“The One Time You Have Control over What They Eat”: A Qualitative Exploration of Mothers’ Practices to Establish Healthy Eating Behaviours during Weaning

Abstract

Background: Weaning marks the transition from a milk-only diet to the consumption of solid foods. It is a time period where nutrition holds an undeniable importance and taste experiences have a long-lasting effect on food preferences. The factors and conditions that form parental feeding practices are yet to be fully understood; doing so can help target problematic behaviours and develop interventions aiming to modify them. Objective: This study used a qualitative methodology to gain a better understanding of parental experiences of weaning a child. Particular emphasis was placed on exploring the factors and conditions that favour the establishment of a healthy relationship with food in infancy and those that impede it. Methods: Thirty-seven mothers of healthy infants 3–14 months with no previous history of allergies or food-related disorders were recruited. Eight semi-structured focus group discussions were conducted, transcribed and analysed thematically. Results: Discussions revealed a number of opportunities to establish healthy eating habits during weaning, as well as relevant challenges. Important opportunities included: acting as a role model for healthy foods; giving multiple opportunities to try a food; food variety “so you don’t have a fussy eater”; and without food variety “things aren’t going to work properly”. Additionally, some of the challenges identified were: misconceptions about the definition of food variety; and distractions occurring during feeding. Conclusions: Mothers were mindful of the need to provide their children with appropriate nutritional stimuli during weaning. They were aware of their role in influencing their infants’ likes and used strategies such as modelling and repeated food exposure. The importance of a diverse diet in infancy was acknowledged, although knowledge gaps exist in relation to its definition. Distractions were tactfully employed by mothers to assist feeding. Findings of this study have applications in developing interventions for nutritional education in the complementary feeding period.

Exploring Feeding Practices and Food Literacy in Parents with Young Children from Disadvantaged Areas

“…Parents intended to create positive structures and routines but were often challenged by time, cost, competing priorities, and other external influences, such as marketing and peer pressure. This is consistent with research that has shown the variety of external factors that can influence parents’ feeding practices [ 16 , 30 , 38 , 47 , 48 ]. Education and support that address family and cultural priorities, and that empower parents by providing strategies and building confidence to overcome external influences while also preventing or addressing internalized feelings of shame or guilt can be beneficial.…”

“…For example, just under half of the participants in this study indicated they infrequently introduced new foods to their child. Limited time is a pressure that can result in authoritarian feeding practices that override strategies to develop autonomy [ 18 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ].…”

Parental considerations during complementary feeding in higher income countries: a systematic review of qualitative evidence

“…Actual and perceived health properties of the food. Providing a healthy diet was voiced as a priority in most studies that addressed the choice of complementary foods (26,31,(33)(34)(35)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(43)(44)(45)(46)48,50,(53)(54)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(60)(61)(62)(63)(64) . Parents shared a desire to provide a balanced diet with foods from all groups that will secure a sufficient intake of nutrients.…”

Hidden Realities of Infant Feeding: Systematic Review of Qualitative Findings from Parents

“…Nutrition during the first 1000 days, spanning from conception to age 24 months, has critical influence on the immediate and long-term physical and cognitive development of infants. The period from birth through the first 12 months characterizes a unique time when parents or caregivers make essentially all feeding decisions about what and how their infant is offered food [1]. Although the definition of a modern family is changing [2], parents are currently described as the main caregivers of children in the home [3] and infant feeding is a large component of that care that encompasses the social, cultural, and economic structure of a parent's life [4].…”