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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2025 Mar 1.
Published in final edited form as: Fam Consum Sci Res J. 2024 Feb 5;52(3):213–225. doi: 10.1111/fcsr.12504

Latinx Grandparents’ Child Feeding Practices and Interaction with Parents

Hui Xie 1,*, Aylin Lopez 2, Melissa C Henderson 3, Naty Hernandez 4, Annette Besnilian 5
PMCID: PMC11105021  NIHMSID: NIHMS1966384  PMID: 38774766

Abstract

Despite Latinx grandparents’ substantial involvement in child rearing, there is limited understanding of their child feeding practices. A survey examined 80 Latinx mothers’ perception of Latinx grandparents’ feeding practices and interaction with parents. Results showed grandparents engaged in positive feeding somewhat frequently and negative feeding somewhat infrequently. Mother-grandparent disagreement and grandparent-parent(s) communication on child feeding occurred at a moderate level of frequency. Mother-grandparent disagreement was associated with higher frequency of grandparents’ negative feeding, while grandparent-parent(s) communication was associated with higher frequency of positive feeding by grandparents. Finally, grandparents’ behaviors and practices varied depending on characteristics of grandparents, mothers, and children.

Keywords: Grandparent, mother, child, feeding practices, Latinx/Latino/Latina/Hispanic

Introduction

Obesity is a serious problem among Latinx children in the United States (Ogden et al., 2016) which increases children’s risks for various diseases and health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and depression (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023). According to the results of recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) (Stierman et al., 2021), 26.2% of Latinx children aged 2 to 19 years are obese, compared to 24.8% for Black and 16.6% for White. Healthy eating is crucial for prevention of childhood obesity. However, studies show concerning diet behaviors for many Latinx children. For example, multiple years of NHANES data showed that Mexican American children age 2 to 5 consumed an average of 14.8 oz of sugar-sweetened beverages on a typical day, which was more than twice the recommended amount (Wang et al., 2008). Additionally, a cohort study in Boston found that at age 3, Latinx children on average consumed more calories (1904 kcal/day) than non-Latinx White (1670 kcal/day) or Black (1655 kcal/day) children (de Hoog et al., 2013).

An important way to promote children’s healthy eating is through family members who provide care to children (Besnilian et al., 2018; Greder et al., 2012). For Latinx Americans, the largest ethnic minority group in the United States, children’s family support not only comes from parents but also extended family members such as grandparents. Under the cultural values of familismo, Latinx families and communities generally consider family as the foundation of social life (Calzada, 2010) and emphasize the importance of maintaining close contact and relationships with both immediate and extended family members (Baca Zinn & Kelly, 2005; Tienda & Angel, 1982). Latinx grandparents are particularly important and respected family members who often live close to or reside in the same household with parents and children (Burnette, 1999; Montoro-Rodriguez, & Ramsey, 2019). Such physical proximity fosters a strong intergenerational bond and facilitates grandparents’ involvement in their children’s and grandchildren’s lives (Davis et al., 2017; Baca Zinn & Wells, 2000). Under this sociocultural context, Latinx grandparents often share substantial responsibilities in child rearing, provide guidance and advice to parents, and serve as influential socializing agents for grandchildren (Carrillo, 2002). A particularly important role Latinx grandparents (particularly grandmothers) assume is to feed the family and grandchildren (Cheney et al., 2019). Given the high obesity prevalence among Latinx American children (Ogden et al., 2016), it is important to understand Latinx grandparents’ feeding practices and their influence on grandchildren’s dietary behavior.

Grandparents’ Influence on Grandchildren’s Dietary Behavior

Grandparents’ influence on grandchildren’s dietary behavior may be theorized by Bronfenbrenner’s (1979, 1992) Ecological Systems Theory (EST), a well-established framework for explaining the influence of social environments on human and child development. EST discussed four levels of systems that affect a child’s health behavior and outcomes: Microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem, among which the first two apply to grandparents’ influence. Microsystem represents the most immediate social and developmental environment for a child, such as families and friends. Microsystem influences a child’s health behavior through direct interaction with the child, and usually is the most influential system in the EST. For many Latinx children, parents represent a main microsystem, and grandparents represent another, with both being able to directly influence children’s diet behavior through different practices (e.g., setting rules to control children’s diet, feeding children different types of foods). Mesosystem refers to the interactions between different microsystems that may influence a child. For example, some Latinx grandparents may collaborate with parents in promoting children’s healthy eating, while others may have disagreements/conflicts with parents in child feeding. These different interactions have different impacts on children’s dietary behavior. In summary, grandparents may influence children’s dietary behavior directly and independently, or indirectly and through interaction with parents.

Researchers have investigated grandparents’ feeding practices and grandchildren’s dietary behavior. For example, Farrow et al. (2014) surveyed parents and grandparents in the United Kingdom and found that encouraging balance and variety, which refers to promotion of well-balanced food intake and consumption of varied and healthy foods, was the most frequently used feeding practice by grandparents, although grandparents were more likely to use certain maladaptive feeding practices (e.g., using food to regulate emotions) than parents. In another survey-based study with Australian grandparents, Jongenelis et al. (2020) confirmed grandparents’ encouragement of balance and variety in child feeding. Additionally, grandparents reported positive feeding practices more frequently than negative feeding practices. However, qualitative studies in the United Kingdom (Knight et al., 2014), New Zealand (Glover et al., 2019), and South Korea (Kim et al., 2019) showed that parents had concerns or frustrations with grandparents’ indulgent feeding style. Additionally, Li et al. (2015) found that grandparental care was associated with increased consumption of sugar-added drinks and unhealthy snacks, using survey data with Chinese families.

In the United States, Eli et al.’s (2016) qualitative study with predominantly Caucasian/White families found that grandparents and parents differed in definition of healthy eating and feeding practices, with grandparents exhibiting more indulgent feeding behavior. Often, grandparents and parents negotiated the differences in feeding practices through grandparental compliance and parental compromise. Grandparents’ indulgent feeding behavior was also documented in Mena et al.’s (2015) qualitative study with Latinx mothers, who reported generational differences with grandparents. For example, Latinx mothers experienced struggles with grandparents when they provided non-traditional foods to children. Using survey data, Pulgarón et al. (2013) found that Latinx grandparental involvement in child rearing was associated with negative feeding behavior and unhealthy eating behaviors in grandchildren. Finally, Criss et al.’s (2020) analysis of focus group data from White, Black, and Hispanic grandparents indicated that grandparents’ influence on grandchildren’s dietary behavior depended on grandparent’s geographic proximity to children and their power in child rearing.

To summarize, previous studies showed that grandparents’ feeding practices may differ across countries/cultures and demographic groups. Although the majority of the studies documented differences between parents and grandparents in feeding practices, with grandparents being more indulgent in child feeding, the dynamics and interaction between parents and grandparents in child rearing and feeding may vary across ethnicities due to differences in household structure (Ellis & Simmons, 2014) and family culture (Taylor et al., 2013). To date, the majority of the studies on grandparents’ feeding practices and influence on child dietary behavior have focused on non-Latinx families (Jongenelis & Budden, 2023). Furthermore, there is a dearth of research on Latinx mothers’ perception of grandparents’ involvement in children’s dietary behavior. This research gap is significant because Latinx mothers often regulate the interaction between grandparents and children (Xie et al., 2018). In a qualitative study, Latinx grandparents reported disagreements with parents, particularly mothers, in the ways to raise and educate children, and acknowledged the importance of establishing a good relationship and collaboration with mothers in child rearing (Xie et al., 2018). In another study, Pulgarón et al. (2013) found that parent-grandparent disagreement in Latinx families was associated with negative eating behavior and higher body mass index (BMI) among children. This indicates negative interactions between grandparents and parents may be associated with children’s negative dietary behavior and health outcomes.

The Current Study

To understand Latinx grandparents’ influence on children’s dietary behavior and the potentially complicated interactions between Latinx grandparents and mothers, we started with examining Latinx mothers’ perception of grandparents’ involvement and behavior. Using data from a survey, this study examined Latinx mothers’ perceptions of grandparents’ child feeding practices and interaction with parent(s). Additionally, we explored whether these perceptions were associated with a family’s demographic and household characteristics.

Methods

Overall Research Design

In this study, we collected data using a survey with Latinx mothers. Participants needed to have at least one child of 2–12 years old receiving care or having regular in-person interaction with at least one Latinx grandparent. Age 2–12 was chosen because this is a period when Latinx grandparents are likely to have substantial influence on grandchildren (Xie et al., 2018).

The questionnaire had three sections. In the first section, participants needed to identify a focal child for the survey. Specifically, participants were asked to choose one of their children (2–12 years in age) who was currently receiving care or having regular interaction with a Latinx grandparent(s). Then participants were asked to provide information about the focal child. In the second section, participants were asked to identify a grandparent (i.e., focal grandparent) that spent the most time with the focal child. Through random assignment, about half of the participants were asked to choose a grandmother and the other half a grandfather. If the focal child did not have a grandparent with the assigned gender, the participants were instructed to choose a grandparent of the other gender. Questions in this section were then related to the focal grandparent and her/his behavior, including positive and negative feeding practices for the focal child, disagreement with the participant (mother) about child feeding, and communication with focal child’s parent(s) about child feeding. The first two sections also included questions related to physical activity, which were not included for this study. In the third section, participants were asked to provide information about themselves. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the study-affiliated institution.

Measures

Grandparent’s Feeding Practices

Grandparents’ feeding practices were measured using certain items adapted from The Child Feeding Questionnaire (Birch et al., 2001) and Rosenkranz et al.’s (2008) measure on parental social support. Selection and adaptation of the measurement items were made by two researchers with expertise relevant to this study (i.e., nutrition, grandparenting in Latinx families). Specifically, positive feeding was measured by four items: 1) Cook homemade meals for the child, 2) prepare/offer vegetables/fruits to the child, 3) make sure that the child does not eat too many sweets, and 4) make sure that the child does not eat too many high-fat foods. Negative feeding was measured by three items: 1) Reward the child using unhealthy foods, 2) offer processed foods to the child, and 3) offer fast food to the child. Using a 5-point scale (1 = never; 2 = rarely; 3 = sometimes; 4 = often; 5 = always), participants were asked to indicate the frequency of engagement by the focal grandparent in each of the above behaviors. The measures had good/acceptable internal consistency, with Cronbach alpha being 0.784 and 0.695 for positive and negative feeding, respectively.

Mother-Grandparent Disagreement and Grandparent-Parent(s) Communication

Measure on mother-grandparent disagreement in child feeding was developed based on Cheney et al.’s (2019) qualitative study with Latinx mothers, which revealed that mothers’ disagreement with grandparents in child feeding was primarily related to the amount and types of foods for children. Accordingly, survey participants were asked to indicate how frequently they disagreed with the focal grandparents on a) how much should the child eat and b) what types of foods should the child eat, using a 5-point scale (1 = never; 2 = rarely; 3 = sometimes; 4 = often; 5 = always). The measure had a Cronbach alpha of 0.913, indicating a good level of internal consistency. Based on Xie et al.’s (2018) qualitative finding, we measured mothers’ perception of grandparent-parent(s) communication in child feeding using two items: 1) Talk to the parent(s) about the child’s diet and nutrition and 2) Ask/remind the parent(s) to provide healthy foods to the child (1 = never; 2 = rarely; 3 = sometimes; 4 = often; 5 = always). The measure had a good level of internal consistency with a Cronbach alpha of 0.768.

Demographic and Household Related Variables

Table 1 presents the demographic and household related variables included in this study. Demographic variables included age (grandparent, mother, and child), gender (grandparent, mother, and child), spoken language (grandparent, mother, and child), education (grandparent and mother), employment status (grandparent and mother), marital status (grandparent and mother), and country of origin (grandparent). Household-related variables included the grandparent’s lineage, grandparent’s living arrangement with the child, the distance between the grandparents’ home to the child’s home, the child’s living arrangement with parent(s), the average number of days per week the child spends with the grandparent, and the average number of hours per day the child spends with the grandparent.

Table 1.

Sample Characteristics – Grandparent, Mother, and Child (n=80)

Grandparent Mother Child
n % n % n %
Gender
 Male 19 24.1 0 0.0 43 53.8
 Female 60 75.9 80 100.0 37 46.3
Language
 English only 0 0.0 3 3.9 10 12.7
 Mostly English 0 0.0 8 10.4 15 19.0
 Both English and Spanish 28 35.9 51 66.2 51 64.6
 Mostly Spanish 18 23.1 6 7.8 3 3.8
 Spanish Only 32 41.0 9 11.7 0 0.0
Education
 Less than high school 43 55.1 5 6.5 –– ––
 Some high school 13 16.7 8 10.4 –– ––
 High school graduate or equivalent 11 14.1 17 22.1 –– ––
 Some college or higher 11 14.1 47 61.0 –– ––
Employment
 Employed – full time 18 23.1 30 39.0 –– ––
 Employed – part time 11 14.1 12 15.6 –– ––
 Homemaker 19 24.4 30 39.0 –– ––
 Retired 18 23.1 0 0.0 –– ––
 Unemployed 10 12.8 3 3.9 –– ––
 Other 2 2.6 2 2.6 –– ––
Marital Status
 Married 48 61.5 54 71.1 –– ––
 Divorced 10 12.8 6 7.9 –– ––
 Separated 5 6.4 4 5.3 –– ––
 Widowed 13 16.7 0 0.0 –– ––
 Single, never been married 2 2.6 7 9.2 –– ––
 Other 0 0.0 5 6.6 –– ––
Country of Origin
 Mexican 53 67.1 –– –– –– ––
 Salvadoran 12 15.2 –– –– –– ––
 Guatemalan 7 8.9 –– –– –– ––
 Other 7 8.9 –– –– –– ––
Relation to Mother
 Parent 59 75.6 –– –– –– ––
 Parent-in-law 17 21.8 –– –– –– ––
 Other 2 2.6 –– –– –– ––
Live with the child
 Yes 32 42.1 –– –– –– ––
 No 44 57.9 –– –– –– ––
Distance from child’s home
 Same place as the child 29 38.7 –– –– –– ––
 Less than 1 mile 8 10.7 –– –– –– ––
 1 to 2 miles 8 10.7 –– –– –– ––
 2 to 5 miles 5 6.7 –– –– –– ––
 5 to 10 miles 8 10.7 –– –– –– ––
 More than 10 miles 17 22.7 –– –– –– ––
Child’s living Arrangement
 With mother and father –– –– –– –– 66 82.5
 With mother –– –– –– –– 14 17.5
M SD M SD M SD
Age 61.5 9.55 35.3 7.62 6.1 3.07
Number of days/week with child 4.5 2.23 –– –– –– ––
Number of hours/day with child 5.9 4.71 –– –– –– ––
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Note. A few of the participants did not answer some of the questions so totals do not always add up to 80.

Data Collection

Trained bilingual (English and Spanish) research assistants recruited the participants and collected the data via a self-administered survey between May through July 2019 at multiple locations including an early child learning center, a church-affiliated community agency, a local park/recreation center, and a park-based adult exercise program. The community partners promoted the survey to their users/visitors through social media/or in-person communications. Prior to the survey, the research assistants verified potential participants’ eligibility and provided them instructions on how to complete the survey. Instructions were also provided in the questionnaire, which had both English and Spanish versions. The assistance from the research assistants was available to the participants when needed. A $16 gift card was offered to each participant as an incentive. Research assistants approached approximately 400 to 500 individuals, and collected 81 completed surveys. One survey was not included in this study because the focal child was not living with the mother. The final sample size was 80.

Data Analysis

With all multi-item constructs (i.e., grandparent’s positive/negative feeding, mother-grandparent disagreement, and grandparent-parent(s) communication) having a good/acceptable level of internal consistency, we created an aggregate score for each construct by averaging all underlying items (Hair et al., 2006). The aggregate scores were used for analysis. Then we analyzed the interrelationships among grandparent’s positive, grandparent’s negative feeding, mother-grandparent disagreement, and grandparent-parent(s) communication using bivariate Pearson correlation. Last, we analyzed how these grandparent behavior related variables are associated with different demographic/household-related variables using bivariate Pearson correlation or point-biserial correlation. Given this was an exploratory study with a small sample size, the significance level for the statistical testing was set at alpha = 0.10.

Results

Sample Characteristics

Table 1 reports the sample characteristics of mothers (mean age = 35.3), focal grandparents (mean age = 61.5) and focal children (mean age = 6.1) in this study. Approximately three quarters (75.9%) of the grandparents and half (46.3%) of the children were female. The majority of the grandparents (64.1%) spoke mostly or only Spanish, compared to 19.5% for the mothers, and 3.8% for the children. The majority of the mothers and children spoke both English and Spanish. Over half (55.1%) of the grandparents had less than high school education, while 61.0% of the mothers had at least some college education. In terms of employment status, 39.0% of the mothers and 23.1% of the grandparents were employed full-time. The majority of the grandparents (61.5%) and mothers (71.1%) were married. Approximately three quarters of grandparents were the mothers’ parents (i.e., maternal grandparents). Sixty-seven percent of the grandparents were of Mexican origin, and 42.1% lived with the children. On average, the grandparents spent 4.5 days per week, and 5.9 hours per day with the children. Most of the children (82.5%) lived with both mother and father, and 42.1% lived with the focal grandparent.

Correlations Among Mother-Grandparent Disagreement, Grandparent-Parent(s) Communication, and Grandparental Feeding Practices

On average, Latinx mothers reported a moderate level of frequency (close to “sometimes”) for mother-grandparent disagreement (M = 2.7, SD = 1.3) and grandparent-parent(s) communication (M = 3.2, SD = 1.3) about child feeding. In addition, Latinx mothers reported that grandparents’ positive feeding was somewhat frequent (M = 3.7, SD = 1.0), and grandparents’ negative feeding was somewhat infrequent (M = 2.4, SD = 0.9).

Results (Table 2) showed that mother-grandparent disagreement was significantly associated with higher frequency of grandparents’ negative feeding (r = 0.240, p < 0.05), but was not significantly correlated with grandparents’ positive feeding or with grandparent-parent(s) communication (p > 0.10). Grandparent-parent(s) communication was positively associated with grandparents’ positive feeding (r = 0.587, p < 0.01).

Table 2.

Descriptive Statistics and Bivariate Correlations – Grandparent’s Feeding Behaviors, Mother-Grandparent Disagreement, Grandparent-Parent(s) Communication (n=77)

M-G Disagreement G Positive Feeding G Negative Feeding G-P Communication
M-G Disagreement 1
G Positive Feeding −0.058 1
G Negative Feeding 0.240 ** −0.051 1
G-P Communication 0.040 0.587 *** −0.061 1
Mean (SD) 2.7(1.3) 3.7(1.0) 2.4(0.9) 3.2(1.3)
Cronbach alpha 0.913 0.784 0.695 0.768
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Note: M=Mother; G=Grandparent; P=Parent(s)

*

p < .10

**

p < .05

***

p < .01

M-G Disagreement/Communication and G Positive/Negative Feeding: 1 = Never to 5 = Always.

Demographic and Household-Related Correlates

Correlations (Table 3) showed that mother-grandparent disagreement was lower when mothers had higher education levels (r = −0.348, p < 0.01) and was higher for older children (r = 0.286, p < 0.05). Grandparent-parent(s) communication was positively correlated with the number of hours grandparents spent with the child per day (r = 0.219, p < 0.10) and was higher for maternal grandparents (r = 0.270, p < 0.05). Grandparents’ positive feeding was negatively correlated with grandparents’ age (r = −0.306, p < 0.01), positively correlated with the numbers of hours grandparents spent with child per day (r = 0.310, p < 0.01), and was higher among grandmothers (r = 0.249, p < 0.05) than grandfathers. Grandparents’ negative feeding was positively associated with children’s age (r = 0.202, p < 0.10) and was higher for female children (r = −0.195, p < 0.10).

Table 3.

Pearson/Point-biserial Correlation between Grandparent’s Behaviors and Demographic/HouseholdRelated Variables (n=76–77)

M-G Disagreement G Positive Feeding G Negative Feeding G-P Communication
M Education −0.348 *** −0.062 −0.167 −0.175
G Education −0.084 0.026 0.154 −0.142
G Age 0.053 −0.306 *** −0.038 −0.181
G Gender (0=Male; 1=Female) 0.107 0.249 ** −0.003 0.066
G is maternal grandparent (0=No; 1=Yes) 0.024 0.025 0.123 0.270 **
Child lives with both parents (0=No; 1=Yes) −0.023 0.016 −0.130 0.021
G #days/week with child −0.041 0.063 −0.025 0.075
G #hours/day with child −0.187 0.310 *** 0.066 0.219 *
Child’s age 0.286 ** −0.094 0.202 * 0.081
Child’s gender (0=Female; 1=Male) 0.073 0.017 −0.195 * −0.050
G lives with child (0=No; 1=Yes) −0.120 0.156 −0.043 0.160
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Note: M=Mother; G=Grandparent; P=Parent(s)

*

p < .10

**

p < .05

***

p < .01

Point-biserial correlation was computed for dichotomous demographic/household-related variables

M-G Disagreement/Communication and G Positive/Negative Feeding: 1 = Never to 5 = Always.

Education: 1 = Less than high school, 2 = Some high school, 3 = High school graduate, or equivalent, 4 = Some college or higher.

Discussion

This study found that Latinx mothers sometimes had disagreement with grandparents in child feeding, specifically on what to feed and how much to feed. According to Cheney et al.’s (2019) qualitative study, Latinx grandmothers, generally respected for their experience and expertise in child rearing, may give mothers feeding advice that is inconsistent with scientific guidelines or mother’s feeding beliefs/practices. For example, some grandmothers encouraged children to eat excessively (e.g., adult portion size), which was related to food insecurity experienced by the older generations (Cheney et al., 2019). The differences between Latinx mothers and grandparents in feeding beliefs may lead to disagreements or conflicts, which in turn may undermine their collaboration (Xie et al., 2018). In addition, disagreements about feeding practices may stem from the Latinx mothers’ and grandparents’ different definitions of healthy eating (Mena et al., 2015).

The results showed that mother-grandparent disagreement was positively associated with grandparents’ negative feeding. It is possible that grandparents’ inappropriate feeding practices lead to mothers’ disagreement. On the contrary, Grandparent-parent(s) communication was associated with higher frequency of grandparent’s positive feeding. This may imply that when grandparents and parents are communicating and discussing with each other, they are more likely to work out a plan for grandparents to provide positive support for children’s healthy eating. This process may require certain comprises from both parties (Eli et al., 2016). However, with only cross-sectional data, we were not able to verify these potential causal relationships in this study.

Our study also investigated potential demographic and family related correlates of grandparent’s behaviors. For example, mother-grandparent disagreement was negatively associated with mothers’ education level. Also, mother-grandparent disagreement was higher for older children. One possible explanation is that as children grow older, their diet becomes more complex. Also, instead of being fed passively, they are more likely to negotiate with caregivers in food choices. The increased complexity in diet and dietary behavior may create more chances and situations for disagreements between mothers and grandparents. Grandparents positive feeding was higher among younger grandmothers who spent more hours per day with the children. Previous studies have found Latinx grandmothers are much more likely than grandfathers to assume the role of providing and preparing foods for children (Cheney et al., 2019). Responsibilities such as cooking healthy foods and controlling a child’s dietary behavior generally require substantial amount of time with the children. When grandparents become older, they might reduce their involvement in child feeding due to decline in physical energy or health. As for grandparents’ negative feeding, our study found it was higher for older children although the relationship was marginally significant (p < .10). Kaiser et al.’s (2015) study found younger Latinx children (age 2 to 4) consume convenience and fast foods less often than older children (age 5 to 8). They discussed that when Latinx children were young they were more likely to receive traditional healthy homemade meals from caregivers. However, after children entered public schools, they were exposed to certain unhealthy foods and their food preferences shifted more to American style foods (Villegas et al., 2018). Therefore, older Latinx children may be more likely than younger Latinx children to ask grandparents for unhealthy foods such as sweets and fast foods. With an indulgent feeding style, many Latinx grandparents may find it difficult to resist children’s requests (Mena et al., 2015). This is supported by in a recent study where grandparents reported difficulty in feeding grandchildren healthy snacks when grandchildren were disobedient or disliked the taste of healthy snacks (McArthur et al., 2021).

With respect to grandparent-parent(s) communication in child feeding, we found that it was more frequent among maternal grandparents, which is consistent with the matrilineal advantage found in previous studies with Latino populations and other ethnicities (e.g., Chan & Elder, 2000; Xie et al., 2018). Compared to paternal grandparents, maternal grandparents tend to find it easier to collaborate with parents, particularly mothers (Xie et al., 2018). Additionally, grandparents’ communication with parent(s) had a positive and marginally significant (p < .10) association with the number of hours per day grandparents spent with the children. This increased communication may lead to more consistent feeding practices between mothers and grandparents. Eli et al. (2016) and Farrow et al. (2014) found that grandparents who spent more hours caring for children had more similar feeding practices as parents, possibly due to the increased communication with parents.

In summary, examination of these correlates revealed possible demographic and family-related factors that affect Latinx grandparents’ feeding practices and interaction with parents, which may help researchers and practitioners identify the target groups for education and intervention. Results of this study indicate that young maternal grandmothers who spent substantial time with children tend to have the most potential to influence children’s dietary behavior, and therefore may deserve more attention in health education and intervention.

Limitations

This preliminary study has limitations. First, the sample size was small with most participants being Mexican and Salvadoran descents. The Latinx community extends to many countries/territories with cultural variations (Springer et al., 2016). Therefore, the results of this study may not be generalizable to other Latinx populations. Also, certain relationships were marginally significant (i.e., p < .10) with a correlation coefficient being around ±.2, which need further validation. Second, this study only collected cross-sectional data, which is limited to testing of correlational not causal relationships. Third, other than internal consistency, we were not able to test the psychometric properties of survey measures due to the small sample size. Additionally, the content validity of measure on feeding practices may be improved by inclusion of additional feeding practices of grandparents based on qualitative studies. Fourth, with a small sample size, we were not able to perform more sophisticated multivariate statistical analyses with control variables when testing the relationships. Also, calculation of multiple bivariate correlations was associated with inflated type I error. To address these limitations, future studies should examine Latinx grandparents’ child feeding practices using larger, more representative, preferably longitudinal samples. Finally, this study measured Latinx mothers’ perception of grandparents’ practices and behavior related to child feeding, and did not collect data from grandparents. Although Latinx mothers’ perception is important as they often regulate the interaction between grandparents and grandchildren, researchers may obtain a more complete understanding of grandparents’ influence by obtaining data from Latinx grandparents themselves.

Conclusion and Practical Implications

Despite these limitations, this study examined Latinx mothers’ perception of grandparents’ feeding practices and interaction with parent(s) in child feeding, an important but understudied area. The results indicate Latinx grandparents have the potential to influence children’s dietary behavior. Latinx grandparents may engage in positive and negative feeding and may have disagreements with mothers in feeding practices. Given that grandparents generally are respected members in Latinx families and often share child rearing and feeding practices with parents, researchers and practitioners should consider promoting Latinx grandparents’ knowledge about healthy eating through culturally valid approaches. Currently, the majority of the public information about healthy eating is designed for parents and English speakers. More effort should be made to develop materials in Spanish for Latinx grandparents based on the understanding of their family and food culture. For example, nutrition experts may create culturally appropriate healthy recipes using the ingredients that are familiar and available to Latinx grandparents. Also, researchers should consider developing nutrition/healthy eating education or intervention programs for Latinx grandparents to enhance their positive influence on and support for children in healthy eating. In addition to knowledge about nutrition and healthy eating, these programs should consider promoting grandparents’ competency in modifying children’s unhealthy dietary behavior independently and/or collaboratively with parents. Based on the findings of this study, it may be particularly effective to focus on younger grandmothers who spend substantial time with children. Furthermore, these programs should consider including both Latinx grandparents and parents as they often interact and work with each other in child rearing. Therefore, besides nutrition professionals, it may be promising for these programs to include family relationship/ communication experts to help resolve disagreements and promote effective communication and collaboration between Latinx grandparents and parents. This calls for education and training of professionals who are competent in interacting with different generations in the Latinx families, as well as more research on Latinx family dynamics with respect to child rearing and development.

Funding:

This study was support by 1) California State University Northridge Research Fellows Program, and 2) National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Initiative, grant number RL5GM118975.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by Institutional Review Board (IRB) at California State University Northridge (IRB Number: 1819–012)

Contributor Information

Hui Xie, Department of Recreation and Tourism Management, California State University, Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330-8269.

Aylin Lopez, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, California State University, Northridge.

Melissa C. Henderson, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, California State University, Northridge.

Naty Hernandez, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, California State University, Northridge.

Annette Besnilian, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Marilyn Magaram Center Center for Food Science, Nutrition, and Dietetics, California State University, Northridge.

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