Longitudinal Cross-Lagged Associations Between Positive Parenting and Nutritional Quality of Meals Served during Early Childhood

Introduction: Parents may influence their child’s diet through modeling and controlling what food is made available, portion sizes, and the nutritional quality of food items served. However, the majority of studies have examined parenting styles but not specific observable parenting practices, which are more easily translated to intervention targets. Further, there is a lack of understanding of the interrelationship between parenting and children’s eating over time. The present study sought to determine whether positive behavior support (PBS), which was found to mediate effects of a parent training intervention on pediatric obesity, is related to more nutritious dietary practices during early childhood. Using a cross-lag panel model we examined the relation between PBS and nutritional quality of meals served to the child from ages 2 to 5. Building on previous research, we hypothesized that PBS would be related to higher nutritional quality of meals served across time.

Methods:  731 indigent caregiver-child dyads from a multisite randomized intervention trial were examined. Observational assessment of parenting and mealtime behaviors, including nutritional quality of the meal, occurred from age 2 to 5 in the participants’ homes where caregivers were asked to prepare a meal for their child. Coders rated the nutritional quality of the food items served on a 9-point Likert scale (1 = not at all nutritious, 9 = very nutritious). PBS is a latent variable composed of proactive parenting, promotes positive behaviors, monitoring the child, positive interactions, and positive dyadic engagement. Data analyses were conducted using a cross-lagged model in SEM..

Results: The model had acceptable fit to the data (c²(414) = 1129.123, CFI= .901, RMSEA= .049, SRMR= 0.71). PBS significantly (p < .05) predicted nutritional quality at subsequent ages: age 2–3 (β = 0.12), age 3–4 (β = 0.12), and age 4–5 (β = 0.15). Nutritional quality at age 2 did not significantly predict PBS at age 3. Nutritional quality at age 3 significantly predicted PBS at age 4 (β = 0.10) and nutritional quality at age 4 significantly predicted PBS at age 5 (β = 0.08). The relative strength of the relationship between PBS and nutritional quality is stronger than the opposing relationship.

Conclusions: The findings contribute to the literature linking parenting behaviors to dietary practices, which are predictive of child weight. Although nutritional quality and parenting are highly related, it is evident that parenting has a stronger impact on nutritional quality. These results suggest that targeting PBS in early childhood may influence the nutritional quality of the meals children are eating and, in turn, their weight status over time.