Research
Research and Professional Brief
Family Meals: Perceptions of Benefits and Challenges among Parents of 8- to 10-Year-Old Children

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2008.01.005Get rights and content

Abstract

The study purpose was to examine parental perceptions of the mealtime environment in families with school-aged children and identify strategies to improve the dietary quality of meals. Cross-sectional surveys were completed by a convenience sample of 107 parents (86% mothers, 14% fathers) of 8- to 10-year-old children who were recruited from afterschool child care programs/elementary schools. SAS (version 9.1) was used to produce descriptive frequencies of parental reports of positive and negative perceptions of mealtime. Parents reported frequent family meals; however, they indicated that family dinners were eaten at full-service restaurants, purchased from fast-food establishments, or picked up as takeout foods at least weekly (47.0%, 28.3%, and 23.8%, respectively). Conflicts about food were problematic for some families (40.2% on at least some days), and appeared to be related to children’s food pickiness. Parents reported many benefits of family meals, including time for conversation, feelings of togetherness, shared nutrition, and ceremony. Areas where parents desired change included assistance with meal planning, food preparation, and clean-up; spending more time at meals; assistance with children’s food pickiness; new recipes and meal ideas; and decreasing conflict at mealtimes. Findings suggest that interventions to increase family meal frequency and promote healthful foods at mealtimes should address promoting food acceptance among children, sharing responsibilities among parents and children for meal planning and preparation, decreasing conflict at meals, and eating out healthfully.

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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.

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