Observing general and food-specific parenting in a restaurant setting: An exploratory study

Emerging research shows that parent feeding in restaurants may be distinct from parent feeding in other settings, such as the home. To our knowledge, no studies have used observational methods to examine parenting in restaurants. Our objectives were to: 1) assess the acceptability of using observational methods to examine parenting in restaurants, 2) describe observed parenting (general and food-specific) in this setting, and 3) compare observed general parenting in the restaurant to self-reported general parenting more broadly. Participants were 26 parent-child dyads, recruited from a larger study at a regional quick-service restaurant chain, who agreed to an optional evening meal observation at the study restaurant. Afterwards, an online survey was sent to assess self-reported general parenting and observation experiences. Observational measures used were the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System, which measures aspects of general parenting, and an additional coding scheme designed to explore food-specific parenting, developed by the study team. Self-reported general parenting was measured using the Parenting Dimensions Inventory-Short Version. Participants reported positive experiences with the observation overall. The most frequent general parenting behaviors observed were Neutral Talk (M = 2.79, SD = 1.89), Questions (M = 0.92, SD = 0.85), and Commands (M = 0.31, SD = 0.32). Examples of observed food-specific parenting included questions, commands, and pressure to eat. No relationships emerged between observed and self-reported general parenting, aside from a positive correlation between observed commands and self-reported nurturance (r = 0.45, p =.02). Results support the acceptability of using observational methods in restaurants and may further support evidence of differences in parenting at home versus in restaurants.