Do Dads Make a Difference? Family Feeding Dynamics and Child Fussy Eating

Abstract:

Objective

Few studies on child feeding have focused on family dynamics or disadvantaged families, yet feeding occurs in the complex social, economic, and relational context of the family. We examined how the level (high vs low) and concordance (concordant vs discordant) of nonresponsive feeding practices of mothers and fathers are associated with child fussy eating, in a socioeconomically disadvantaged Australian sample.

Methods 

Mother-father pairs (N = 208) of children aged 2 to 5 years old independently completed validated questionnaires reporting their “persuasive feeding,” “reward for eating,” “reward for behavior,” and child’s “food fussiness.” The fussiness scores did not differ between mother-father pairs and were averaged to derive a single dependent variable. K-means cluster analyses were used to assign mother-father pairs to clusters for each feeding practice, based on mean scores. Three ANCOVAs, corresponding to each feeding practice, tested differences in child fussiness across clusters while controlling for covariates.

Results 

Four clusters were identified for each feeding practice—concordant: (1) high (M_Hi/F_Hi) for both parents and (2) low (M_Lo/F_Lo) for both parents; and discordant: (3) high for mother but low for father (M_Hi/F_Lo); and (4) low for mother but high for father (M_Lo/F_Hi). For “persuasive feeding,” M_Lo/F_Lo reported lower levels of fussiness compared with M_Hi/F_Lo, M_Hi/F_Hi, and M_Lo/F_Hi (p values < 0.05). For “reward for eating,” M_Lo/F_Lo reported lower levels of fussiness than did M_Hi/F_Hi (p < 0.05). Child fussiness did not differ across “reward for behavior” clusters.

Conclusion

In socioeconomically disadvantaged families, when parents are concordant in avoiding nonresponsive feeding practices, less child “food fussiness” is reported. Findings suggest that feeding interventions should consider inclusion of both parents in 2-parent households.