ABSTRACT
Childhood obesity is a major health problem. Effective strategies are necessary to promote healthy eating in toddlers. The Nutrition Education Aimed at Toddlers project examined rural, low-income caregivers' knowledge, attitudes, mealtime practices, and dietary intake before and after a nutrition program. A convenience sample of 38 families participated in the study; 19 attended classes, and 19 did not. Six months after the lessons, no significant differences were found between groups; however, the resultant dietary, feeding knowledge, attitudinal, and behavioral data provide a valuable description regarding a hard to reach, high-risk population. However, caregivers' perceptions about feeding their toddlers differed from their reported dietary intakes of dairy, fruits, and vegetables. It appears that knowledge is insufficient to change eating habits. Identification of the issues that prevent caregivers in providing proper feeding is needed for a lasting change of eating habits.
Subject(s)
Child Nutrition Sciences/education , Feeding Behavior , Health Education/methods , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Parents/education , Adult , Child, Preschool , Early Intervention, Educational/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Infant , Middle Aged , Midwestern United States , Parents/psychology , Pilot Projects , Poverty , Rural Health Services , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
This paper contains a description of the use of the theory of dependent-care in the Nutrition Aimed at Toddlers project, a nursing intervention study with parents of toddlers, and discusses the research and practice utility of the theory of dependent-care, a corollary theory to Orem's self-care theory. In particular, the concepts of dependent-care, dependent-care agency, therapeutic self-care demand and an educative-supportive nursing system are discussed within the context of the Nutrition Aimed at Toddlers project.
