An exploratory investigation of the dramatic play of preschool children within a grocery store shopping context

Drenten, Jenna M.; Peters, Cara; Thomas, Jane Boyd

doi:10.1108/09590550810901017

Cited by 16 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 58 publications

(65 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The shopping activity combined children's shopping scripts (Drenten et al, 2008) and choice experiments, used in most suboptimal food waste research (e.g., De Hooge et al, 2017). However, unlike past research where the degree and type of suboptimality was controlled using pictures (e.g.…”

Section: Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

“I don't like wonky carrots”- an exploration of children's perceptions of suboptimal fruits and vegetables

Makhal

Thyne

Robertson

et al. 2020

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Children's perceptions of suboptimal fruits and vegetables have not been studied in the suboptimal foods domain. Using two qualitative research methods, this study investigates children's (N = 97) edibility perceptions of suboptimal produce with varied appearance defects. The results show that unlike adult samples previously studied, children are more accepting of suboptimal produce. Defects in shape, size, and certain colour defects were positively perceived, reflecting retailers' opportunities to market suboptimal produce. High levels of brown discolorations and superficial blemishes were not acceptable, implying that produce with such defects could be repurposed as ingredients in foods prepared and sold in-store. These implications reflect retailers' opportunities in marketing suboptimal produce to children, who by their familial influence may also be able to get families to buy and consume suboptimal produce. The importance of familiarity in improving suboptimal food acceptance is also recognised for future research to explore.

show abstract

Section: Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

“I don't like wonky carrots”- an exploration of children's perceptions of suboptimal fruits and vegetables

Makhal

Thyne

Robertson

et al. 2020

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One consequence of this is that they often exhibit relatively sophisticated "adult like" shopping experiences that reflect their exposure to this retail environment. Even preschool children as young as three to seven draw on family food shopping experiences and can be observed following shopping scripts and mimicking adult shopping patterns (Drenten et al, 2008). Despite this we have relatively few accounts from children about how they see their role in family food shopping and know little about the strategies and tactics they use to try and influence these decisions.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This reflects both the discussion between the shoppers or "talking calqualation" and an unspoken agreement or "mute calqualation" about what is permitted. In this way the shopping script is played out in the store and even young children are socialised into particular ways of shopping (Drenten et al, 2008). While most of these accounts are based on observations we know relatively little about how children experience food shopping and how they see their role in the store.…”

Section: Avoiding Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Children not only reject specific products, the "Manky cornflakes" they request certain brands -"Cinnamon Grahams". Snacks and cereals are two of the product categories most frequently mentioned by children where they are allowed to have some influence on what is chosen in store (Drenten et al, 2008;Nadeau and Bradley, 2012). The store therefore becomes an important site for making requests and these accounts suggest that this is more permissible in certain product categories that are "approved" by parents.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Co-operation in the supermarket aisle: young children’s accounts of family food shopping

Marshall

2014

International Journal of Retail &Amp; Distribution Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose -Children are increasingly seen as active consumers participating in various aspects of family food consumption. The purpose of this paper is to look at children's first-hand accounts of their visits to the supermarket and reports on their in store experiences as participants in the family food shopping. It offers an account of family food shopping from the perspective of the children. Design/methodology/approach -Qualitative discussion groups with children aged eight to 11 years research were used to elicit children's perceptions of food shopping as part of a study into food consumption experiences. This offers an opportunity to capture the children's perspective on this everyday consumption activity. Findings -Engaging in family food shopping is part of a socialisation process that introduces children to food retail environments and to shopping scripts played out in store. Young children claim to actively participate in family food shopping in store contributing in a variety of ways to family food purchases that includes making requests in store, negotiating over product choices and assisting with the food shopping. The strategies employed by the children include restricting requests to specific product categories (usually for sweets, or cereals or products for their school lunchbox); selecting products on behalf of other family members; dissuading parents for buying certain food items and helping out in store. Most of the first-hand accounts reflect a positive experience with children contributing to the food decisions that relate directly to their interests. The research finds relatively little conflict and more co-operation between children and their parents in an attempt to influence what goes into the shopping trolley. Research limitations/implications -This is a small exploratory study with a geographically constrained sample. The children's accounts cannot be verified but are presented as a way of looking at how children themselves relate to the family food shopping experience. Future research might extend the geographical scope of this investigation and consider soliciting parental views to validate the children's accounts. Practical implications -This work provides further evidence of the ways in which children are actively included as part of family food decisions in a supermarket context. Children's in store contributions to family food can inform retailers and companies as well as policy makers. Originality/value -This offers a unique insight into how children view shopping with the family and relates more broadly to the discussion around children's consumption and their role as active consumers.

show abstract

“…al., 2014;Wilson and Wood, 2004) and engaging with products in the store (Aitken, 1978). Even very young children display an understanding of the grocery 'script' and mimic adult behaviour (Drenten et. al., 2008).…”

Section: Conceptual Foundationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Convenience stores and discretionary food consumption among young Tokyo consumers

Marshall

2016

IJRDM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

An exploratory investigation of the dramatic play of preschool children within a grocery store shopping context

Abstract: Note: This is a preprint version. The final published version of the paper may reflect notable format and content changes.

Cited by 16 publications

References 58 publications

“I don't like wonky carrots”- an exploration of children's perceptions of suboptimal fruits and vegetables

“I don't like wonky carrots”- an exploration of children's perceptions of suboptimal fruits and vegetables

Co-operation in the supermarket aisle: young children’s accounts of family food shopping

Convenience stores and discretionary food consumption among young Tokyo consumers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About