MAMAS: Supporting Parent--Child Mealtime Interactions Using Automated Tracking and Speech Recognition

Abstract

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.

"They Don't Come With a Handbook": Exploring Design Opportunities for Supporting Parent-Child Interaction around Emotions in the Family Context

“…HCI researchers have also designed technology-mediated interventions to encourage children to adopt healthy eating habits. For example, MAMAS [ 58 ] aims to improve children’s eating behaviour by monitoring their food intake and parent–child interactions around mealtimes, collecting data with self-report questionnaires for parents, and aiding parents to engage in data-assisted self-reflection on the mealtime experiences. Other projects such as MOBERO [ 116 ] and WAKEY [ 14 ] have explored opportunities to use technology to support parents in establishing routines for their children.…”

Captivate! Contextual Language Guidance for Parent-Child Interaction

“…While not providing real-time feedback, Háblame Bebé [1] is a recent mobile app that shows promise in teaching parents about the importance of language nutrition and bilingual home environments. MAMAS [35] aids mealtime situations with specialized hardware that tracks the child's eating habits, along with an app for parent reflection. MOBERO [71] assists parents with children affected by ADHD by guiding them through morning and bedtime routines.…”

Investigating Opportunities to Support Kids' Agency and Well-being: A Review of Kids' Wearables

“…Tools such as Baby Steps [46] and Estrellita [33] support parents in tracking health data for their infants and young children. Devices like WAKEY [13] and MAMAS [40] center on helping parents shape their children's habits, allowing the children to take partial responsibility in tracking in order to self-regulate their own routines. For the promotion of physical activity, Saksono and colleagues [67] developed Spaceship Launch, a collaborative exergame that employs activity trackers worn by both parents and children.…”