Building Discipline Through Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors: “Shared Lunch Education” for Early Childhood
Abstract
Purpose of the study: This study aims to analyze the phenomenon of discipline through the habit of healthy living in early childhood by examining the patterns, forms, and indicators that emerge in healthy routines, the impact of healthy living behaviors on children’s independence and sense of responsibility, and parental support.
Methodology: This study used a descriptive qualitative approach with observation sheets, interview guidelines, and documentation as instruments. The research subjects were nine children aged 3-4 years. Data were obtained through direct observation, recorded semi-structured interviews, field notes, and photographic documentation. Data analysis was conducted through data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. Data validity was strengthened through source and technique triangulation.
Main Findings: The results of the study show that discipline and healthy living behaviors are formed through routine habits, teacher role modeling, consistent school culture, and parental support. Children demonstrate disciplined behavior by willingly following rules, eating independently, and taking responsibility for cleaning up their eating utensils. Healthy living behaviors practiced by children include washing their hands with soap, using clean eating utensils, and brushing their teeth after meals.
Novelty/Originality of this study: This study offers new insights into the process of internalizing discipline and healthy lifestyle behaviors in early childhood through school routines, teacher consistency, and parental support at home. These findings emphasize the importance of school culture synergy, teacher role modeling, and family support in forming the foundation for sustainable positive behaviors from an early age.
References
A. Ramos-Pla and L. Fornons Casol, “Health education in early childhood education: A systematic review of the literature,” Societies, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 1–17, Apr. 2025, doi: 10.3390/soc15040106.
T. M. Chalhoub, E. Mackenzie, and J. Siette, “‘Establishing healthy habits and lifestyles early is very important’: parental views of brain health literacy on dementia prevention in preschool and primary school children,” Front. Public Health, vol. 12, pp. 1–10, 2024, doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1401806.
S. M. Jones, M. Zaslow, K. E. Darling-Churchill, and T. G. Halle, “Assessing early childhood social and emotional development: Key conceptual and measurement issues,” Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, vol. 45, pp. 42-48, 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.appdev.2016.02.008.
R. J. Duncan, S. A. Schmitt, M. Burke, and M. M. McClelland, “Combining a kindergarten readiness summer program with a self-regulation intervention improves school readiness,” Early Child. Res. Q., vol. 42, pp. 291–300, 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2017.10.012.
K. Kong, J. A. Heng, S. T. Tan, A. Shafee, and A. Cheah, “Links between duration of early childhood education participation and school readiness domains: A study with malaysian public preschool children,” Early Child. Educ. J., vol. 53, pp. 2477–2488, 2024, doi: 10.1007/s10643-024-01757-y.
A. Rosyid and Desi Ismawati, “Increasing awareness of clean and healthy lifestyle patterns through problem solving learning models in early childhood,” JOYCED: Journal of Early Childhood Education, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 45–56, 2025, doi: 10.14421/joyced.2025.51-04.
X. Zhou, “Sociocultural theory in early childhood education,” Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 190–196, 2024, doi: 10.54254/2753-7048/51/20240981.
D. E. Jones, M. Greenberg, and M. Crowley, “Early social-emotional functioning and public health: The relationship between kindergarten social competence and future wellness,” American Journal of Public Health Jones, vol. 105, no. 11, pp. 2283–2290, 2015, doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302630.
Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Pedoman Program Perilaku Hidup Bersih dan Sehat (PHBS) Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini [Guidelines for the Clean and Healthy Living Behavior (PHBS) Program for Early Childhood Education]. Jakarta: Kemendikbud, 2020.
J. Jackson, L. Wolfenden, A. Grady, M. Lum, A. Leonard, S. McCrabb, ... and S. L. Yoong, “Early childhood education and care-based healthy eating interventions for improving child diet: A systematic review protocol,” Syst. Rev., vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 1–9, 2020, doi: 10.1186/s13643-020-01440-4.
J. Haines, E. Haycraft, L. Lytle, S. Nicklaus, F. J. Kok, M. Merdji, ... and S. O. Hughes, “Nurturing children’s healthy eating: Position statement,” Appetite, vol. 137, pp. 124–133, 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2019.02.007.
D. A. Dev, A. S. Garcia, D. A. Dzewaltowski, S. Sisson, L. Franzen-Castle, Z. Rida, ... and N. Frost, “Provider reported implementation of nutrition-related practices in childcare centers and family childcare homes in rural and urban Nebraska,” Prev. Med. Rep., vol. 17, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2019.101021.
K. N. Yulianti, F. Mayar, and D. Eliza, “Peranan profesional guru dalam meningkatkan nilai karakter anak usia dini di taman kanak-kanak [The professional role of teachers in improving the character values of early childhood in kindergarten],” Jurnal Obsesi : Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 5597–5606, 2023, doi: 10.31004/obsesi.v7i5.5243.
T. Viskari, T. Koivumäki, K. Appelqvist-Schmidlechner, T. Ståhl, A. Ruiz-Ariza, and S. Fröjd, “The effectiveness of school-based physical activity promotion on mental health among children and adolescents: A systematic review,” Scand. J. Med. Sci. Sports, vol. 35, no. 10, 2025, doi: 10.1111/sms.70150.
S. L. Yoong, M. Lum, L. Wolfenden, J. Jackson, C. Barnes, A. E. Hall, ... and A. Grady, “Healthy eating interventions delivered in early childhood education and care settings for improving the diet of children aged six months to six years,” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, vol. 2023, no. 6, 2023, doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013862.pub2.
G. S. Lalli, “School meal time and social learning in England,” Cambridge Journal of Education, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 57–75, 2020, doi: 10.1080/0305764X.2019.1630367.
M. D. Rossiter, M. Young, E. Dickson, J. E. Campbell, S. Caldwell, and J. L. McIsaac, “CELEBRATE feeding: A responsive approach to food and feeding in early learning settings,” Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, vol. 85, no. 3, pp. 169–173, 2024, doi: 10.3148/cjdpr-2024-009.
K. Walton, A. Breen, J. Gruson-Wood, K. Jewell, E. Haycraft, and J. Haines, “Dishing on dinner: A life course approach to understanding the family meal context among families with preschoolers,” Public Health Nutr., vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 1338–1348, 2021, doi: 10.1017/S1368980020001779.
D. A. Dev et al., “Engaging parents to promote children’s nutrition and health: Providers’ barriers and strategies in head start and child care centers,” American Journal of Health Promotion, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 153–162, 2017, doi: 10.1177/0890117116685426.
M. B. Miles, A. M. Huberman, and J. Saldana, Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook, Third Edition. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, 2014.
M. R. Mutapa, S. N. Mahmud, A. Djafar, and M. Bilale, “Membangun perilaku pola hidup bersih dan sehat (PHBS) pada anak usia dini di sekolah [Building clean and healthy lifestyle behavior (PHBS) in early childhood at school],” JISOH: Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Humaniora, vol. 1, pp. 595–599, 2025, doi: 10.63822/kg0zex67.
D. D. Rahmawati and D. Andriani, “Pengaruh perilaku hidup bersih dan sehat (PHBS) terhadap karakter disiplin pada anak kelompok b di TK Taruna Sriwijaya Palembang [The influence of clean and healthy living behavior (PHBS) on the character of discipline in group B children at Taruna Sriwijaya Kindergarten, Palembang],” Jurnal Kumara Cendekia, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 68–74, 2023, doi: 10.20961/kc.v11i1.63603.
D. P. Iman, “Perilaku hidup bersih dan sehat (PHBS) di TKIT Harapan Bunda Manado [Clean and healthy living behavior (PHBS) at Harapan Bunda Kindergarten Manado],” Indonesian Journal of Early Childhood Education (IJECE), vol. 4, pp. 23–3346, 2024, doi: 10.30984/ijece.v4i1.849.
B. D. Lukitoaji and M. L. Dewi, “Analisis pembentukan karakter disiplin peserta didik melalui budaya hidup sehat di SD Kalipucang [Analysis of the formation of students' disciplined character through a healthy lifestyle culture at Kalipucang Elementary School],” Jurnal Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan Universitas Lambung Mangkurat, vol. 10, pp. 10–19, 2020, doi: 10.20527/kewarganegaraan.v10i2.9498.
N. A. Wiyani, “Manajemen program pembiasaan untuk membentuk karakter mandiri pada anak di Paud Banyu Belik Purwokerto [Management of habituation programs to form independent characters in children at Banyu Belik Preschool, Purwokerto],” ThufuLA: Jurnal Inovasi Pendidikan Guru Raudhatul Athfal, vol. 8, pp. 29–42, 2020, doi: 10.21043/thufula.v8i1.7044.
P. Utami, “Pembiasaan PHBS dalam pembentukan karakter disiplin: Systematic literature review [PHBS habits in the formation of disciplined character: Systematic literature review],” Jurnal Kesehatan Tambusai, vol. 4, pp. 4805–4813, 2023, doi: 10.31004/jkt.v4i4.19609.
P. R. Britto, S. J. Lye, K. Proulx, A. K. Yousafzai, S. G. Matthews, T. Vaivada, ... and Z. A. Bhutta, “Nurturing care: promoting early childhood development,” The lancet, vol. 389, no. 10064, pp. 91-102, 2017, doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31390-3.
F. Lestari and N. Z. Jf, “Strategi guru dalam membentuk karakter disiplin melalui kegiatan rutin untuk menstimulasi perilaku hidup bersih dan sehat anak sejak dini [Teachers’ strategies in forming disciplined character through routine activities to stimulate clean and healthy living behavior in children from an early age],” Indonesian Journal of Educational Research (IJER), vol. 1, pp. 57–65, 2025, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.17015192.
E. Destiana, Y. Anggraeni, E. Fatmala, and A. Wulandari, “Implementing discipline for early childhood: Strategies and teacher roles,” Procedia of Social Science and Humanities, vol. 6, 2024, doi: 10.21070/pssh.v6i.537.
C. J. Erasmus, and A. Willemse, “Interventions that enhance nurturing care during early childhood development: A RE-AIM framework review,” Journal of Early Childhood Research, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 414-430, 2025, doi: 10.1177/1476718X251339312.
T. Hidayat and S. H. Damanik, “Analisis peran guru dalam mengembangkan disiplin anak usia 5-6 tahun di Tk Gudiseju Kab. Deli Serdang [Analysis of the role of teachers in developing discipline in children aged 5-6 years at Gudiseju Kindergarten, Deli Serdang Regency],” Jurnal Penelitian Ilmu Pendidikan Indonesia, vol. 4, pp. 1654–1658, 2025, doi: doi.org/10.31004/jpion.v4i3.612.
N. Mulya and P. C. Dimaniar, “Peran guru dalam mengembangkan kedisiplinan pada anak usia dini [The role of teachers in developing discipline in early childhood],” Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini Indonesia, vol. 1, pp. 21–34, 2024, doi: doi.org/10.71049/jdh5n683.
S. Koç, F. Altınay, A. Koç, Z. Altınay, and G. Dagli, “Cooperation of emotional intelligence and social activities in education: Effects on school culture and value acquisition,” Sustainability, vol. 16, no. 14, pp. 6022, 2024, doi: 10.3390/su16146022.
Halija, A. Kurniati, and Adnan, “Peran orang tua dalam mendukung disiplin anak usia dini di TK S Tunas Harapan Kecamatan Kokalukuna Kota Baubau [The role of parents in supporting early childhood discipline at Tunas Harapan Kindergarten, Kokalukuna District, Baubau City],” Jurnal Pendidikan Tambusai, vol. 9, pp. 27126–27133, 2025, doi: 10.31004/jptam.v9i2.31213.
S. Nurazizah, C. M. Surya, and O. Arifudin, “The role of teachers in instilling disciplined character in early childhood 5-6 years old at darussalam early childhood education center,” International Journal of Science Education and Technology Management (IJSETM), vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1-13, 2026, doi: 10.28301/ijsetm.v5i1.45.
R. Oktaviani, E. Elan, and N. M. Aprily, “Upaya orang tua dalam membentuk karakter disiplin anak usia dini [Parents' efforts to shape the disciplined character of early childhood children],” Jurnal PAUD Agapedia, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 214–221, 2023, doi: 10.17509/jpa.v7i2.63948.
J. P. A. U. Dini, “Management of parenting activities in forming character of early childhood,” Jurnal Obsesi: Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 3169-3179, 2022, doi: 10.31004/obsesi.v6i4.2065.
D. Ayub, “Karakter disiplin anak usia dini: Analisis berdasarkan kontribusi pola asuh orang tua [Early childhood disciplinary character: Analysis based on the contribution of parenting patterns],” Jurnal Obsesi : Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, vol. 6, no. 6, pp. 7293–7301, 2022, doi: 10.31004/obsesi.v6i6.3565.
D. Li, W. Li, and X. Zhu, “Parenting style and children emotion management skills among chinese children aged 3–6: the chain mediation effect of self-control and peer interactions,” Front. Psychol., vol. 14, pp. 1–17, 2023, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1231920.
S. R. D. Desi, “Pengaruh pola asuh orang tua terhadap perkembangan sosial dan emosional anak [The influence of parenting patterns on children's social and emotional development],” Journal Central Publisher, vol. 1, no. 11, pp. 1329–1335, 2025, doi: 10.60145/jcp.v1i11.255.
S. N. Aushofia and E. Tejaningsih, “Komunikasi guru dengan orang tua dalam menyampaikan perkembangan anak di pendidikan anak usia dini [Communication between teachers and parents in conveying children's development in early childhood education],” Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 1–10, 2025, doi: 10.47134/paud.v3i1.2268.
M. Rachman, S. Muslim, D. Suparman, and E. Norman, “Effective communication strategies between teachers and parents through a collaborative approach to improve student achievement in primary schools,” Jurnal Dirosah Islamiyah, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 1270–1281, 2024, doi: 10.17467/jdi.v6i3.5329.
M. Sun, Z. Feng, and L. Xiao, “The relationship between home-kindergarten-community collaboration and socioemotional competence among Chinese preschoolers: The chain mediating roles of principals’ transformational leadership and teachers’ socioemotional competence,” Front. Psychol., vol. 16, pp. 1–12, 2025, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1647323.
F. Syam, M. Adia Nova, I. Ridha, R. Matsam, and M. Subhi, “Kolaborasi pendidik dan orang tua: kunci sukses membangun karakter peserta didik [Collaboration between educators and parents: the key to success in building student character],” Indonesian Journal of Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 4, pp. 58–67, 2024, doi: 10.58835/ijtte.v4i2.374.
A. Willemsen, S. Wiggins, and J. Cromdal, “Young children’s mealtimes and eating practices in early childhood education and care: a scoping review of 30 years of research from 1990 to 2020,” Educational Research Review, vol. 38, pp. 100503, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.edurev.2022.100503.
I. Indani, Z. Mahyiddin, N. Faudhiah, and S. N. Fauzia, “Pendidikan makan di PAUD Intan Payong [Eating education at Intan Payong PAUD],” Jurnal Obsesi : Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 2829–2838, 2023, doi: 10.31004/obsesi.v7i3.4260.
S. H. Sadiah and E. Surbiantoro, “Korelasi pembiasaan pola makan pada anak dengan sikap disiplin anak usia dini [Correlation between habitual eating patterns in children and the disciplinary attitudes of early childhood children],” Jurnal Riset Pendidikan Guru Paud, no. 1, pp. 25–30, 2024, doi: 10.29313/jrpgp.v4i1.3714.
A. D. Malek-Lasater, K. A. Kwon, D. M. Horm, S. B. Sisson, D. A. Dev, and S. L. Castle, “Supporting children’s healthy development during mealtime in early childhood settings,” Early Child. Educ. J., vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 207–219, 2022, doi: 10.1007/s10643-020-01137-2.
N. K. Putri, Y. K. S. Pranoto, and S. Nuzulia, “The influence of self-regulation on early childhood education teachers’ readiness for curriculum change in Indonesia,” Golden Age: Jurnal Ilmiah Tumbuh Kembang Anak Usia Dini, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 515–525, 2024, doi: 10.14421/jga.2024.93-12.
H. Seshagiri and K. S. Krishna, “The zone of proximal development (ZPD) as a framework for content instruction in English learning for engineering students,” International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education (INT-JECSE, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 4117–4123, 2021, doi: 10.48047/intjecse/v13i2.321.
H. Insani, “Strategi efektif untuk meningkatkan keterampilan berbahasa pada anak usia dini pemalu melalui pendekatan teori zona perkembangan proksimal (ZPD) Vygotsky [Effective strategies to improve language skills in shy early childhood through Vygotsky's zone of proximal development (ZPD) theory approach],” Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 1–14, 2024, doi: 10.47134/paud.v2i2.1272.
R. Nur, C. Widaty, and F. Azis, “Moral knowing, feeling, behavior dalam integrasi pendidikan karakter di sekolah Smpn 24 Kota Banjarmasin [Moral knowing, feeling, behavior in the integration of character education at Smpn 24, Banjarmasin City],” Jurnal Ilmiah Mandala Education (JIME), vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 2656–5862, 2023, doi: 10.58258/jime.v9i1.4979/http.
B. R. I. Astriya, “Implementasi pendidikan karakter (character education) melalui konsep teori thomas lickona di PAUD Sekarwangi Wanasaba [Implementation of character education through the concept of Thomas Lickona’s theory at Sekarwangi Wanasaba PAUD],” JEA (Jurnal Edukasi AUD), vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 227–244, 2023, doi: 10.18592/jea.v8i2.7634.
N. Loka and A. Annisak, “Implementation of parent and teacher collaboration in instilling character values in early childhood: A case study at KB Al Farah, Seri Kembang III Village,” Kiddie: Early Childhood Education and Care Journal, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 95–104, 2025, doi: 10.52593/kid.02.2.04.
E. Budiarti and R. Darmayanti, “Mengintegrasikan kebiasaan sehat dalam pendidikan anak usia dini untuk meningkatkan fungsi eksekutif dan perkembangan kognitif [Integrating healthy habits into early childhood education to enhance executive function and cognitive development],” Jurnal Penelitian Tindakan Kelas, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 105–120, 2024, doi: 10.61650/jptk.v2i2.288.
Copyright (c) 2026 Andini Hardiningrum, Jauharotur Rihlah, Afib Rulyansah, Firdaus Firdaus, Nur Idhofi Aliya

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and acknowledge that the Integrated Science Education Journal is the first publisher licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges and earlier and greater citation of published work.



.png)
.png)




