Associations between general parenting styles and specific food-related parenting practices and children's food consumption.
OBJECTIVE
Explore the impact of general parenting style and specific food-related parenting practices on children's dietary habits.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study of sixth graders and their parents.


METHODS
Data were gathered (in 2003) in 69 of 100 randomly selected elementary schools in Belgium.


METHODS
All sixth graders (N = 1957) were invited to participate; 82.4% of their parents gave consent and completed questionnaires, resulting in 1614 parent-child pairs.


METHODS
Children's consumption of breakfast, fruit, vegetables, soft drinks, and sweets was assessed by self-administered food frequency questionnaires. Parents completed questionnaires on sociodemographic characteristics, general parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative, indulgent, or neglecting) and specific food-related parenting practices (pressure, reward, encouragement through negotiation, catering on children's demands, permissiveness, avoiding negative modeling, and praise).


METHODS
Logistic regression analyses were performed, with general parenting style and specific food-related parenting practices as predictors and dietary habits as dependent variables, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and children's weight status.


RESULTS
General parenting style did not show any significant impact on dietary habits. In contrast, the food-related parenting practice "encouragement through negotiation" showed a significant positive impact, whereas "pressure," "catering on demand," and "permissiveness" were practices with an unhealthy impact.


CONCLUSIONS
Nutrition education programs that guide parents in firm but not coercive food parenting skills are likely to have a positive impact upon children's dietary habits.
Vereecken
Carine
C
Ghent University, Department of Public Health, Ghent, Belgium. carine.vereecken@ugent.be
Legiest
Erwin
E
De Bourdeaudhuij
Ilse
I
Maes
Lea
L
D001318:Authoritarianism; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors