Mealtime Conversations Research Articles

Parent–Child Mealtime Conversations Stimulated with Decorated Tableware

AbstractThis explorative qualitative study investigated how families engage in mealtime conversations supported with decorated plates that were specially designed to promote family conversations. Our aim was to examine the main thematic and discursive patterns that naturally occurred in these conversations. Six Norwegian families of pre-school children aged 3–6 years were provided with five decorated plates and asked to audio-record their conversations during a meal. Transcripts of the audio-recordings were analysed with manifest content-related analysis, followed by an abductive analysis and a mapping of the main discourse types and interactional patterns. We demonstrate that the conversations displayed great thematic heterogeneity and represented a continuum of extended and non-extended talk, ranging from basic labelling and vocabulary recall to narration, explanation and argumentation. Variable engagement levels among the participants were also noted. We argue that decorated tableware can serve as a valuable tool for studying linguistic input and the nature of adult–child conversations during mealtimes at home and beyond.

Latino Home Learning Opportunities, Parental Growth Mindset, and Child Academic Skills

ABSTRACT Associations between home learning opportunities, parental growth mindset (the belief that intelligence is malleable), and children’s academic skills have been documented primarily in European descent communities. Less is known about other communities. This study examined associations among home learning opportunities, parental mindsets, and child academic skills in a sample of 107 Latino parents and their kindergartners (M age = 67 months; 51% girls). Home learning opportunities were measured via a survey that included conventional learning practices (e.g. book sharing) and food practices (e.g. mealtime conversations). Parental mindsets were assessed through a widely used mindset scale. Child academic skills were assessed using standardized and non-standardized tests. Research Findings: Parental growth mindsets positively related to food practices (β = 0.29) and there was suggestive evidence that food practices positively related to child expressive vocabulary (β = 0.35). Conventional learning practices and parental growth mindset did not relate to child outcomes. Practice or Policy: If replicated in larger samples, findings suggest that Latino parents might view food practices as prime learning opportunities for their children. In addition, results suggest that food practices might foster Latino children’s academic skills. Findings have the potential to inform family interventions targeting Latino families.

Healthy food talk as action in everyday mealtime conversations of families with a low socioeconomic position

To date, little is known regarding if and how healthy eating is discussed, and how the concept of healthy eating is used in everyday interactions of families with a low socioeconomic position (SEP). This is an underrepresented study population in which many health benefits can be gained. By deploying an interactional approach to healthy eating, this study explored how healthy eating is constructed and oriented to during evening mealtimes in families with a low SEP. The data corpus comprised video recordings of 79 mealtimes from ten families with a low SEP. Healthy eating was rarely oriented to explicitly, as shown by the identification of only sixteen cases in which family members referred to (un)healthy eating. Using discursive psychology and conversation analysis, the examination of these cases showed that, how and with what function health claims were produced and designed as either identity-centered health claims or food-centered health assessments. By deploying identity-centered health claims parents constructed a desired prospective identity for their children to manage their eating behavior, whereas by deploying food-centered health assessments speakers accounted for their own behavior, particularly eating or providing food. The findings give a unique insight into how healthy eating is oriented to and constructed in the everyday life of families with a low SEP. In addition, the findings extend the discursive psychological body of literature on healthy eating talk during family mealtimes, and add to the knowledge base on discursive practices deployed to get children to eat.

Making the College Transition in China-Rural First-Generation College Students and Their Parents

College transition is a phase that every college student must face; however, not everyone experiences it smoothly. With the growing number of First-Generation College Students (FGCS) in rural China, this qualitative study examines how these students and their parents make their college transition. Guided by Schlossberg's Transition Theory, we analyzed students' write-ups that recorded mealtime conversations of 103 rural families in China on three themes: Self, Support and Strategies. It is found that most FGCS felt frustrated because of the lack of concrete strategies to cope with the college transition and choose their study major. While parents functioned as the important emotional support for FGCS to continue their study, these parents also experienced struggles themselves, including a lack of knowledge and experience about the higher education system, and being unprepared to separate from their children who are leaving for college. With this knowledge, recommendations are provided to better support rural FGCS and their parents to go through college transition, such as launching university orientation week, preparing reader-friendly infographic leaflets, and setting up more FGCS funding in China.

‘妈妈, I miss you ’: Emotional multilingual practices in transnational families

Aims: This study explores how home language(s) are used in bilingual family members’ daily digital or non-digital interactions to demonstrate their emotions and affections for each other. The study investigates linguistic features and situated-language use of home language(s) in emotional negotiations between family members. In addition, it explores how multimodalities and languages are mixed to contribute to the interactional dynamics underlying ‘family talk’ and how children and adults position themselves emotionally in moment-to-moment interaction of family life. Methodology: This study involves six families from two transnational communities (Chinese and Polish) and it employs an ethnographic research design for data collection. Data and analysis: Data sources include recordings of mealtime conversations, daily WhatsApp/WeChat texts, and digital-mediated family talk recorded by the families themselves. Affective repertoire is used as an analytical framework. Findings and conclusions: The following five key features are identified in online or offline family talks regarding expression of emotionality: emojis, terms of endearment, diminutives, declaration of love and situated emotive language use. Originality: Unlike recent studies of emotions in bi-multilingual families, this study does not rely on surveys, memoirs, or interviews. Few studies have investigated how family members present their emotional expression in their daily communications, what role home/heritage language(s) actually play in communicating their emotional needs, and how these emotional expressions are manifested in their lived experiences and socialisation practices. Significance and implications: The findings contribute to FLP literature by looking into how emotions are involved in the practices of family life and the construction of familyness. Emotions, as a key factor in FLP, are directly related to parents’ perceptions of and investment in their heritage language. Although these perceptions are linked to the powerful societal languages that often represent educational possibilities, when it comes to emotional expressions, the primacy is given to the first language/heritage language.

Stewed Chicken and Long-Nosed Kings: Tasting Troubled Plenty

ABSTRACT This ethnographic article examines conditions of material plenty in post-reform China from the perspective of staff and suppliers at a farm-to-table restaurant in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. From data gathered during mealtime conversations and through everyday reflections on food and flavor, I piece together an historical hypothesis about changing times and tastes in Hangzhou. I find that food talk embodies and reflects my interlocutors’ analysis of a state-superintended post-reform social order, which is undergoing a crisis of “familiarity.” I argue that the sensory qualities of food afford unique access to past experiences in the present, making food a crucial site of political consciousness and critique.

Language expansion in Chinese parent–child mealtime conversations: across different conversational types and initiators

ABSTRACT This study examined the distribution of language expansion in parent–child (preschool aged) mealtime conversations in 30 Chinese middle-class families. The conversations were categorised into four types: contextualised & conflicted, contextualised & non-conflicted, decontextualised & conflicted, and decontextualised & non-conflicted. The language expansions were analysed using the systemic functional linguistic theory related to cohesive patterns in language expansion: elaborations, extensions, and enhancements. While the parents dominated the conversations generally, the children were active contributors, initiating over one-quarter of the conversations. Initiation had an impact on the distribution of the conversational types: the proportions of contextualised & non-conflicted conversations was significantly higher in child-initiated conversations. The contextualised & conflicted conversations accounted for a higher proportion in parent-initiated conversations. It was the conversational type rather than initiation, which had an effect on the distribution of language expansion patterns. The least occurring decontextualised & conflicted conversations generated the most extensions. The frequently appeared contextualised & non-conflicted conversations, however, produced the fewest expanded messages. The implications from the findings for promoting high-quality mealtime conversations conducive to children’s language learning are discussed.

P109 Responsive Feeding During COVID-19: Evaluation of a Specialized Training for ECE Providers and Stakeholders.

<h3>Background</h3> Practicing family style meal service in early care and education (ECE) settings supports children's autonomy and improves self-regulation of energy intake. However, during COVID-19, CDC passed a directive to ECE to pause family style meal service. Therefore, we conducted an ECE webinar focused on how to feed children responsively during plated meal service to help providers support children's autonomy and self-regulation. <h3>Objective</h3> To evaluate changes in the level of understanding, behavioral intention to implement knowledge, and confidence about how to feed children (2-5 years) responsively during plated meal service. Also, to determine need for future training opportunities. <h3>Study Design, Setting, Participants</h3> Retrospective pretest-posttest study. The webinar was advertised through an email newsletter disseminated by a national-level platform, Penn State Extension Better Kid Care. Participants attended the online webinar for 1 hour on August 11, 2020, had access to an Extension publication (http://bit.ly/3pnJ71X) and responded to a follow-up survey (Qualtrics Link: http://bit.ly/3jMWvvv). Participants identified themselves as either ECE providers (n = 77) or other stakeholders (n = 30), who can offer opportunities or guidance to providers. <h3>Measurable Outcome/Analysis</h3> Change in self-reported evaluation score (range 1=low to 7=high) for understanding, behavioral intention to implement knowledge, and confidence about how to feed children responsively during plated meal service. Paired sample <i>t</i> tests (alpha = 0.05) followed by Sidak-Bonferroni correction (adjusted <i>P</i> = 0.007). <h3>Results</h3> Both providers and stakeholders reported significantly higher (<i>P</i> < 0.001) level of understanding, intention to implement knowledge obtained, and confidence regarding implementing responsive feeding during plated meal service after the webinar compared to before the webinar. Participants expressed need for online nutrition trainings with emerging themes such as feeding infants, safe food preparation and storage, flexibility of CACFP rules, and physical distance during meals. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Intentional mealtime conversations, giving children small tasks supporting their autonomy, and setting clear expectations while adjusting mealtime routines can offer a promising avenue for implementing responsive feeding during plated meal service.

Co-construction of argumentative discussions between parents and children during mealtime conversations. A pragma-dialectical analysis

This study seeks to examine how both parents and children contribute interactionally to the dialogic process of negotiating their divergent opinions during mealtime conversations. Within a data corpus comprising 30 video-recorded meals of 10 Swiss and Italian families, 132 argumentative discussions were selected for qualitative analysis by adopting the pragma-dialectical model of a critical discussion. Despite the differences in roles, age, and competencies between parents and children—which help explain both the higher number of different arguments used by parents and the fact that the most frequent type of conclusion was when the child accepted the parent's standpoint—the findings of the pragma-dialectical analysis indicate that the process of negotiating the divergent opinions between parents and children is a co-constructed dialogic process wherein both parties play a fundamental role. By engaging in argumentative discussions, parents accept the commitment of clarifying to their children the reasons on which their standpoints are based. Children, in turn, encourage their parents to advance arguments to justify their standpoints by asking questions. Argumentative discussions in the family context should thus be viewed as a bidirectional dialogical process that opens a shared space for parents and children to think together. • Parents and children contribute to the negotiation of their divergent opinions. • Parents and children interactionally co-construct the dialogic process of negotiation. • Parents accept the commitment of clarifying the reasons their directives are based on. • Children encourage their parents to advance arguments to justify their standpoints. • Argumentation is a bidirectional dialogical process that opens a shared space to think together.

Effects of Parents' Mealtime Conversation Techniques for Preschool Children With Hearing Loss Who Use Listening and Spoken Language.

Purpose This mixed-methods study aimed to examine the conversation techniques used by parents of young children with hearing loss (HL) during dinnertime at home. Parents' usage rates of open- and closed-ended language elicitation, reformulation, imitation, directives, and explicit vocabulary instruction were examined in relation to children's receptive vocabulary and basic-concepts skills. Method Twenty-minute dinnertime segments were extracted from naturalistic, daylong recordings of 37 preschoolers with HL who used listening and spoken language. The segments were hand-coded for parents' use of conversation techniques. Children's receptive vocabulary and basic concepts were assessed using standardized measures. Results Parents' use of conversation techniques varied widely, with closed-ended elicitation and directives used most frequently during dinner. Explicit vocabulary instruction was correlated with general receptive vocabulary and basic-concepts skills. Thematic analysis of the conversations revealed common themes, including concrete topics and sibling speakers. In addition, parents who used many techniques often introduced abstract conversation topics; electronic media was present in all conversations with few techniques. Conclusions Parents of preschoolers with HL may benefit from specific coaching to elicit language and introduce new vocabulary during home routines. These techniques may help develop their children's receptive language.

Presenting self and aligning as a team through narratives of victimhood among Kazakh-speaking village neighbors

Abstract This study illustrates how personal narratives of victimized self serve two Kazakh-speaking village neighbors to accomplish self-presentation during a mealtime interaction. Integrating Goffman’s (1959) theorization of self-presentation with narrative positioning (Bamberg, 1997; Schiffrin, 1996) and Muslim cultural practices (e.g., Al Zidjaly, 2006), this study conceptualizes mealtime conversations as frontstage and examines two victimhood narratives after providing the sequential overview of the twelve narratives occurred in the interaction. The analysis illustrates how linguistic construction of agentive and epistemic selves of the narrators position them as victims (whose personal items are stolen) in relation to other neighbors (who do the act of stealing) in the story world. This juxtaposition of “I” vs. “Others” in the story world allows the neighbor-tellers to present an idealized self (morally superior neighbors) and function as a team by getting lower hand and aligning with one another against a third party (morally wrong neighbors) in the interaction.

Narration, argumentation and explanation: a study of the discourse units in spontaneous conversations at mealtimes (Narración, argumentación y explicación: un estudio de las unidades de discurso en conversaciones espontáneas durante situaciones de comida)

ABSTRACT The goal of this article is to contribute to our knowledge of the discursive environment of four-year-old children in which narration, argumentation and explanation occur. Mastery of these discursive forms is a requirement for participating in classroom practices. Even though these discourse units are intertwined in everyday interactions, previous studies prioritized studying them in isolation without examining how they are used together to shape the texture of the conversation. In the study reported here, the structure and interactional prompt of the narrations, explanations and argumentations that occur at mealtimes at home are analysed; specifically, 181 discourse units self-recorded in the homes of 11 four-year-old children from the Argentine middle class were analysed. Differences were found between the units in terms of their frequency, structure (length, presence of embedded units) and interactional prompts, as well as the role of the child when producing them. The potential of mealtime conversations in the acquisition of extended discourse stands out.

Participation in Multiparty Language Play: Navigating Sociability and Learning in Dinnertime Conversations

AbstractThis study examines participation in language play (LP) during spontaneous multiparty talk in a Foreign Language Housing (FLH) program. FLH programs represent hybrid spaces where talk emerges naturally for social reasons but is framed under an institutional purpose for language learning. Given its multifunctional ability to simultaneously coordinate both sociable humor and learning-in-interaction, LP emerges as a salient resource in such dual-purpose environments. Using a multimodal Conversation Analysis of two extended sequences of LP during mealtime conversations, this study analyzes how FLH participants deploy verbal and embodied resources to organize participation in LP. It then illustrates how these strategies dynamically orient to sociability and learning, thereby constructing a hybrid social-and-learning interactional space. As prior studies of LP and learning draw primarily from classroom dyadic conversations, this study sheds additional light on the role of LP in regulating multiparty social talk, with application to understanding the interactional organization of informal immersion-based language learning programs.

MAMAS: Supporting Parent--Child Mealtime Interactions Using Automated Tracking and Speech Recognition

Many parents of young children find it challenging to deal with their children's eating problems, and parent--child mealtime interaction is fundamental in forming children's healthy eating habits. In this paper, we present the results of a three-week study through which we deployed a mealtime assistant application, MAMAS, for monitoring parent--child mealtime conversation and food intake with 15 parent--child pairs. Our findings indicate that the use of MAMAS helped 1) increase children's autonomy during mealtime, 2) enhance parents' self-awareness of their words and behaviors, 3) promote the parent--child relationship, and 4) positively influence the mealtime experiences of the entire family. The study also revealed some challenges in eating behavior interventions due to the complex dynamics of childhood eating problems. Based on the findings, we discuss how a mealtime assistant application can be better designed for parents and children with challenging eating behaviors.

Mealtimes in Head Start pre-k classrooms: examining language-promoting opportunities in a hybrid space.

In this study we sought to identify profiles of talk during Head Start preschool mealtime conversations involving teachers and students. Videos of 44 Head Start classrooms' lunch interactions were analyzed for the ratio of teacher-child talk and amount of academic vocabulary, and then coded for instances of academic/food, social/personal, and management talk to highlight the degree of hybridity of talk within this unique setting. Cluster analysis revealed four distinct patterns of teacher-child mealtime interactions in 44 Head Start preschool classrooms: classroom discourse, home discourse, hybrid-low, and hybrid-high. Multilevel models further demonstrated a relationship among these clusters of teacher-child interactions and children's end-of-year expressive vocabulary scores controlling for ratio of teacher-child talk and pre-test scores. Children in classrooms displaying a hybrid style of mealtime discourse made the greatest gains on measures of expressive vocabulary in contrast to their peers in classrooms displaying other discourse styles.

The interplay between parental argumentative strategies, children's reactions and topics of disagreement during family conversations

Abstract This study aims to explore the interplay between parents' arguments, children's reactions and topics of disagreement during mealtime conversations. Within a data corpus constituted by 30 video-recorded meals of 10 Swiss and Italian families, a corpus of 132 argumentative discussions was selected for a qualitative analysis through the pragma-dialectical approach to argumentation. Findings indicate that both parents and children assume argument schemes related to the object of the disagreement: when the contested standpoints refer to food, arguments are based on a symptomatic relation; when they refer to the behavior of children, parents base their argumentation on a causal and analogy relation, while the children's reaction is typically an expression of further doubt or a mere opposition without providing any argument. The results of this study bring further light on the actual knowledge of argumentative interactions and the interplay between topics of disagreement and the argumentative strategies adopted by family members.

Stability in the feeding practices and styles of low-income mothers: questionnaire and observational analyses

BackgroundDuring the last two decades, researchers have devoted considerable attention to the role of maternal feeding behaviors, practices, and styles in the development of obesity in young children. Little is known, however, about the consistency of maternal feeding across settings and time. The purpose of this paper was to provide data on this issue by examining the consistency of observed maternal feeding behavior across multiple eating occasions, as well as examine the consistency of observed and self-reported maternal feeding behavior across 18 months.MethodsVideotapes from two studies of low-income mothers and their preschool children were coded for feeding practices, dimensions, and styles: a study of 137 low-income, African American and Latina mothers and their children observed during three meals in their homes over a two to three week period, and a study of 138 low-income, Latina mothers observed during a buffet meal in a laboratory setting on two separate occasions 18 months apart. Videotapes from both studies were coded for a wide range of maternal feeding behaviors and strategies. Mothers in the second study also completed three validated, self-report questionnaires on their feeding practices and styles.ResultsOverall, both observed and self-reported feeding practices and styles showed only moderate levels of stability across meals and over time. Maternal attempts to regulate children’s eating showed more stability across meals and over time than the content of general mealtime conversation. Also, greater stability was found in what mothers were trying to get their children to do during the meals than in the strategies they used to influence child behavior. Self-reports of feeding showed greater stability over time than observational measures. Across meals and across 18 months, the stability of general feeding styles was between 40% and 50%.ConclusionsThe findings demonstrate that maternal feeding behavior was only moderately stable across meals and over time—that is, feeding behavior varied considerably across situations. The lack of high levels of consistency in feeding behavior suggests that situational factors may play a major role in influencing maternal behavior as well. Family-focused childhood obesity programs should focus not only on helping parents change their feeding practices and styles, but also focus on increasing parents’ sensitivity to situational factors that affect their approach to feeding their children.

Implementing the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Benchmarks for Nutrition Education for Children: Child-Care Providers’ Perspectives

BackgroundNational childhood obesity prevention policies recommend that child-care providers educate young children about nutrition to improve their nutrition knowledge and eating habits. Yet, the provision of nutrition education (NE) to children in child-care settings is limited. ObjectiveUsing the 2011 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics benchmarks for NE in child care as a guiding framework, researchers assessed child-care providers' perspectives regarding delivery of NE through books, posters, mealtime conversations, hands-on learning, and sensory exploration of foods to young children (aged 2 to 5 years). DesignUsing a qualitative design (realist method), individual, semistructured interviews were conducted until saturation was reached. Participants/settingThe study was conducted during 2012-2013 and used purposive sampling to select providers. Final sample included 18 providers employed full-time in Head Start or state-licensed center-based child-care programs in Central Illinois. Main outcome measureChild-care providers’ perspectives regarding implementation of NE. Statistical analyses performedThematic analysis to derive themes using NVivo software. ResultsThree overarching themes emerged, including providers’ motivators, barriers, and facilitators for delivering NE to children. Motivators for delivering NE included that NE encourages children to try new foods, NE improves children’s knowledge of healthy and unhealthy foods, and NE is consistent with children’s tendency for exploration. Barriers for delivering NE included that limited funding and resources for hands-on experiences and restrictive policies. Facilitators for delivering NE included providers obtain access to feasible, low-cost resources and community partners, providers work around restrictive policies to accommodate NE, and mealtime conversations are a feasible avenue to deliver NE. Providers integrated mealtime conversations with NE concepts such as food-based sensory exploration and health benefits of foods. ConclusionsPresent study findings offer insights regarding providers’ perspectives on implementing NE in child care. Drawing from these perspectives, registered dietitian nutritionists can train providers about the importance of NE for encouraging healthy eating in children, integrating NE with mealtime conversations, and practicing low-cost, hands-on NE activities that meet the food safety standards for state licensing. Such strategies may improve providers’ ability to deliver NE in child-care settings.

“No, no Maama! Say ‘Shaatir ya Ouledee Shaatir’!” Children’s agency in language use and socialisation

Aims and objectives: This paper investigates how children in multilingual and transnational families mobilise their multiple and developing linguistic repertoires creatively to assert their agency in language use and socialisation, and why these acts of agency are conducive to successful maintenance of the so-called “home”, “community” or “minority” language. Methodology: Close, qualitative analysis of mealtime multiparty conversations is carried out to examine children’s agency in language use and socialisation. Data and analysis: Twelve hours of mealtime conversations within one Arabic and English-speaking multilingual family in the UK were recorded over a period of eight months. The excerpts selected for analysis in this paper illustrate how agency is enacted in interaction. Findings: The data analyses of the family’s language practices reveal both their flexible language policy and the importance the family attaches to Arabic. The children in this family are fully aware of the language preferences of their parents and are capable of manipulating that knowledge and asserting their agency through their linguistic choices to achieve their interactional goals. Originality: This paper explores how Arabic is maintained as a minority language by second and third generations of Arabic-speaking immigrants in the UK through close analysis of conversations. Significance: The findings contribute to the current discussions of family language policy and maintenance by demonstrating children’s agentive and creative roles in language use and socialisation. Three factors are identified as the reason for the successful language learning, use and maintenance of Arabic: firstly, a family language policy that has a positive multilingual outlook; secondly, family relationship dynamics that connect and bond family members; and thirdly, the children’s highly developed ability to understand their parents’ language preferences.

Activity-Bound and Activity-Unbound Arguments in Response to Parental Eat-Directives at Mealtimes: Differences and Similarities in Children of 3-5 and 6-9 Years Old

Previous works have investigated argumentative skills of young children referring to the number of arguments and counter-arguments advanced by children as the sole indicator to assess their capacities. Hitherto, less attention has been paid to analyze the strategies adopted by children of different ages in family interactions. This study investigates the argumentative types used by children aged 3–5 and 6–9 years to refute parental eat-directives during mealtime conversations, and whether participants refer to activity-bound/-unbound arguments within the two age groups. To analyze video-recorded meals of Swiss and Italian families, we employed the pragma-dialectical ideal model of critical discussion as a tool to examine sequences in which children advance different types of arguments to support their refusal to parental eat-directives. Findings highlight differences and similarities in the two groups of children: mostly, both younger and older children use activity-bound arguments such as quantity and quality of food in response to parental directives; on the contrary, only children aged 6–9 years use activity-unbound arguments (adult-expert opinion and appeal to consistency) to refute the parental eat-directives. Results show how the construction of and engagement in argumentation are embedded in and shape social activities, and how argumentative skills are valued to participate in family interactions.