Parent’s decisions about starting and ending a meal for their child during infancy, weaning and preschool: A cross-cultural qualitative study

Young children transition from a milk-only diet (infancy) to the introduction of solid foods (weaning) to consuming a typical diet (preschool). Parents are essential in the development of their child’s eating behaviour. This study investigated how parents make decisions about when to start and end a meal for their child across these three developmental stages of eating behaviour. An online questionnaire was distributed in the UK and Romania to 146 parents (71 UK parents). Answers to open-ended questions about what prompted the start and end of a meal were coded using thematic analysis. Parents reported that the start of meals was prompted by their child crying, being restless, requesting food, etc. (i.e., child-led) or based on the family’s eating schedule (i.e., parent-led). The end of meals was predominantly determined by the child (e.g., pulling away from breast/bottle, throwing food on the floor, saying they are full). These themes were consistent across the UK and Romanian samples. During infancy, the start and end of meals were primarily child-led. In later years, the start of meals was influenced more by the family’s eating schedule, while “plate-clearing” and parent’s satisfaction with the quantity consumed determined the end of meals. Together, these findings from two differing European cultures demonstrate that parents are more responsive to their child’s cues in the early years and that, after weaning, external constraints become more important.