Feeding young children : the parents' dilemma

There have been concerns expressed by health authorities, the media, parents and politicians that one in four Australian children are now overweight or obese and this could cause both short and long-term health problems. The causes of childhood obesity have been identified as poor diet and insufficient exercise. Australia has an affordable and healthy food supply and parents can readily access nutritional information, so why do parents allow their children to eat a diet that is unhealthy? Food, eating and family relationships are complex areas encompassing many social and cultural issues. This thesis looks at feeding young children from the parents' perspective and examines why contemporary parents face dilemmas about feeding their children. It uses data from nine focus groups in a variety of rural and urban locations in Tasmania. This study shows that parents find feeding young children confusing, frustrating and challenging. They cannot trust experts who provide impractical, often conflicting advice, but also they cannot rely on tradition, as so much has changed. Children are targeted as consumers which creates demands for \junk\" foods but parents are responsible for their children's health and need to feed them the \"right\" foods while respecting their choices. Because parents have limited time they need to use convenience foods but they have concerns about their nutritional value. There are complex processes of negotiation compromise and coercion exerted on a daily basis by both parents and young children to ensure incorporation of their food preferences in the family's diet. These parental dilemmas about feeding young children are socially constructed and as such will not be resolved simply by providing more expert knowledge that parents find confusing and impractical. Trying to understand the considerable societal pressures and conflicting discourses that parents are subjected to around feeding young children not only has the potential to influence the way that health professionals and policy makers deal with families but also provides insights into how everyday activities are affected by social forces."