Impact of COVID-19 on Early Childhood Educator's Perspectives and Practices in Nutrition and Physical Activity: A Qualitative Study

Government guidelines for relaunching early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs during the COVID-19 pandemic have required the implementation of various practices to minimize the risk of infection transmission. These directives include recommendations regarding serving and handling food, shared spaces, and physical distancing which have a direct impact on the health and development of children in care. The purpose of this study was to explore early childhood educators' perspectives on how COVID-19 guidelines have impacted the nutrition and physical activity practices within their ECEC environment. A qualitative description approach was used to explore a purposive sample of 17 educators working full time in ECEC centres during the pandemic between July and August 2020. Semi-structured, individual interviews were conducted, audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using a thematic analysis. Educators identified environmental changes in their environments noting a reduction in the quality food available for children juxtaposed with increased outdoor opportunities and a perceived increase in physical activity time. Teaching practices were also identified as being impacted by the COVID-19 guidelines. Curriculum, life skills, and social connectedness around healthy eating education was disrupted. Promoting physical activity education was challenged due to equipment, space, and curriculum enrichment opportunities losses. These findings demonstrate pronounced negative effects of COVID guidelines on nutrition and physical activity best practices within the ECEC environment. There is a need to support educators in maintaining healthy and active environments for preschoolers while following guidelines to minimize the risk of COVID infection transmission.