Fathers’ child feeding practices: A review of the evidence

Khandpur, Neha; Blaine, Rachel E.; Fisher, Jennifer O.; Davison, Kirsten K.

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2014.03.015

Cited by 232 publications

(240 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Although research with fathers has been limited, this is consistent with prior work in that fathers are less likely to monitor food intake and limit access to certain foods. 45 To our knowledge the literature has predominantly focused on how maternal perceptions, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and diet influence child's health outcomes. [46][47][48][49] Based on our findings, more research is needed to explore how spouses influence foods served and consumed in the home, which may affect the child's dietary intake.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextual and Cultural Influences on Parental Feeding Practices and Involvement in Child Care Centers among Hispanic Parents

et al. 2015

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Contextual and cultural influences on parental feeding practices among Hispanics Hispanic preschoolers in the United States are at greater risk for obesity compared to non‐Hispanic whites. Obese children are more likely to be obese adolescents and adults thus, early prevention is critical. Growing evidence has addressed the role of caregivers’ indulgent or restrictive feeding practices in children’s eating behaviors and negative weight outcomes. However, the mechanisms driving these associations are largely unknown; including what influences these feeding practices among Hispanics. Therefore the goal of this qualitative study was to explore contextual and socio‐cultural influences on parental feeding. Four focus groups (n=37) were held with Hispanic parents of preschool‐aged children at two day care centers in Rhode Island. Audio recordings were transcribed and translated, and themes extracted. Parents commented that their childhood experiences of not being allowed to waste food influenced how they currently feed their children. They reported making conscious decisions not to use the same feeding strategies as their own parents and on the contrary, reported using different practices related to encouragement of healthy foods and promotion of self‐regulation. Parents reported wanting to feed their children healthy foods but other influences such as peer‐social interactions posed as challenges for example, some mother’s reported only buying juice after their child was exposed to it in daycare. Husband’s food preferences and grandparent’s indulgent behaviors were also viewed as a challenge to promoting healthy foods in the home. Understanding how cultural and environmental factors influence parental feeding and may help tailor obesity prevention efforts among Hispanics. Grant Funding Source: Supported by the University of Rhode Island

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextual and Cultural Influences on Parental Feeding Practices and Involvement in Child Care Centers among Hispanic Parents

et al. 2015

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“…However, to date research into parental feeding practices has largely focussed on mothers [63]. Our unpublished data comparing feeding practices (using the Child Feeding Questionnaire [51]) in 70 parent pairs indicated that, compared to mothers, although fathers feel less responsible for child feeding, they are more concerned about child weight status and appear to more frequently use relatively controlling and, hence, suboptimal feeding practices.…”

Section: Further Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding Practices and Parenting: A Pathway to Child Health and Family Happiness

2019

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Feeding and parenting are inextricably linked. The complex bidirectional interactions between parent feeding practices and child eating behaviour shape the early feeding environment which in turn interacts with genetic predispositions to lay the foundation for life-long eating habits and health outcomes. Parent feeding and child (and parent) eating are central to the fabric of family life and are strongly rooted in culture and tradition. Yet, many parents experience stress and anxiety related to this ubiquitous parenting task and perceive their child as a “fussy eater” or a “difficult feeder.” Parents commonly misinterpret heritable and developmentally “normal” child eating behaviour, such as food refusal, as cause for concern. In an effort to get their child to “eat well” they respond with coercive feeding practices, such as pressure, reward and restriction. Emotional feeding that uses food to comfort, distract, calm or shape behaviour is also common. Although well intentioned, these non-responsive, parent- rather than child-centred feeding practices are ineffective, even counterproductive. They teach children to eat for reasons unrelated to appetite and, hence, more than they need and fail to support development of healthy food preferences and appetite regulation. Early feeding interventions are needed that assist parents to understand normal child eating behaviour and promote responsive feeding practices and effective food parenting. The aim of this chapter is to review (1) “normal” eating behaviour of young children, (2) the range of feeding practices and strategies that parents use to respond to and try to shape these behaviours, (3) evidence for approaches to feeding young children that have potential to reduce conflict related to child feeding and promote life-long healthy eating patterns that are a key determinant of long-term health and well-being and (4) to provide an overview of an early feeding intervention, NOURISH, which demonstrated a positive impact on maternal feeding practices and potentially reduced parent anxiety and stress related to feeding.

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“…Pressuring children to eat food they do not like, or eat more food than they want, leads to aversion for that food (Sleddens et al, 2014). Argumentative practices, such as reminding children to finish their vegetables (Khandpur, Blaine, Fisher, & Davison, 2014), disguising healthy food in dinner dishes (Peters, Parletta, Lynch, & Campbell, 2014) and fostering a happy, relaxed atmosphere during family meals (Sleddens et al, 2014) have been seen as helpful strategies in improving children's diets as well.…”

Section: Family Communication Patterns Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of family communication and parents' feeding practices in children's food preferences

2015

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This study used Family Communication Patterns Theory (FCPT) to explore how familydinner-related communication takes place and how parents' feeding practices may be associated with children's preferences for dinner meals. The sample consisted of 12 dyads with seven-and eight-year-old Norwegian children and their parents. In-depth photo interviews were used for collecting data. Interview transcripts and photographs were examined through content analysis.Results indicated that most families were conversation oriented, and communication tended to shift from consensual during weekdays to pluralistic at weekends. On weekdays, the dinner menu was often a compromise between children's preferences and parents' intentions to provide quick, healthy dinner options for the family. To a greater extent at weekends, children were allowed to choose dinner alternatives for the entire family. Restriction of unhealthy dinner alternatives was the practice most used to control children's diets and, in fact, might explain children's high preferences for unhealthy dinner alternatives. Results underline the importance of giving children control of what they eat and being responsive to children's preferences while guiding them towards healthy dinner alternatives rather than using force and restriction. From a more theoretical perspective, this study explored how FCPT could be combined with theories about parents feeding practices to understand meal preferences and choices among young children and their families, and how time and situation (context) influence families' communication patterns and feeding practices in their homes.

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Fathers’ child feeding practices: A review of the evidence

Cited by 232 publications

References 47 publications

Contextual and Cultural Influences on Parental Feeding Practices and Involvement in Child Care Centers among Hispanic Parents

Contextual and Cultural Influences on Parental Feeding Practices and Involvement in Child Care Centers among Hispanic Parents

Feeding Practices and Parenting: A Pathway to Child Health and Family Happiness

The role of family communication and parents' feeding practices in children's food preferences

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