Many parents of young children find it challenging to deal with their children's eating problems, and parent--child mealtime interaction is fundamental in forming children's healthy eating habits. In this paper, we present the results of a three-week study through which we deployed a mealtime assistant application, MAMAS, for monitoring parent--child mealtime conversation and food intake with 15 parent--child pairs. Our findings indicate that the use of MAMAS helped 1) increase children's autonomy during mealtime, 2) enhance parents' self-awareness of their words and behaviors, 3) promote the parent--child relationship, and 4) positively influence the mealtime experiences of the entire family. The study also revealed some challenges in eating behavior interventions due to the complex dynamics of childhood eating problems. Based on the findings, we discuss how a mealtime assistant application can be better designed for parents and children with challenging eating behaviors.

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Challenging behaviors significantly impact learning and socialization of autistic children and can stress and burden their caregivers. Documentation of challenging behaviors is fundamental for identifying what environmental factors influence them, such as how others respond to a child's such behaviors. Caregiver-tracked data on their child's challenging behaviors can help clinical experts make informed recommendations about how to manage such behaviors. To support caregivers in recording their children's challenging behaviors, we developed GeniAuti, a mobile-based data-collection tool built upon a clinical data collection form to document challenging behaviors and other clinically relevant contextual information such as place, duration, intensity, and what triggers such behaviors. Through an open-ended deployment with 19 parent-child pairs and three expert collaborators, caregivers found GeniAuti valuable for (1) becoming more attentive and reflective to behavioral contexts, including their own response strategies, (2) discovering positive aspects of their children's behaviors, and (3) promoting collaboration with clinical experts around the caregiver-tracked data to develop tailored intervention strategies for their children. However, participant experiences surface challenges of logging behaviors in social circumstances, conflicting views between caregivers and clinical experts around the structured recording process, and emotional struggles resulting from recording and reflecting on intensely negative experiences. Considering the complex nature of caregiver-based health tracking and caregiver--clinician collaboration, we suggest design opportunities for facilitating negotiations between caregivers and clinicians and accounting for caregivers' emotional needs.