Involving children in meal preparation: implications for increasing vegetable intake at home and school

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test if child involvement in salad preparation increased vegetable intake at school lunch and explore parental barriers and facilitators to child involvement in home meal preparation. Two salad kits (spinach and garden) that children could mix together were offered for school lunch on two occasions in one low-income elementary school in the Minneapolis metropolitan area. More children took a salad and ate more salad when served as components they could mix together compared to when already mixed, however these increases were not statistically significant. An online survey was developed, pretested, and administered to US adults with children 5-12 years (n=344) to determine predictors of child involvement in home meal preparation. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that frequency of child involvement was associated with intentions and parent gender while child age and gender, perceptions of barriers, self-efficacy and environmental support were not associated. The model explained 33% of the variance in child involvement in home meal preparation (P<0.0001). Parents reported that children were involved with meal preparation several times/week and were generally positive about benefits. Understanding the relationship between parental perceptions of child involvement in meal preparation may enhance effectiveness of programs that promote family meal preparation.