Eating Behavior of Children and Feeding Attitudes of Mothers

Abstract

Aim: Nutritional problem is one of the most common behavioral problems in children. This study was carried out as a descriptive study in order to determine the eating behavior problems of infants and children and to determine the mothers' feelings, thoughts and approaches about feeding process. Method: The population of the study consisted of mothers of children aged 9-72 months who applied to the children's outpatient clinics of a state hospital between April and June 2019; and the sample consisted of 217 mothers who agreed to participate in the study and met the selection criteria. Data were collected using the “Mother-Child Information Form”, “Behavioral Pediatric Feeding Assessment Scale” and “Mother’s Attitudes Towards the Feeding Process Scale”. Number, percentage distribution, mean and Pearson correlation analysis were used to evaluate the data. Results: The total score of the mothers from the Behavioral Pediatric Feeding Assessment Scale was 84.16±16.10; and the total score of the Mother’s Attitudes Towards the Feeding Process Scale was 75.20±17.49. It was found that there was a statistically significant relationship between the mean Behavioral Pediatric Feeding Assessment Scalescore of the mothers and the mean Mother’s Attitudes Towards the Feeding Process Scale score. Conclusion: The results of the study indicated that children have moderately problematic eating behavior and feeding habits. On the other hand, it shows that mothers have moderate problems related to their attitudes towards feeding process. It was also concluded that, as children's eating behavior problems increased, mothers' negative attitudes towards feeding process also increased. Keywords: mothers, feeding, attitude, child, feeding behavior