Transcript Parental Influences on Child’s Eating Behaviors

Parental Influences on Child’s
Eating Behaviors
Presented by
Ebony Horry
Childhood Nutrition
November 7, 2002
What influences eating
behaviors?
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Social
Environmental
Genetics
Parent/Caretaker
Culture
Religion
Review Parental Influence
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Parents have access
Parent is authority figure
Parents are main provider
Parents have insider knowledge
Parental Modeling
• Defined as a process of observational
learning in which the behavior of the parent
acts as a stimulus for similar behavior in his
or her child.
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Observational learning
Disinhibiting/Inhibiting behavior
Facilitating similar responses
Setting cognitive standards for self-regulation
Early bird gets the worm?
• Start early
• Support the child
• Encourage
individuality
• Be there
The Brain
Early Memories
• Basic memory processes develop
continuously throughout development and
involves the following:
Encoding
Retrieval
Storage
Learning about Early Memories
• Much of the human information processing system
relevant to memory is intact and functional early in
life
• What children know plays an important role, not only
as an organizer for incoming information in children’s
memory, but also by providing the background against
which information receives distinctive processing,
something that makes that information more durable
in memory
• More often than not, what is remembered best is that
which is distinctive from what is already known
Theory of Early Memories
• According to some theories (Frued,
Erikson), even though people cannot
consciously remember a particular event or
experience, the residue of that circumstance
may still reside in long-term memory’s
unconscious and may exert a powerful
influence on people’s behavior.
• Science has failed to prove this is true
Milestones of the First Six Years
• 0-1: looks at hand, plays pat-a-cake
• 1-2: drinks from cup, uses object to
represent something else, feeds doll, sorts
objects by category
• 2-2.5: imaginary play
• 2.5-3.5: brushes teeth, plays board games
• 3.5-5.5: prepares own cereal
At Age Six
• Children are ready to assume more
responsibility for their own actions and for
the family
• Now better able to keep two categories or
different thoughts in mind at once and use
them for weighing new information
• Implications - Feed off their curiosity to
learn
It’s never too late
• Adolescents ~ great
opportunity
• 68% of meals and
78% of snacks still
eaten at home
• Opinion of adolescents
Research Shows
• Study sample: non-Hispanic whites (JADA, Jan 2002)
• Parents can best encourage fruit and vegetable intake in
their children by acting as role models of fruit and
vegetable intake
• Young girls total number of combined fruit and
vegetable servings highest among parents who also
consumed high amounts of fruits and vegetables and
who used minimal pressure in trying to get their child to
eat
• Also, lower dietary fat intake among those
children
Research Shows
• Study sample: African-Americans
• Attitudes toward food, choices in food selection,
and timing of meals are in great part a result of
parental modeling of behaviors
• Parental modeling of healthful dietary behavior
was associated with the performance of low-fat
eating patterns, lower dietary fat intake, and
high consumption of fruits and vegetables
(JADA, May 2001)
Tying It All Together:
Ebony’s Thoughts
• Dealing with memories: Freud & Erickson
• Parental education is the key to success
• More research needed
References
• Baughcum, A.E., Chamberlin, L.A., Deeks, C.M., Powers,
S.W., & Whitaker, R.C. (2000). Maternal perceptions of
overweight preschool children. Pediatrics, 106, 1380-1386.
• Fisher, J.O., Mitchell, D.C., Smiciklas-Wright, H., & Birch,
L.L. (2002). Parental influences on young girls’ fruit and
vegetable, micronutrient, and fat intakes. JADA, 102, 58-64.
• Herschkowitz, N., & Herschkowitz, E.C. (2002). A good
start in life: Understanding your child’s brain and behavior.
Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
• Howe, M.L. (2000). The fate of early memories:
Developmental science and the retention of childhood
experiences. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological
Association.
References
• Story, M., Neumark-Sztainer, D., & French, S. (2002).
Individual and environmental influences on adolescent
eating behaviors. JADA, S40-S51.
• Tibbs, T., Haire-Joshu, D., Schechtman, K.B., Brownson,
R.C., et al. (2001). The relationship between parental
modeling, eating patterns, and dietary intake among
African-American parents. JADA, 101, 535-541.
• Wetter, A.C., Goldberg, J.P., King, A.C., Sigman-Grant,
M., et al. (2001). How and why do individuals make food
and physical activity choices? Nutrition Reviews, 59, S11S20.
Any Questions?
Thanks for your attention!