Relationship of Mothers’ Food Preferences and Attitudes with Children’s Preferences

Tomoko Osera,Misako Kobayashi,Setsuko Tsutie,Nobutaka Kurihara

doi:10.4236/fns.2012.310190

Abstract

Because early childhood is the most important time for establishing eating habits, controlling the likes and dislikes of children is significant. This study investigated the relationship between mothers’ food preferences as well as their attitudes toward food and their children’s preferences. A questionnaire was answered by 244 mothers of children aged 3-5 years who attended a private kindergarten in Japan. The mothers were asked questions relating to their own current food preferences and those during their childhoods, their eating and cooking habits, and the likes and dislikes of their children. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relative importance of mothers’ preferences and habits for their children’s likes and dislikes. The children’s preferences were significantly related to their mothers’ likes and dislikes during childhood, rather than to their current preferences, and to the children’s breakfast times during holidays and the frequency with which the mothers used takeout meals. This suggests that mothers’ likes and dislikes during childhood and their food habits affect their children’s preferences. Therefore, to improve children’s food preferences, mothers may need to improve their food habits and consider their own food preferences during childhood.

Highlights

Physical and mental development during early childhood is remarkable
CC did not show any significant relationships with any combination of the answers for Mother At present (MP) and mothers during their childhoods (MC), i.e., either yes or no for MP with either yes or no for MC (Table 1(C))
We used multiple logistic regression analysis to assess the relative importance of MC and MP on CC, as well as children’s/mothers’ lifestyles and food habits (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

Physical and mental development during early childhood is remarkable. “Likes and dislikes” are formed as part of the developing sense of self and taste [1]. Childhood is the most important time for establishing eating habits, and various studies have been performed on the development of taste in children. Yamamoto [2] pointed out that children’s tastes are acquired through their experience and learning, tastes are endowed by nature. Ogawa et al [3] described how taste judgments are not inherent in children, but are learned over time through meals that are intended to broaden their tastes. Ando [4] described how children’s palates develop to their speech, i.e., the more variety of food eaten during childhood, the broader the child’s tastes become

Methods

Results

Conclusion