Abstract
BackgroundParents often have concerns about the food habits of their young children. Cooking is a frequent behavior related to dietary activities at home. We hypothesized that “a parent cooking meals together with young children might alleviate dietary concerns.” The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between parental cooking practices (e.g., cooking meals together with the child) and diet-related concerns.MethodsData were extracted from the “National nutrition survey on preschool children” conducted among nation-wide households with toddlers and preschoolers in 2015 by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. Parents were classified into two groups comprising those who cooked meals together with their children and those who did not. The following variables were compared: taking too much time to eat (slow eaters), “picky” eating (eating only certain foods), inconsistent food intake (eating too much or too little), playing with food/utensils while eating, preferring sweetened beverages and snacks over meals, eating too fast to chew well, not swallowing food, disinterested in eating, and spitting out food. The associations between parent–child cooking meals together and the concerns pertaining to the child’s dietary habits and food intake were analyzed and compared between the two groups.ResultsThe concerns of “picky eating” and “playing with food/utensils while eating” were lower, while “eating too much” was higher in the parent-cooking together group. The intake frequency of fish, soybeans/soy products, vegetables, and milk among children were higher in the “cooking together” group than among those in the “not cooking together” group. Children in the “cooking together” group consumed a significantly greater variety of foods than those in the “not cooking together” group.ConclusionsCooking a meal together with a child may be related to the parent’s lower concerns about the dietary habits of the child, including “picky eating” and “playing with food/utensils while eating,” but may also be related to the higher concerns of “eating too much.”
Highlights
Parents often have concerns about the food habits of their young children
In the “cooking together” group, the proportions of children spending less than 2 h per day on TV, video, or games during the weekdays (p = 0.025) and weekends (p = 0.015) were higher than those in the “not cooking together” group
In Model 1, the analysis showed that three factors were associated with parent–child cooking together: not picky eating, not playing with food/utensils while eating (OR = 1.59; 95% Confidence interval (CI) = 1.11–2.28; p = 0.013), and not eating too much (OR = 0.57; 95% CI = 0.34–0.97; p = 0.040)
Summary
Parents often have concerns about the food habits of their young children. Cooking is a frequent behavior related to dietary activities at home. According to the “National nutrition survey on preschool children” conducted in Japan [5], about 80% of parents expressed frequent concerns about the dietary habits of their children, such as “taking too much time to eat,” “picky eating (eating only certain foods),” “inconsistent food intake (eating too much or too little, depending on the day,”) “playing with food/utensils while eating,” “preferring sweetened beverages and snacks over meals,” and “eating too fast to chew well.”. Another study reported that the dislike of vegetables and picky eating had improved with classes and practical sessions, including lessons in the school curriculum on cooking meals, as well as food and nutrition (shokuiku in Japanese) [9]. Some nursery schools and kindergartens have incorporated parent– child cooking classes in shokuiku programs, and reported that this strategy can effectively improve a child’s dislike of vegetables [9, 10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
