Children’s active participation during meals in Early Childhood and Care Institutions

The meal in Early Childhood and Care Institutions is often characterized by routines and rules determined by adults. This, if correct, is not in line with today’s ideals about children’s involvement and active participation. In this article I argue for children’s active participation, which is a key prerequisite in the understanding of seeing meals as a democratic arena. Next, I review the theoretical work on how Early Childhood and Care Institutions staff can arrange for meals to be characterized by children’s participation and active exploration