There is limited research on the maternal and infant characteristics associated with the timing of solid food introduction. The current study examined how maternal feeding style and infant temperament independently and interactively predicted the age at which infants were introduced to solid food. Data from 115 predominately white, middle-class mothers were collected when infants were 4 and 6 months of age. The timing of solid food introduction was positively correlated with mothers' age, education, breastfeeding at 4 months, self-reported responsiveness to infants' hunger and satiety cues, and negatively correlated with mothers' pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), beliefs about feeding infants solid food prior to 6 months of age, and infants' temperamental motor reactivity. When controlling for maternal age, education, pre-pregnancy BMI, and milk feeding method at 4 months, the timing of solid food introduction was negatively predicted by mothers' beliefs about feeding solid food prior to 6 months of age. Exploratory interaction analyses suggested that infant temperament marginally moderated maternal feeding style in predicting the timing of solid food introduction.

The present study examined the development of parent use of food to soothe infant distress by examining this feeding practice longitudinally when infants were 6, 12 and 18 months of age. Two measures of feeding to soothe were obtained: parent self-report and observations of food to soothe during each laboratory visit. Demographic and maternal predictors of food to soothe were examined as well as the outcome, infant weight gain. The findings showed that the two measures of food to soothe were unrelated but did reveal similar and unique relations with predictor variables such as parent feeding style and maternal self-efficacy. Only observations of the use of food to soothe were related to infant weight gain. The findings indicate that the two measures of food to soothe may be complementary and that observations of this feeding practice may capture certain relations that are not obtained through the use of self-report.

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether rejection of novel foods during infancy predicted child behavioral and parent-reported neophobia at 4.5 years of age. Data for the present study were drawn from a longitudinal study following individuals (n = 82) from infancy through early childhood. At 6 and 12 months of age, the infants tasted a novel food (green beans, hummus, or cottage cheese) and their reactions were coded for rejection of the food (i.e. crying, force outs, or refusals). The children returned to the laboratory at 4.5 years of age and participated in a behavioral neophobia task where they were offered three novel foods (lychee, nori, and haw jelly) and the number of novel foods they tasted was recorded. Mothers also reported their own and their children's levels of food neophobia. Regression analyses revealed that rejection of novel foods at 6 months interacted with maternal neophobia to predict parent-rated child neophobia. Infants who exhibited low levels of rejection at 6 months showed higher levels of parent-rated neophobia when their mothers also showed high compared to low levels of neophobia. At 12 months of age, however, infants who exhibited high levels of rejection tended to have high levels of parent-reported neophobia regardless of their mothers’ levels of neophobia. These results provide preliminary evidence that rejection of novel foods during infancy does predict neophobia during early childhood, but the results vary depending on when rejection of new foods is measured.

ObjectivesGreater weight gain in infancy is a risk factor for childhood obesity. The present study examined the interaction between infant temperament and parent use of food to soothe infant distress (FTS) as predictors of weight gain across the first 2 years of life.Subjects/Methods160 mother-infant dyads were recruited into a longitudinal study. Infant temperament was assessed by parents through a questionnaire (surgency, negativity) and by observer ratings (surgency, irritability) during a laboratory visit when infants were 6 months. Parents also completed a 3-day infant cry diary when their children were 6 months of age to assess when they used food in response to infant cry/fuss bouts. Infant weight/length was measured in the lab at 6 and 18 months. Multiple regressions were run to test the moderating effect of FTS on weight gain.ResultsSignificant interactions were revealed for both measures of surgency and parent FTS in predicting weight gain. Surgent infants whose parents had a greater tendency to use FTS had greater weight-for-length gain in one year than if their parents tended to use less FTS. The interaction between observer ratings of irritability and parent FTS was also significant but in an unexpected direction.ConclusionsThe findings point to the role of temperament, specifically surgency, in weight gain during infancy, but only if their parents used FTS. Surgency may have evoked this feeding practice that increased their health risk.

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The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether infant temperament and previous feeding history were associated with infants’ acceptance and rejection of a novel food at 12 months of age. Mother–infant dyads (n = 89) were video-recorded during a novel food (hummus, cottage cheese) feeding task. Infants’ reactions (acceptance and rejection behaviors) and maternal responsiveness and affect during the interaction were coded from the recordings by teams of coders. Mothers reported on their infants’ temperamental approach via the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R) and their infants’ feeding history (previous exposure to solid foods and exclusive breastfeeding). Regression analyses revealed that infants rated lower on approach showed less acceptance of the first offer of novel food than infants rated higher on approach. Additionally, low approach infants who were previously exposed to a greater number of solid foods showed fewer rejection behaviors in response to the later offers of food. Exclusive breastfeeding for 4 months did not appear to have an effect on acceptance or rejection. Finally, greater maternal responsiveness was related to the infants’ acceptance of the new food whereas lower maternal responsiveness was associated with rejection of the novel food. These results suggest that the acceptance and rejection of new foods by infants is dependent upon their temperament and previous exposure to solid foods, as well as the manner in which mothers present the novel food.

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The ingredients and nutrients of infant and toddler foods (ITFs) sold in pouches were compared with products available in other packages, such as jars/packs and other containers. Company websites (n = 21) and in-store shelf inventory (n = 3) were used to create a database of commercial ITFs containing vegetables (n = 548) sold in the United States. Results indicated that ITFs containing vegetables were most commonly packaged in pouches (50%), followed by “other” packages (25%) and jars/packs (25%). Infant and toddler food pouches contained significantly more sugars per serving and per Reference Amount Customarily Consumed, as well as a greater percentage of calories from sugars, compared with both jars/packs and “other” packages. Pouches were also more likely to contain vegetable/fruit blends, whereas jars/packs were more likely to contain single-vegetable or multivegetable blends, and “other” packages were more likely to contain vegetable/other ingredient combinations (eg, grains and/or dairy). Pouches are popular, widely available, and convenient but may not represent the vegetable profiles and nutritional qualities that parents believe they are buying for their children.