Parenting around child snacking: development of a theoretically-guided, empirically informed conceptual model

Abstract

BackgroundSnacking contributes to excessive energy intakes in children. Yet factors shaping child snacking are virtually unstudied. This study examines food parenting practices specific to child snacking among low-income caregivers.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted in English or Spanish with 60 low-income caregivers of preschool-aged children (18 non-Hispanic white, 22 African American/Black, 20 Hispanic; 92 % mothers). A structured interview guide was used to solicit caregivers’ definitions of snacking and strategies they use to decide what, when and how much snack their child eats. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using an iterative theory-based and grounded approach. A conceptual model of food parenting specific to child snacking was developed to summarize the findings and inform future research.ResultsCaregivers’ descriptions of food parenting practices specific to child snacking were consistent with previous models of food parenting developed based on expert opinion [1, 2]. A few noteworthy differences however emerged. More than half of participants mentioned permissive feeding approaches (e.g., my child is the boss when it comes to snacks). As a result, permissive feeding was included as a higher order feeding dimension in the resulting model. In addition, a number of novel feeding approaches specific to child snacking emerged including child-centered provision of snacks (i.e., responding to a child’s hunger cues when making decisions about snacks), parent unilateral decision making (i.e., making decisions about a child’s snacks without any input from the child), and excessive monitoring of snacks (i.e., monitoring all snacks provided to and consumed by the child). The resulting conceptual model includes four higher order feeding dimensions including autonomy support, coercive control, structure and permissiveness and 20 sub-dimensions. Conclusions: This study formulates a language around food parenting practices specific to child snacking, identifies dominant constructs, and proposes a conceptual framework to guide future research.

Family food talk, child eating behavior, and maternal feeding practices

“…Indeed, review of the audio tapes indicated that most families were engaging in food or mealtime preparation activities during this time. This is also a time of day when children are most likely to snack (Wang et al, 2016), and the need to examine “food parenting” around snacking has recently been highlighted (Davison et al., 2015). Some parents view snacks as a quick way to “tide a child over” until mealtime (Younginer et al., 2016), for example, whereas others offer children food on a fixed schedule but do not consider this snacking (Jacquier, Gatrell, & Bingley, 2017).…”

“…Some parents view snacks as a quick way to “tide a child over” until mealtime (Younginer et al., 2016), for example, whereas others offer children food on a fixed schedule but do not consider this snacking (Jacquier, Gatrell, & Bingley, 2017). Parents seem to use a range of strategies to manage child snack intake (Boots et al., 2016) but in general food parenting outside of mealtimes, particularly as it occurs in naturalistic settings, is not yet fully understood (Davison et al, 2015; Jacquier et al, 2017). Prior work also suggests that family stress arises around managing child needs, specifically hunger, while attempting meal preparation (Norman et al, 2015), and maternal stress due to limited time for meal preparation has frequently been reported (Beshara, Hutchinson, & Wilson, 2010; Devine, Connors, Sobal, & Bisogni, 2003).…”

“…Eating outside of mealtimes has increased in recent years (Gilbert, Miller, Olson, & St-Pierre, 2012; Ziegler, Hanson, Ponza, Novak, & Hendricks, 2006) and is proposed as a substantial contributor to excessive child weight gain (Larson & Story, 2013). Child snacking has been shown to be most prevalent during the afternoon (Wang, van der Horst, Jacquier, & Eldridge, 2016), and also to be associated with increased intake of food high in solid fats and added sugars (Davison et al, 2015). As well, parents have reported challenges in managing child snacking behavior and responding to requests for snacks outside of meals (Davison et al, 2015; Norman, Berlin, Sundblom, Elinder, & Nyberg, 2015).…”

“…Child snacking has been shown to be most prevalent during the afternoon (Wang, van der Horst, Jacquier, & Eldridge, 2016), and also to be associated with increased intake of food high in solid fats and added sugars (Davison et al, 2015). As well, parents have reported challenges in managing child snacking behavior and responding to requests for snacks outside of meals (Davison et al, 2015; Norman, Berlin, Sundblom, Elinder, & Nyberg, 2015). Understanding how parents and children talk about food outside of mealtimes (e.g., during after school hours when snacking requests may occur) may therefore be important in developing guidelines for how to manage this phenomenon and represents an important context in which to identify feeding and eating behavior patterns that may increase childhood obesity risk (Larson & Story, 2013).…”

The relations of child adiposity with parent-to-child and parent-to-parent hostility

“…As reviewed by Davison et al (2015), child snacking (including soda consumption) is on the rise in the US, contributing a significant proportion of children's daily caloric intake and constituting a key source of 'empty' calories. Concern over these dietary behaviours is reinforced by the findings of longitudinal research that suggests that unhealthy snacking behaviours and soda intake are associated with increases in child adiposity (Shroff et al, 2014).…”