Parenting Styles and Child Feeding: What Does It Mean?

Health professionals were reminded in a great study that came out in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association back in 2008 that we must address parenting styles and family dynamics if we want to be successful in implementing dietary change in families. This study is consistent with many others published.  So with that, what is your parenting style? (If you haven’t yet, take the quiz in my previous post: Parenting Styles & Family Feeding: Take the Quiz!)

The good work started by psychologist researcher, Diana Baumrind, in the 1960’s helped us identify these 3 types of parenting styles – authoritarian, authoritative and permissive parenting. Now there are psychologists adding other styles, but we will zero in on the original three. The research I have done along with my own experiences with many family interventions reveal that authoritative parenting correlates to the best family feeding practices and lowest incidence of childhood overweight. Why? Because authoritative parents have a tendency to do the things pediatric dietitians and feeding experts recommend: monitor unhealthful child behaviors such as sugar and fat consumption; positively monitor, and take responsibility to promote child health and well-being through limit setting. They also have a tendency to model healthful lifestyles, which is a key component in your child’s learning process. On the other hand, authoritarian parents tend to food restrict and/or pressure children to eat regardless of the child’s desires. Permissive parents have a tendency toward poor healthy lifestyle modeling.  Therefore, it is not surprising that authoritarian and permissive homes produce the most overweight children.

The right parenting style may make your meal
times even more enjoyable.

So what’s the take home? It is clear that children need structure and clear guidelines when it comes to all kinds of behavior. But they also need and desire to have choice in matters. So, combine clear limits with the allowance of your child to make their own choice within those guidelines. Many child feeding specialists believe that regular and consistent times for meals and snacks promote feeding confidence in a child. The choices you give your child need to be age-appropriate as well. As an example, I allow my 6 year-old daughter to choose from a large selection of healthy snacks in our refrigerator and/or pantry during snack time. They are all there for her choosing. She feels empowered to make her own choice within the acceptable selection, and I am pleased that she is having a healthy choice.

If you took the quiz and found that you lean more towards a parenting style other than authoritative, don’t be upset. Many times our parenting styles fluctuate between the three styles. For instance, I notice that I sometimes deviate towards permissiveness when I am really tired, or more authoritarian-like when I am angry. So, take heart and know that knowledge is power. This information is designed to remind all of us as parents to be invested, consistent and clear about parenting for the sake of our home atmosphere as well as for the future of our children – in all areas, including feeding. If you want to read more about Diana Baumrind’s work on parenting styles, go to UC Berkeley's Institute for Human Development page.

More Reading:

Kyung E. Rhee, Julie C. Lumeng, Danielle P. Appugliese, Niko Kaciroti and Robert H. Bradley. Parenting Styles and Overweight Status in First Grade. Pediatrics 2006;117;2047-2054.

Hubbs-Tait L, Kennedy TS, Page MC, Topham GL, Harrist AW. Parental feeding practices predict authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting styles. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008 Jul;108(7):1154-61.

Wake M, Nicholson JM, Hardy P, Smith K. Preschooler obesity and parenting styles of mothers and fathers: Australian national population study. Pediatrics. 2007 Dec;120(6):e1520-7.

Kyung Rhee. Parenting Style, and Family Functioning. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 2008 615: 11