A qualitative study exploring parental accounts of feeding pre‐school children in two low‐income populations in the UK

Abstract

Good nutrition in the early years of life is essential, yet the diets of many pre-school children in the UK are known to be poor. Understanding the decisions parents make when feeding young children is very important in determining what type and nature of interventional support may be developed to promote good nutrition. The aim of this study was to explore using qualitative methods, parental perceptions of feeding their children in order to inform the development of a nutrition intervention. Focus groups (n = 33) and individual interviews (n = 6) were undertaken with parents, most of whom were attending children's centres in two deprived populations from one urban (Islington, north London) and one rural (Cornwall) location in England. Accounts of feeding pre-school children were primarily concerned with dealing with the practicalities of modern life, in particular the cost of food and the need to manage on a restricted household budget. Time pressures, a lack of perceived knowledge and confidence in preparing food and managing conflict over food choices between family members were also strong themes. Parents commonly reported differences between how they would like to feed their children and the reality of what they were able to do in their circumstances. These findings suggest that the poor eating habits of many pre-school children may be less a case of parental ignorance but rather the product of a range of coping strategies. Designing an intervention, which helps parents to build their confidence and self-efficacy, may enable them to make positive changes to their children's diets.

Parental feeding behaviour and motivations regarding pre-school age children: A thematic synthesis of qualitative studies

“…Five samples (1, 2, 5, 6, 7) concerned UK populations and three (3, 4, 8) concerned US populations. It has recently been suggested that children's diets are poor in the UK, particularly among socially disadvantaged groups and these children tend to have lower intakes of fruit and vegetables and higher intakes of non-milk sugars (Hayter et al, 2013). It has also been suggested in the UK that "how parents feed their children has been underrepresented in obesity policy" (Clark, Goyder, Bissell, Blank, & Peters, 2007) and this may account for the concentration of studies regarding parental feeding in the UK over the last 5 years.…”

“…To illustrate each theme, selected participant quotations are included. Those studies which contained good detail of participant quotes (such as Carnell et al, 2011;Hayter et al, 2013;and Herman et al, 2012) …”

“…Articles focussing only on a particular racial or cultural group were therefore excluded. Studies dealing with low income populations generally were included in the review, due to significant recent concerns about greater health risks and obesity in this group, particularly in the UK where children's diets are said to be "known to be poor" particularly among socially disadvantaged groups (Hayter et al, 2013).…”

“…Ultimately, no studies were excluded on grounds of serious flaws in quality. Using CASP and COREQ, papers by Carnell et al, (2011), Hayter et al, (2013 and Herman et al, (2012) were appraised as high quality and given greater weight in the thematic synthesis.…”

“…The prevalence of obesity among pre-school age children in the UK is increasing, with over 22% of reception age children and 33% of year 6 children being overweight or obese in 2010-11 (Hayter et al, 2013). Childhood obesity is associated with depression, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, high blood cholesterol levels and low self-esteem .…”