8 Tips and Tricks to Encourage Healthy Eating Habits in Children

If you have heard that the rules around mobile phones and electronic devices in early childhood settings have changed, you are right. If your child attends a childcare centre in NSW, these changes are already in effect.

Here is a plain-English breakdown of what changed, why it happened, and what it means for your family.

Why Did the Laws Change?

The changes were introduced as a child safety measure. In 2025, Australia’s Education Ministers agreed to amend the Education and Care Services National Law to address concerns about the potential for personal devices to be used to capture, store, or transmit images of children in care without authorisation.

The intent is straightforward: children in early learning settings deserve an environment where their privacy and safety are actively protected.

What Changed Nationally

From 27 February 2026, amendments to the national Education and Care Services National Law took effect across Australia. Under these changes, educators and staff who work directly with children are restricted from using personal electronic devices in care settings.

Before this, from 1 September 2025, all early childhood education and care services nationwide were required to have written policies in place addressing the use of digital devices.

What Changed in NSW

NSW moved ahead of the national timeline. The Education and Care Services (Supply, Authorisation and Use of Devices) Order 2025 took effect on 6 November 2025, applying across NSW’s 6,000 or more early learning services, including long day care centres, preschools, and family day care.

Under this order, educators and staff must use service-issued or service-authorised devices rather than their own personal devices when working directly with children.

What Counts as a Personal Device?

The definition is broad. A personal device is any device owned by an individual (not the approved provider) that is capable of capturing, storing, or transmitting an image. This includes:

Mobile phones
Smartwatches
Cameras and tablets
iPads and laptops
Hard drives, USB drives, and memory cards
Wearables such as camera glasses

Who Does the Ban Apply To?

The restrictions apply to anyone working directly with children at a service, including permanent and casual educators, students on placement, volunteers, contractors, and allied health professionals delivering programs on-site.

Parents, carers, and other visitors are not covered by the ban. In NSW, parents and carers remain free to use their personal devices during drop-off, pick-up, centre visits, and events involving their own children. There are also authorised exceptions for essential purposes, including emergencies and health or disability support needs.

What About Screen Time for Children?

These new laws specifically address staff device use, not children’s screen time. Screen time limits for young children are not mandated within childcare regulation at a national level.

The relevant guidance comes from the federal Department of Health and Aged Care’s 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, which recommend no screen time for children under 2 years, and no more than 1 hour per day for children aged 2 to 5 years. These are health guidelines, not regulatory requirements.

What This Means for Your Family

If your child attends a childcare centre in NSW, their service is already required to operate under these rules. Any educator or staff member working directly with your child should not be using a personal device to take photos or videos. Only service-authorised devices should be used for that purpose.

If you have questions about how your centre handles digital devices or image capture, you are well within your rights to ask. Most services will have a written policy in place that covers exactly this.

At Clovel, the safety and wellbeing of every child in our care is at the heart of everything we do. If you would like to know more about how we support your child across our centres, we would love to have that conversation with you.

As parents, we try to offer our children the very best in every aspect of their lives—immersive learning experiences, fun vacations, and well-rounded education. But when it comes to eating, the “best”, or healthiest, foods are often met with turned up noses and tightly shut lips. Given the popularity of sugary drinks and filler-filled snacks, it can be challenging to nurture a love for natural foods. So, what is the secret? How do we get our children to ditch the Doritos and embrace the delicious (though decidedly less zippy) flavor of healthy foods?

We’ve gathered 8 tips and tricks that will help you develop your child’s palate and instill in them an appreciation for healthy foods.

1. Start Early

And when we say early, we mean early…as in “in the womb” early. Pregnant mothers should eat a variety of fruits and vegetables while pregnant. Not only are the vitamins and nutrients essential, but varying baby’s exposure to a variety of nutrients—first through amniotic fluid, then later through breast milk if mom chooses to nurse—increases the likelihood that children will be willing to trying new foods later in life.

2. Focus on Overall Diet Instead of Banning Certain Foods

As adults who have lived through various fad diets, we know that telling anyone a certain food is “banned” is a sure-fire way to guarantee that taboo food will be the only thing they dream about.

Avoid the temptation to exclude certain foods and instead embrace an overall way of eating that celebrates whole, nutrient-rich foods while allowing occasional treats. And, if you can substitute pre-packaged sweets that are pumped full of unnatural fillers for homemade treats using healthier ingredients, you’ll have set your children up for a life of long-term healthy eating.

3. Model Healthy Eating to Children

It’s hard for children to take you seriously if you demand they eat carrots and celery while plowing through a bag of potato chips.

Your actions are powerful influencers to your children. Nurture their love of healthy foods by letting them see you get excited about healthy food options. The more they see you eating a variety of whole foods, the more willing they’ll be to give them a try.

4. Give children More Control

We all know how much children love autonomy. Giving them a sense of control over what they eat can help them increase their healthy food intake while making them feel as though the choice is theirs.

Provide four or five healthy snack options and let children decide what they want to eat. children children involved with meal planning for the week and let them decide what the family will eat for lunch or dinner. Allow children to fill their own plates and choose how much of each healthy dish they take during mealtime. You can also check out these fun ways to encourage your child to experience food in a playful way.

5. Pair New Foods with Old Favorites

Children are more likely to try new foods if they are presented alongside something they already love. If, for example, you are introducing your child to jicama, serve it along with apple slices and peanut butter for dipping. Want them to eat broccoli? Add it to a plate with carrot sticks and homemade ranch dressing.

6. Avoid Making Multiple Meals

It’s easy to fall into the habit of cooking separate meals—one for the children and another for the adults.

Try cooking a single meal with multiple dishes, then let children decide how much of each dish they take. Though it may be tempting, avoid chastising children if they skip over one of their options—odds are, with repeated exposure, they’ll eventually give it a try. When they do take a chance on a new dish, be sure to heap on the praise.

7. Get children in the Kitchen

Children are much more likely to try a new dish if they have a hand in creating it. Make the whole process an adventure—head to the local grocer or farmer’s market together for ingredients and bring them into the kitchen to help with the cooking process. Allowing children to see how food is made removes some of the mystery and lowers their suspicions.

8. Make Homemade Treats

Ditch the store-bought goodies and make homemade versions using natural ingredients.

The internet offers a wealth of recipes that allow you to make healthy treat options your children will crave while still being incredibly nutritious! From avocado brownies made with whole wheat flour to carrot and apple oat cookies, the internet is an endless source of recipes for treats that are both nutritious and delicious.

Encouraging children to eat healthy foods can be one of the most challenging aspects of parenthood. By having healthy options readily available and continuing to present nutritious foods with each meal, you’re increasing the likelihood that your child will develop a well-rounded palate and will incorporate healthy eating into their life throughout childhood and into their adult life.

For any more information, call Clovel Childcare and Early Learning Centre, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. For any information about our Educational Programs, give us a call at 02 9199 0294 or fill in this contact us form.

Thanks for reading,
Clovel Childcare
1300 863 986

Lyn Connolly

Founder and Company Director

Lyn Connolly is the Founder and Company Director of Clovel Childcare & Early Learning Centres, a family‑owned group of eight centres across Western Sydney established from her first service at Merrylands. Active in early childhood education since 1977, she also serves as President of the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW, representing providers in state and federal consultations, media, and public hearings.

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