Culture and community: observation of mealtime enactment in early childhood education and care settings

Abstract

Background Establishing healthy eating behaviours in early life has implications for health over the life course. As the majority of Australian children aged five and under regularly attend early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, mealtimes at ECEC settings present opportunities to promote healthy eating behaviors. The purpose of this study was to explore children’s eating behaviours and interactions between peers and educators during mealtimes in ECEC settings, with the aim of constructing a grounded theory of children’s mealtimes in ECEC. Methods In-depth qualitative case studies were undertaken at two ECEC centres. Each centre had been assessed as meeting national quality standards and were located in a lower socioeconomic status area. Data collection consisted of direct observation, video recording, written memos, and daily field notes. The analysis included open coding of video recorded mealtimes and field notes resulting in the allocation of initial codes and focused codes. Codes were grouped to form thematic categories and emergent themes. Theoretical sampling was used to identify mealtime interactions exemplifying thematic categories. Results Data from 47 mealtimes was available. A grounded theory of children’s mealtimes was developed to demonstrate children’s outcomes at mealtimes. Outcomes were represented by five thematic categories: rituals, learning moments, food preference development, socialisation and child agency. Mealtimes offered opportunities for children to construct a community of peers with their educators by sharing information, stories and occasionally their food. Each centre established its own unique culture within mealtimes observed as the children were involved in routines and rituals. Conclusions Mealtimes in ECEC settings are a unique cultural phenomenon co-constructed by the ECEC community of children and educators. The findings highlight the importance of mealtimes as a time for learning and socialization. The routine and rituals of mealtimes provide an opportunity for educators to support the development of healthy food preferences.

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Australian Trainee Childcare Educators Regarding Their Role in the Feeding Behaviours of Young Children

“…Participants remarked that this appeared to limit involvement of children in mealtime preparations, and was not conducive to role-or peer-modelling, nutrition education or child self-regulation. Harte et al (2019) [65] described mealtimes at childcare as a "unique cultural phenomenon", with important routines and rituals that can be used by childcare educators to support the development of healthy eating behaviours and food preferences.…”

The Influence of Parental Dietary Behaviors and Practices on Children’s Eating Habits

“…In the same vein, a Harvard cohort study found that children who eat together with their parents are twice as likely to eat their five servings of FV compared to families who do not share their meals. Moreover, in the same study, family meals seemed to help parents to perform as role models and be considered as an example of polite table manners and healthy eating habits [ 58 ]. In addition, results from the same study also showed that shared meals seem to help in childhood obesity prevention as children tend to eat less when they eat in the presence of their parents [ 58 ].…”

“…Moreover, in the same study, family meals seemed to help parents to perform as role models and be considered as an example of polite table manners and healthy eating habits [ 58 ]. In addition, results from the same study also showed that shared meals seem to help in childhood obesity prevention as children tend to eat less when they eat in the presence of their parents [ 58 ]. Participants in this study were children of nurses, hence, they all came from highly educated families compared to the general population [ 58 ].…”

“…In addition, results from the same study also showed that shared meals seem to help in childhood obesity prevention as children tend to eat less when they eat in the presence of their parents [ 58 ]. Participants in this study were children of nurses, hence, they all came from highly educated families compared to the general population [ 58 ].…”

Vilkår for barns medvirkning i fellesskap i barnehagen

“…Selv om mange studier viser til at dersom voksnes perspektiv dominerer og styrer barns handlinger og aktiviteter, og at det kan vaere til hinder for barnas muligheter for å medvirke, finnes det også nyere forskning som nyanserer dette bildet (Greve, 2009;Harte et al, 2019;Koivula & Hännikäinen 2017;Tofteland, 2015). Det illustreres for eksempel hvordan personalets ivaretakelse av vennskaps-og fellesskapsrelasjoner skaper muligheter for barns medvirkning (Greve, 2009).…”