Parent adoption and implementation of obesity prevention practices through building children's asking skills at family child care homes.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Early childhood education programs provide a setting to reach children and parents to modify home environments to prevent obesity. The Healthy Opportunities for Physical Activity and Nutrition Home (HOP'N) Home project was a novel approach that linked Family Child Care Homes (FCCH) to home environments by developing children's asking skills for healthful home environmental change through curricular activities. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of engaging parents in obesity prevention practices through building children's asking skills at FCCH. METHODS: FCCHs (n = 5 settings) and children (n = 25; aged 3-5 years; female = 36 %; non-Hispanic white = 91 %; low socioeconomic status = 28 %; overweight/obese = 52 %) and parents (n = 25) participated in a pre-post cohort design. We assessed children's body mass index and self-report variables at three time points. HOP'N Home included continuous staff training, group time, dramatic play, meal prompts, songs, and home activities. RESULTS: FCCH providers implemented 83%-100% of intervention activities. All parents (100 %) adopted the program, most (87 %) returned completed homework activities to FCCHs, and over 90 % implemented changes in the home. Percent of overweight/obese children decreased from pre-intervention (50 %) to post-intervention (29 %,p = 0.06) and follow-up (38 %,p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to build children's asking skills and pair this strategy with home activities to engage parents to prevent obesity.