Preschool children's perceptions of food and their food experiences.
OBJECTIVE
Developmental theory suggests that children learn from their experiences. However, little is known about preschool children's interpretation of their daily food experiences. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to describe the criteria preschool children use to classify foods and their interpretation of their daily food experiences.


METHODS
Semistructured interviews and observations of children's play in toy kitchens were conducted with children enrolled in public preschool programs.


METHODS
Data were collected over a 2-year period. During the first year of the study, observations and interviews were collected from 24 children. Interviews with an additional 79 children were conducted the following year.


METHODS
The variables measured included the children's criteria for food classification and their play behaviors in a toy kitchen.


RESULTS
The children relied primarily on physical characteristics such as color, shape, and texture to classify foods. The activities that children demonstrated during play sessions included meal planning, food preparation, table preparation, serving food, eating, and cleaning. Pattern coding of the observational data revealed variability in (1) boys' and girls' kitchen play, (2) children's food selection and preparation methods and postmeal clean-up activities, and (3) children's responses to picky eating.


CONCLUSIONS
These data may be used to develop a play-based nutrition education program.
Matheson
Donna
D
Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California 94305, USA. matheson@stanford.edu
Spranger
Kristina
K
Saxe
Amy
A
D002675:Child, Preschool; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005502:Food / Q000145:classification*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D010988:Play and Playthings / Q000523:psychology*