Mealtimes in families where a child has difficulties eating (V1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Feeding a child with difficulties eating: How do parents and children interact during mealtimes and how do parents reflect on this?
IRAS ID
181261
Contact name
Harriet Bibbings
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
This study focuses on the interactions between parents and children during a mealtime, and how parents talk about this mealtime after the event. Mealtimes are a significant part of family life, and form the basis of important interactions between parents and young children. Some children have problems with eating to the extent that they are referred for NHS support or intervention. Parental feeding practices (and therefore the way parents interact with their children) have been linked to child eating behaviours. However, research has tended to rely upon parental reports, or quantitative observations (Sanders, LeGrice and Patel, 1993). Questions therefore remain unanswered about what happens at mealtimes between parents and children when a child refuses food or restricts what they eat.
This qualitative study seeks to deepen understanding of the talk between parents and children; and by parents through the use of discourse analysis (a method which draws on what people say to understand what is happening between people, or ideas they are expressing/drawing upon) to examine:
a) the talk between parents and their children during one video-recorded typical mealtime at their home,
and
b) the talk used by parents in reflecting while watching the video of this mealtime in a semi-structured interview (also conducted at the participant’s home, up to 3 weeks after the initial video is completed).
The mealtime video and the interview will both be analysed, and brought together in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding.Participants will be children referred to an NHS service about eating difficulties (e.g. restricting/refusing food) and their parents.
Understanding how talk is used between parents and their children during mealtimes will shed light on the interactive processes between them alongside understanding how parents talk about these issues will support professionals in supporting families with children with eating difficulties.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/YH/0431
Date of REC Opinion
29 Oct 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion