Enhancing parental skills on young child feeding: an evaluative study of the “Eat for FUN” parenting program

Abstract

Background and Objectives: To develop and evaluate a set of parenting workshops entitled “Eat for FUN” to promote age-appropriate food choices and feeding practices to support the development of independent eating in children. Design: Two workshops were developed. One was for parents/caregivers with 6-12 months child (“infant workshop”) and another one for parents/caregivers with 18-36 months child (“toddler workshop”). Each workshop consisted of two 2-hour sessions, which were delivered on a weekly basis by experienced nurse and dietitian. A quasi-experimental time-series design was used for evaluation. Participants completed questionnaires at pre-, post-workshop and one month following the workshop. Setting: Maternal and Child Health Centres and non-governmental organizations. Participants: Infant workshop targeted parents/caregivers with 6-12 months child; while toddler workshop targeted parents/caregivers with 18-36 months child. Main outcome measures: Child feeding knowledge, self-efficacy in applying child feeding skills, daily child feeding practices, perception of child feeding Results: There were 85 and 73 participants completed the infant workshop and toddler workshop respectively with return of both pre and post questionnaires. Overall, participants’ knowledge score on child feeding and healthy food choices increased after the workshops (p<0.05). Perceived self-efficacy in applying various child feeding skills increased (p<0.05). Daily child feeding practices and a few perceptions of child feeding changed in a favorable direction (p<0.05). Further analysis for 99 participants who completed all questionnaires at pre-, post-workshop and one month following the workshop showed that child feeding knowledge and self-efficacy generally sustained and some favorable feeding practices maintained at one month following the workshop. Conclusions: The “Eat for FUN” workshops are feasible to enhance the awareness of healthy food choices and the adoption of appropriate feeding practices among parents with young children. A more rigorous study design is warranted to examine the long-term impact of such program on disease risk reduction and obesity prevention in Hong Kong. Acknowledgment: The project was supported by the Health Care and Promotion Fund (Project no.: 27130574) of the Food and Health Bureau, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.