Parental feeding style changes the relationships between children's food preferences and food parenting practices: The case for comprehensive food parenting interventions by pediatric healthcare professionals

Abstract

Purpose To determine if parental feeding styles (emotional environment of the meal) moderate the relationship between food parenting practices (goal‐directed behaviors) and children's preferences for fruits, vegetables, or high fat/sugar foods. Design and Methods: This cross‐sectional descriptive study recruited parents (n = 108) of preschool age children. The parents completed several questionnaires. Linear regressions were used to assess the relationship between food parenting practices and children's food preferences as moderated by feeding style, with the authoritative feeding style serving as the reference. Results Parental feeding styles were found to be moderators between several food parenting practices and child food preferences. When compared with parents with the authoritative feeding style (high demands, responds to child's needs), children like vegetables significantly less if indulgent (low demands, responds to child's needs) parents allow children to control their own eating, or authoritarian (high demands, does not respond to child's needs), or uninvolved (low demands, does not respond to child's needs) parents provide a healthy food environment. The authoritative style was not always preferential. For example, children of uninvolved parents who used food as a reward liked vegetables significantly more than children of parents who had the authoritative feeding style who also used food as a reward. In addition, children of authoritarian parents who modeled healthy eating liked foods high in fat and/or sugar significantly less than children of authoritative parents. Practice Implications When discussing child diet quality with parents, pediatric nurses should educate parents on both food parenting practices and feeding style, or the meal's emotional climate, as children experience both of these during mealtime interactions. In addition, for educational efforts, it may be advantageous to tailor interventions based upon the parent's feeding style.

Association between Food Preferences, Eating Behaviors and Socio-Demographic Factors, Physical Activity among Children and Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Evidence suggesting an association between parents' general interest in health and healthier food choice behaviors [52] provides an important insight into the impact of father's healthy behaviors on children's eating behavior. Previous studies have examined how parents may impact on children's food preferences [53,54] and eating behaviors [55][56][57]. A meta-analysis of 37 studies suggested that parental restrictive guidance/rule-making was effective at preventing unhealthy eating in children aged 7 or older [58].…”

“…A meta-analysis of 37 studies suggested that parental restrictive guidance/rule-making was effective at preventing unhealthy eating in children aged 7 or older [58]. In a study of 108 preschool-aged children and their parents, Vollmer et al found that preference for vegetables mostly occurred among children of parents with the authoritative feeding style (high demands, responds to child's needs), but its association with healthy eating was moderated by food parenting practices [54]. In addition, a longitudinal study of approximately 5000 children found that in early childhood, children with authoritative and permissive fathers, or girls with authoritative mothers, were more likely to consume fruits and vegetables in late childhood [59].…”

Development of a Family‐Based Nutrition Program Rooted in Food Parenting Literature

“…Parent feeding styles characterize the emotional environment of the meal (Vollmer, 2019). Studies have investigated links between general parenting styles, feeding styles , and child weight status, suggesting an association between an indulgent feeding style and higher child weight, and between an authoritarian feeding style and healthy child weight (Shloim, Edelson, Martin, & Hetherington, 2015; Vollmer & Mobley, 2013).…”

“…Additional research is needed to better understand long‐term impacts of food‐related parenting practices and styles on health (Vaughn et al, 2016; Vollmer & Mobley, 2013), and how to modify each to best support child health. Furthermore, interactions between practices and styles suggest addressing both of these constructs when providing nutrition education to parents (Vollmer, 2019).…”

Does Examining the Childhood Food Experiences Help to Better Understand Food Choices in Adulthood?

“…Parents, as major providers, models, and regulators in terms of food intake, influence children's eating in the greatest manner and in a variety of ways [7]. Parental feeding practices (PFP) are defined as goal-directed, food-, or eating-related strategies used by the parents to influence their children's eating manner, including what, when, and how much their child eats [8,9]. Studies have shown that PFP such as encouraging eating in a supportive manner, modeling favorable eating behaviors, eating meals together, and being responsive to children's hunger and satiety signals might favor healthy eating behaviors in children, including higher intake of fruit and vegetables [10][11][12], lower intake of low-nutrient-dense foods [13], and greater diet quality [14].…”