Child Care Mealtime and Active Play Partnerships (Child Care MAPP): evaluation of a training resource Web site for enhancing nutrition education communication.

The communication component of the Child Care MAPP Web site was designed according to an established theoretical base, and was critically reviewed. The communication materials were targeted for use by trainers who educate child care providers, and may be incorporated into higher education curricula to guide nutrition educators who will be working in child nutrition and child feeding programs. Evaluation of the impact of the communication materials on a group of trainers demonstrated a significant increase in participant confidence to communicate about nutrition. In particular, the child- and adult-centered phrases developed as a novel and developmentally appropriate approach to nutrition education were evaluated by respondents as useful, and were found to increase confidence to communicate with children. Future research should further examine the use of child-centered and adult-centered nutrition phrases in nutrition education and higher education, to determine whether the way in which adults talk with children improves children’s knowledge about nutrition, and whether use of the phrases can positively affect children’s nutrition behaviors.