Overview
Both parents and daycare providers perceive picky eating as a problematic feeding behavior of children. However, it is not clear whether children exhibit similar picky eating behaviors both at home and in child care. This study compared child mealtime behavior between their home and child care location, with different mealtime strategies used by caregivers and parents to identify which strategies effectively work across different settings. The project developed approaches to reduce the occurrence of picky eating across different environments, which in turn aided in reducing parents' and teachers' mealtime frustrations and promoted the development of healthy, independent eaters.
Research Team
- Soo-Yeun Lee, Ph.D., Professor, Food Science and Human Nutrition
- Barbara Fiese, Ph.D., Former Director, Family Resiliency Center, Human Development and Family Studies
- Sharon M. Donovan, Ph.D., RD, Professor, Food Science and Human Nutrition
- Brent A. McBride, Ph.D., Child Development Lab Director, Human Development and Family Studies
- Virginia Luchini Dosz, Chief of Staff, Curion
Contact:
Soo-Yeun Lee
soolee@illinois.edu
Citations
Luchini V, Musaad SM, Donovan SM, Lee SY. Differences and Agreement in Perception of Child Picky Eating Among Center- and Home-Based Childcare Providers and Parents and Its Impact on Utilized Mealtime Strategies. Nutr Metab Insights. 2017 Feb 16;10:1178638816684830. doi: 10.1177/1178638816684830. PMID: 28469463; PMCID: PMC5348121.
Luchini V, Musaad S, Lee SY, Donovan SM. Observed differences in child picky eating behavior between home and childcare locations. Appetite. 2017 Sep 1;116:123-131. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.04.021. Epub 2017 Apr 22. PMID: 28442336.
Funding
This project was supported by the Christopher Family Foundation Food and Family Program.