Abstract
This study explored the feasibility and acceptability of an individualized, home-based routines intervention targeting preschool-age children's everyday sleeping and eating routines. Using a one-group, pre–post design (N = 11), single mothers with 3- to 5-year-old children participated in an intervention over 6 weeks. Data (self-report, actigraphy, and family mealtime observations) were collected at baseline and 1-month post intervention. Mothers found the intervention acceptable, and point estimates for the intervention effects were in the expected direction. Individualized, home-based interventions targeting everyday mealtime and sleep routines hold promise in assisting mothers with developing and sustaining their children's healthy behaviors and decreasing their overweight and obesity risks.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study was supported by grants from Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Society/American Nurses Foundation, the Susan B. Anthony Institute, and a Faculty Research Support Grant awarded to Christina Koulouglioti.
Carolyn Ievers-Landis served as the action editor for this manuscript. We thank all participating families for their valuable insight.
The findings reported in the manuscript are original, and have not been previously published. The manuscript is not being simultaneously submitted elsewhere. The researchers in this study have complied with American Psychological Association ethical standards in the treatment of their samples. The study was approved by the research subjects review board of the University of Rochester's Medical Center, and participating mothers signed an informed consent.