Educational Media Reviews Online

This two DVD set from InJoy Birth & Parenting Education gives parents and caregivers of infants and young children the framework for delivering healthy, nutritious meals and snacks. The chapter breakdown on Volume 1: Feeding Your Baby is a good guide to the contents of the video—Breastmilk and Formula, Starting Solids, Baby Food Basics, Self-feeding, and Family Meals. In addition to details on the benefits for both mother and baby regarding infant feeding, this video delves into recent research findings on working with the child’s natural tendencies and abilities to eat; signs of food allergies; homemade vs store bought baby food; and the social aspects of eating, including the importance of family meals.

Volume 2: Young Children Eating Right covers the toddler and young child, years 1-5. Using the MyPlate.gov recommendations as a guide, this volume is filled with everything parents need for preparing nutritious meals and making mealtimes interesting for kids. The focus here is on the different food groups, reading ingredient labels, stressing a balanced diet and including plenty of water rather than sugary drinks. The importance of involving children with food and meal preparation, together with developing eating skills and habits and appropriate meal time behavior all point at ways to control overeating and obesity.

Both of these DVDs, skillfully created and edited, are packed with practical advice married with current medical and behavioral information. The 20-minute running time is perfect for clinical sessions with parents and for classroom use. Both programs provide a summary at the end of the video to recap important points. The technical aspects here are first-rate, the pacing is spot on, and both programs will hold the viewer’s attention. A free facilitator’s guide is available on the InJoy web site in both English and Spanish versions, however, you must register for an account on the site to access them. A Bonus Clip for Kids, about 7 minutes in length and included on both volumes, is a great short video to entice little ones to eat well, be active, and be healthy.

Childhood Nutrition v. 1-2 is a must have set for public and clinical library collections dealing with public health and parenting. Academic libraries should also include it in consumer health collections as well as those departments studying public health, child health and parenting.