Abstract
Objective
To determine if children's pester power related to a classroom-based nutrition program,
Together, We Inspire Smart Eating (WISE), is related to familial dietary habits and parental food purchases and practices.
Methods
Classroom teachers delivered weekly WISE lessons at 7 Head Start sites across 2 states in the southern US. Before and after the intervention, parents
were interviewed on the consumption of WISE fruits and vegetables, intake of nutrient-poor
foods, parenting practices related to food, and exposure to WISE through the child's
pester power.
Results
After controlling for baseline levels of outcome variables, child willingness to try
new foods at baseline, and the effect of state, pester power predicated significant
variance in the outcomes of consumption of WISE foods (F3, 229 = 34.7, P < .001, ΔR2 = 0.03, P = .002) and parenting practices that support healthy dietary intake and attitudes
for young children (F2, 264 = 77.2, P < .001, ΔR2 = 0.02, P = .006).
Conclusions and Implications
The findings of this study highlight the potential for children's influence on food
consumption and habits at home.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
June 5,
2020
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: L. Whiteside-Mansell, T. M. Swindle, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences have a financial interest in the technology (WISE) discussed in this publication. These financial interests have been reviewed and approved in accordance with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences conflict of interest policies.
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- Influencing Up: Children's Sway on Parents’ Food ChoicesJournal of Nutrition Education and BehaviorVol. 52Issue 8
- PreviewAlthough the feeding relationship is acknowledged to be bidirectional between caregivers and children, most often parenting influences on young children's eating behaviors are investigated through the lens of how parents influence children's eating—either for the good or the not so good. While individual differences, such as children's temperaments or sibling differences, are often referred to as having an impact on food parenting, very seldom is the child's influence on the parent behavior the intentional focus of studies seeking to explain why children eat the way they do.
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