Swedish preschool children's experience of food

Abstract

Focus group interviews were carried out at 12 preschools. The aim was to investigate children's perceptions and experiences of food, and the possibility of using focus group techniques with children aged 3–5 years. A total of 103 children participated. The children associated food and eating with rules and norms. Most children described these rules and norms as well as what they were and were not allowed to do. They knew very well the difference between acceptable and non‐acceptable mealtime behaviour, and were especially aware of what they were not allowed to do. When children were asked to rate foods they ‘disliked’, they spoke instead about their favourite foods. They did not categorize food as good or bad, as adults often do, but as ‘food’ and ‘non‐food’, for example, sweets were not food. The method used in this study, the focus group interview, was judged to be a useful tool for exploring how children think about and jointly reflect upon food.

Pre‐school staffs’ attitudes toward foods in relation to the pedagogic meal

“…[11][12][13] In this specific part of the study, a qualitative approach based on Grounded Theory with interviews was chosen. [11][12][13] In this specific part of the study, a qualitative approach based on Grounded Theory with interviews was chosen.…”

“…This study was carried out in 1998 as part of a larger investigation of pre-school children's food habits, in which both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. [11][12][13] In this specific part of the study, a qualitative approach based on Grounded Theory with interviews was chosen. 14 Thirty-four interviews with pre-school staff from 12 different schools were conducted during pre-school hours.…”

“…In a study by Fergus and co-workers, it was found that combined videomodelling and reward intervention resulted in major increases in consumption of fruit and vegetables that children previously had consistently refused to eat. 11 Some of the meals during the first week at the pre-schools were video-recorded. They conclude that eating practices of children are 'extremely malleable and subject to strong influence by socio-cultural factors' (p. 76).…”

Think before you eat: photographic food diaries as intervention tools to change dietary decision making and attitudes

“…Applying the theory to diet, it is easy to imagine when contextual factors such as price of available food, hunger pangs, habits or time constraints could override attitudes towards healthy eating and dominate in situ food choices. The influence of context can be seen in the studies by Wesslén et al (2002) and Mattsson and Helmersson (2007), who show that Swedish youth desire healthy eating and view fast food as unhealthy, but these attitudes are prevented from translating directly into behaviour because of the stronger intervening influences of familial relations, price and convenience. Thus, ABC theory predicts that attitudes towards healthy eating would only correspond with behaviour when the context in which food choices are made supports healthy eating habits.…”

Mealtime and meal patterns from a cultural perspective

“…When examining preschool children's food habits and meal situation, it was shown that the energy and nutrient intakes of food at the preschool were lower than recommended, although this was compensated for by meals eaten at home (27). It was also shown that preschool children associated food and meals with rules and norms, and that at this age they had not yet begun to categorize food into good or bad food, but instead into food and non-food.…”