Eat it or leave it: Educational differences in how mothers handle children's food dislikes

This paper describes educational differences in the extent and manner in which mothers teach their children to eat foods they dislike. A survey among 849 mothers, who cared for children aged between 4 and 14 years in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany showed that higher‐educated mothers employed healthier and more consistent food rules than lower‐educated mothers. While lower‐educated mothers allowed their children more frequently to eat what they wanted, higher‐educated mothers acknowledged more often that their children should learn to eat the foods they provided. The latter category of mothers reported more reasons why they taught their children to eat all foods, and obliged their children more often to taste a little bit of the disliked food. They prescribed as many foods as lower‐educated mothers, but they limited more foods, which was reflected in their own healthier diet, and probably also in their children's diets.

Key words:

• Educational level
• food rules
• children
• dietary behavior
• cross‐national

Notes

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