About

Sessions

The SEEDS program consists of 7 sessions delivered by facilitators in a group setting (typically 6 to 12 mother-child pairs per group) each lasting about 1 ½ hours. We recommend that facilitators deliver one session per week for a total of 7 weeks. Each session has three parts: a parent, a child, and a family lesson. The parent and child lessons are taught simultaneously, each led by a facilitator trained on the curriculum. The family lesson either proceeds or follows the parent and child lessons.

Lessons

Parent lessons: These lessons, informed by self-determination theory¹ and the dialogue approach to adult learning,² help parents learn best-practice strategies for feeding young children. Each lesson incorporates videos and group-based, experiential learning activities. The videos illustrate the lesson concepts and address the challenges that can arise. They portray common family scenarios that spur parent discussions and provide opportunities for the facilitator and parents to discuss feeding strategies. The lessons also include individual goal setting with guided instruction to help parents apply the lesson content at home.

The topics covered in the 7 parent lessons are:

1. Introduction
2. Trying New Foods (how children develop food preferences)
3. Internal Cues of Hunger and Fullness (how children decide when they have had enough to eat, and how parents know when their child has had enough to eat)
4. Portion Size (appropriate portions for preschoolers)
5. Structure of the Environment (outside influences on eating)
6. Structure of the Home Environment (structuring mealtimes at home)
7. Review

Based on the dialogue approach to learning,² the parent lessons proceed in four steps:  anchoring the content within the learner’s experience, adding new information, applying the new content to his/her own situation, and taking away useful strategies to promote heathy eating in their preschool child.

Child lessons: The child lessons focus on children learning to explore and try new foods and how to identify and respond to their internal cues of hunger and fullness. These concepts are taught through activities and routines based on developmentally appropriate practices for early childhood education. They include engaging interactive activities such as storytelling and experiential learning activities. Colorful dolls with interchangeable stomachs of different satiety levels are used to help children identify and describe their own cues of hunger and fullness. Additionally, a new food is introduced each week for children to explore and try.

Family lessons:  In each family lesson, parents and children participate together in an activity that incorporates a concept from the program. A meal for the families is also recommended to allow families to apply the concepts learned with the support of the other parents in the program and from program facilitators.

Videos

As part of the parent lessons, 11 videos were developed to facilitate parents’ understanding of the concepts and lesson content. The videos include African American, European American, and Latina mothers talking about the challenges they experience while feeding their children and evidence-based strategies to address these challenges.  English and Spanish language versions of the videos are available.  Click on the link below to see an example video:

How Many Times Does It Take?  English

How Many Times Does it Take?  Spanish

All pictures on this website were taken from the videos.

Other Materials

SEEDS facilitators have access to a range of other materials to implement the program all available in easy to print pdf format.  The facilitator manuals and lesson plans are available in English only; materials for participants are available in both English and Spanish versions.

–General Facilitator Manuals for conducting the parent, child, and family lessons

–Lesson Plans for each session (parent, child, and family lessons for 7 weeks)

–Handouts for parent lessons

–Templates for creating materials for the child lessons (e.g., “Full-O-Meter,” Dolls’ Stomachs, Food Adventure Journals, Senses Icons)

–Participation and Completion Certificates for parents and children

–Evaluation instruments for pre- and post-program administration (see evaluation section for details)

Each Lesson Plan has a complete list of the materials necessary for that lesson.  These include materials such as flip charts, sticky notes, markers, and food items.  Please note that the program uses some popular children’s books that are available through retail booksellers.

¹ Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000).  Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68-78.

² Norris, J.  (2003).  From Telling to Teaching: A Dialogue Approach to Adult Learning. North Myrtle Beach, SC: Learning by Dialogue.