"Treats, sometimes food, junk.”: Exploring "extra‟ food with parents of young children

This report presents the findings from an exploratory qualitative study which investigates parents‟ understanding and approaches to providing energy-dense and nutrient-poor “extra foods‟ to their preschool aged children. The study also explores the extent to which there is variation between parents of low and high socio-economic status (SES) in relation to these issues. The study involved 13 focus groups with 88 parents of 3-5-year-old children in distinctly socially disadvantaged and socially advantaged areas. Data from transcripts were analysed using framework analysis, which is an approach to qualitative thematic analysis that explicitly aims to generate practice and policy relevant findings

\u27Treats\u27, \u27sometimes foods\u27, \u27junk\u27: A qualitative study exploring \u27extra foods\u27 with parents of young children

Objective The present study investigated parents\u27 understanding and approaches to providing energy-dense and nutrient-poor \u27extra foods\u27 to pre-school children and explored variation between parents of low and high socio-economic status in relation to these issues. Design We conducted thirteen focus groups. Data were subject to framework analysis. Setting Child-care centres in distinctly socially disadvantaged and socially advantaged areas. Subjects Eighty-eight parents of children aged 3-5 years. Results The three most common terms parents identified to describe foods that are not \u27everyday foods\u27 were \u27treats\u27, \u27sometimes foods\u27 and \u27junk\u27. Parents\u27 perceptions regarding what influences them in providing food to their children included seven sub-themes: (i) the influence of the child; (ii) food-related parenting practices; (iii) health considerations; (iv) food costs and convenience; (v) external factors perceived as influencing their child; (vi) factors related to child care; and (vii) social influences and occasions. Parents\u27 decision-making processes regarding provision of \u27extra foods\u27 related to moderation and balance. Parents generally expressed the position that as long as a child is eating healthy foods, then treats are appropriate; and for many parents, this might apply frequently. All groups described the health of their child as an influence, but parents in low socio-economic groups were more likely to describe immediate concerns (dental health, behaviour) in relation to avoiding sugar-dense food or drink. Conclusions The belief that provision of \u27extra foods\u27 can be frequent as long as children are eating a healthy balance of foods is factored into parents\u27 decision making. Challenging this belief may be important for reducing the consumption of \u27extra foods\u27 by young children

Parents' views on food study: Feedback to participating centres

The Parents’ Views on Food Study aimed to explore parents’ understanding and approaches to giving ‘extra’ foods to their 3-5 year old children. This study was conducted to gain insights into the views of parents’ with children attending pre-school and long day care in NSW on the topic of energy-dense and nutrient-poor ‘extra foods’. This report was created as feedback to the 13 early centre-based child care services that took part in the study during October 2009. Therefore, it summarises the study and focuses on providing practical information in relation to the issues parents raised