ResearchResearch and Professional BriefFamily Meals: Perceptions of Benefits and Challenges among Parents of 8- to 10-Year-Old Children
Section snippets
Study Design and Sample
Parents of 8- to 10-year-old children were recruited from six elementary schools and five affiliated school-aged child-care programs in the Minneapolis metropolitan area via flyers and newsletters. The sampling goal was to recruit approximately 100 parents; a sample size large enough to inform the development of a health-promotion program. Interested parents were directed to contact the principal investigator. A brief screening ensured that there was an 8- to 10-year-old child in the home, and
Measures
Survey items were either developed by the investigators or were adapted from survey items used in previous research (7, 10, 11). Family meal routines were assessed with seven items (Table 1).
Family meal frequency was assessed for breakfast and dinner (10), as well as parental presence at evening meals (11). Frequency of meal purchases outside of the home inquired about purchases from fast-food restaurants, full-service restaurants, food delivery, and meals picked up as takeout. One item
Results and Discussion
Most participants were mothers (86%), with a mean age of 43.5 years. Eighty-six percent were college graduates and 96% were white. Less than half (45.8%) were working full-time, 33.6% were working part-time, and 19.6% were homemakers. Most parents reported two children in their household (58%), followed by three (20%), one (17%), and 4+ children (5%).
More than three quarters of parents reported that all/most of their family ate the evening meal together at least five times per week, and a
Conclusions
Food and nutrition professionals can assist parents by providing information about the relatively higher dietary quality of foods made at home compared to foods purchased away from home, as well as healthful options at restaurants. Food and nutrition professionals can be particularly helpful in exploring ways to prepare simple but healthful meals that are attractive to children. Reinforcing parents’ attempts to make family meals a priority (28), and practical advice to help parents place limits
J. A. Fulkerson is associate professor, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
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J. A. Fulkerson is associate professor, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
M. Story and D. Neumark-Sztainer are professors, and S. Rydell is a senior coordinator, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.