Differences and Agreement in Perception of Child Picky Eating Among Center- and Home-Based Childcare Providers and Parents and Its Impact on Utilized Mealtime Strategies.

Picky eating is a problematic eating behavior caregivers may encounter with children under their care. A picky eater (PE) is typically characterized as consuming a narrow range of food, as well as rejecting several food items. Much of the literature regarding PEs involves parents, although use of nonparental childcare arrangements in the United States has increased in the past several decades. Although data on parental mealtime strategies exist, little is known about how parent and childcare provider pickiness perceptions differ between types of childcare, such as center-based childcare (CBCC) and home-based childcare (HBCC), or how these perceptions influence the mealtime strategies utilized. The objectives of this study were to (1) compare perceptions of child pickiness between parents and childcare providers, (2) compare percent agreement in pickiness perception between the dyads of CBCC parents and providers and HBCC parents and providers, and (3) identify mealtime strategy utilization based on pickiness perception. A total of 52 child, parent, and childcare provider triads participated in the study and completed the Mealtime Assessment Survey and the Parent/Teacher Mealtime Strategy Survey regarding the same child. Results showed that parents are 1.4 times more likely than childcare providers to perceive a child as being picky, HBCC parents and providers are 1.4 times more likely to perceive a child as being picky than CBCC parents and providers, CBCC parents and providers disagree more in their perception of child pickiness than HBCC parents and providers (41% vs 26%), and finally, perception of child pickiness has a greater influence on mealtime strategies utilized by parents. These results can be used to focus intervention efforts aimed at improving child eating habits across the home and childcare location.

Observed differences in child picky eating behavior between home and childcare locations.

Picky eating (PE) is a common mealtime difficulty that is reported by up to 50% of caregivers. Most of the research to date on PE has focused on parents, even though millions of children also eat meals in home- or center-based childcare settings. Currently, little is known about PE behaviors manifested by the child across the home and childcare settings, or how these behaviors differ between home-based childcare (HBCC) and center-based childcare (CBCC) locations. The objectives of this study were to compare PE behaviors between the child's home and HBCC or CBCC environments, and compare PE behaviors between HBCC and CBCC environments. Children, ages 3-5 years, were recruited from CBCC (n = 26) or HBCC (n = 24) locations. Caregivers and children were videotaped consuming two different lunchtime meals in their home and childcare. Picky eating behaviors were coded from the videos using a codebook created for the study. Observational results showed that children in CBCC displayed more PE behaviors when at home than at childcare, while HBCC children displayed PE behaviors more similarly between the two locations. Thus, interventions to reduce PE behaviors should be personalized for location-specific intervention programs focused on raising healthy eaters across multiple locations.