Exploring Changes in Parental Feeding Practices With Young Children Over Time and Their Influence on Young Children's Vegetable Consumption

Parental feeding practices have been associated with young children's vegetable consumption cross-sectionally, but there is limited longitudinal evidence that measures multiple feeding practices at multiple time points with a robust dietary outcome measure. This longitudinal, prospective study aims to explore whether feeding practices (or change in feeding practices) are associated with vegetable consumption in young children. In 2010–2014, 255 first-time parents self-reported feeding practices via the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire, and child diets via multiple 24-h recalls when their children were 1.6, 3.6, and 5 years old. Linear mixed modelling assessed the change in parental feeding practices and associations with child vegetable consumption. Monitoring (β = 0.38), food rewards (β = 0.23), and restriction for health (β = 0.13) all increased as children got older (p < 0.001). Parents who covertly controlled their children's diets at age 1.6 years had children who consumed 11.0 g/day more vegetables 2 years later. Parents who eat more vegetables at child age 1.6 years old had children who consumed 8.8 g/day more vegetables 2 years later and 12.2 g/day more vegetables 3.5 years later. In contrast, parents who reported higher use of emotion regulation at child age 1.6 years had children who consumed 33.7 g/day less vegetables 3.5 years later. Parents who increased their use of covert control and food rewards throughout the study had children consuming 13.6 g/day more and 11.6 grams/day less vegetables, respectively. Therefore, parents should be supported to use more covert control, consume more vegetables themselves and use less emotion regulation and food rewards, to support their children's vegetable consumption.