse in children’s weight management Katie Hill works to support children and families to achieve healthy lifestyles.

She runs clinics at Lukis House as well as delivering personal, social and health education in schools.

Four and five year-olds from the country parish school took their turn yesterday to try new food.

‘The idea is to try and broaden their tastes in fruit, vegetables, flavours and textures,’ said Mrs Hill.

‘It’s about giving them confidence to try new things.’

The children experimented with carrots, humus, cucumber, cottage cheese, couscous, mushrooms, Ryvita crackers, bread sticks, Marmite and various dips.

La Houguette Reception teacher Di Thorogood said the concept worked well.

‘If the children try things in a group alongside their peers, it encourages them to make choices in terms of food outside the school and the parents are always very grateful for it,’ she said. ‘The children are talking amongst themselves and keen to take on challenges, which

is very encouraging when

they are only four or five years old.’

Mrs Hill said she did not like pineapple or cottage cheese but was keen to try them again in front of the children.

‘They say that if you try something a lot of times – the suggested figure is 13 – then you will generally get to like it and tastes change as people get older,’ she said.

‘This is a key age to get the children out of fussy eating and if we can encourage them to try new things at this age then they are more likely to do so later and therefore achieve a more balanced intake.’

Mushrooms got mixed reviews from two five year olds.

Zoe Pollard said she had never tried them before and did not like them, while Jack Armsden said they were new to him too and ‘yummy’.