Mothers’ perceptions of their own diets and the diets of their children at 2–3 years of age

Abstract

This is a cross-sectional analysis of a follow-up study to examine the perceptions of mothers treated at public health centers, regarding their own diets and the diets of their children aged 2-3. Among the 464 participants, 57% (n = 267) reported perceiving their own diets as unhealthy while 72% (n = 334) perceiving their children's diets as healthy. The mothers' perceptions of their own diets as healthy were associated with less maternal schooling and having received health care from professionals who had received special training (p < 0.05). The mothers' perceptions of their children's diets as healthy were associated with more maternal schooling (p < 0.05). This difference between the mothers' perceptions of their own diets and those of their children reinforce the importance of considering maternal beliefs and attitudes in infant nutritional intervention programs.

Evaluation of Maternal Attitudes Towards The Nutrition of Pre-School Children

“…These acquired skills can affect the healthy eating behavior, growth and weight of the child later in life (3,16,25). For this reason, it is necessary to determine the positive or negative attitudes of mothers that affect the weight and eating habits of children during the eating process (17,18). It has been observed in the literature that studies on determining the attitudes of mothers with preschool children are limited.…”

“…These acquired skills can affect the healthy eating behavior, growth and weight status of the child later in life (15). For this reason, it is necessary to determine the positive or negative attitudes of mothers that affect the weight and eating habits of children during the nutrition process (16)(17)(18). In this context, there is a need to determine children's eating behaviors, mothers' attitudes towards the feeding process, and to evaluate negative maternal attitudes that may reinforce the eating problem in children (19,20).…”