Unfortunately I have not had the chance to be involved in
any early childhood research studies, nor do I know of anyone that has. I can
be sure this will change in the near future. Although I did come across a study
involving both children and their parents I found interesting and wanted to
share with you all.
This study completed by Rachel Brown and Jane Ogden
(2004) focused on children’s eating attitudes and behaviors and whether or not
their parents have influence on their eating, specifically regarding snack
foods. Trying to get young children to try new things and eat healthy has always
been a challenge in my opinion. Proper nutrition and healthy eating habits has
always been something our child care center has worked on throughout the school
and with the families. Our company has even hired a nutritionist to help us and
work with families that may need some guidance. With that being said, this
study really caught my attention.
The study involved 112 parent/child pairs. Each pair
filled out matched questionnaires which described eating motivations, snack
intake, and body dissatisfaction. Additional items involving attempts to
control food intake and using food as a tool to control behavior were completed
by the parents. What was revealed after
the study was parents who tried harder to control their child’s dietary habits
had higher intakes of both healthy and unhealthy food, while parents that used
food to control their child’s behavior reported high body dissatisfaction. Brown
and Ogden (2004) conclude by saying “a
positive parental role model may be a better method for improving a child’s
diet than attempts at dietary control.”
It is so important for parents
to realize the importance of positive role modeling for their children. They
pick up a lot from the adults around them, mainly parents and caregivers.
Healthy nutrition is so important for the healthy development of all children.
I enjoyed this study because it combined two topics that I find very important
in the lives of children, nutrition and parental involvement.
Kristen,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting topic! I really found it curious to see the results and that this topic was studied, as it is one I had not thought of or heard much about. I think you make a valid point - children are going to develop the habits of those they are surrounded by and this is something many may not realize! I had not thought much of this until now. Thanks for sharing!
Ashley Richards
Hi Kristen,
ReplyDeleteYour topic is very interesting. Trying to control a child's dietary intake is very hard and may cause resentment from the child. When my daughter was in the fifth grade, I experienced this same situation. She was diagnosed with a medical condition and had to watch what she ate. I could not control just her eating habits and let everyone else eat whatever they wanted. It was too hard to do it like that, My husband and I had a discussion in private and we decided that the entire family would change their eating habits. We started eating healthier and exercising. As a result we felt better, spent more time together, and most of all my daughter lost 60 pounds. We were all so proud of all our accomplishments.
Kristin
ReplyDeleteI love the topic and OH what a difficult topic it really is. Healthy eating habits are very hard to teach when you have less than average yourself. We sometimes let life take over and do not stop to really take care of ourselves. This is another great reminder that we need to make healthy eating a priority, not only for our students and children, but also for ourselves.