MSU’s College of Nursing received a grant earlier this month to extend its program to help young parents make smart nutritional decisions for their toddlers and make mealtime a more positive experience.

The program, Nutrition Education Aimed at Toddlers, is a collaborative effort by the College of Nursing, MSU Extension and community agencies to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of nutrition education programs tailored to improve the health of Michigan‘s rural families living in poverty.

The recent grant will allow the program to expand from the three counties it currently serves - Mecosta, Clare and Midland - to 23 counties in Michigan and continue for three additional years.

Lisa Treiber, extension home economist for the Midland County MSU Extension office, said she hopes the program will give families a better understanding about how they can be more healthy role models. Families are also taught how to introduce new food and prepare easy, low-cost nutritional meals.

“The program is special because the parenting groups are small, so students can work one-on-one with teachers,” she said. “The young parents are among their own group so they are not afraid of being judged or feeling like they have done something wrong.”

Information from focus groups will be used to develop nutrition education programs that teach families to improve their eating habits and reduce health risks, like growth deficiencies, for their children.

Program coordinators say they hope the program will give local agencies a model of what they can do to educate young parents in their communities. If the program is effective, it may become available to anyone who would like to participate.

Gayle Coleman, a program leader with MSU Extension, said the program addresses a need that has not been met in Michigan.

“We did research and found that a lot of programs were addressed to the nutrition of babies or to preschool-age children,” she said. “The 0-3 age group was overlooked.”

The program addresses the birth to age 3 group by teaching parents about the unique needs of growing children and their fluctuating appetite. Coleman said this age is a transition time for infants into adult foods and the family culture.

“Children are exerting independence, saying ‘no’ to certain foods and trying foods they have never had before,” she said. “Parents need to understand these behaviors and prevent them from becoming a problem.”