Table 1.

Food parenting practice constructs, definitions, sample items, and related terminology from the literature

Construct	Definition	Sample items from existing measures	Other terms in the literature
Coercive control
Restriction	Parent enforces strict limitations on the child’s access to foods or opportunities to consume those foods. Typically restrictive practices are used to control child’s intake of unhealthy foods	Child Feeding Questionnaire [Birch et al. (2001)16] - I have to be sure that my child does not eat too many sweets - If I did not guide or regulate my child’s eating, he/she would eat too many junk foods	Control
Pressure to eat	Parent insists, demands, or physically struggles with the child in order to get the child to eat more food	Food-Related Parenting Practices Questionnaire [Vereecken et al. (2004),17 Vereecken et al. (2009)18] - My child has to finish his/her plate - My child has to eat even if he/she is not hungry	Insistence on eating
Threats and bribes     - Food-based threats and bribes to eat     - Food-based threats and bribes to behave     - Nonfood incentives to eat	Parent threatens to take/takes something away for misbehavior or promises/offers something to the child in return for desired behavior. Threats and bribes can be used to manage child’s behavior for the purposes of general obedience or behaviors specific to eating. Threats and bribes can be food based, but those around eating behaviors may also be nonfood based	Parental Feeding Style Questionnaire [Wardle et al. (2002)19] - In order to get my child to behave him/herself, I promise him/her something to eat - If my child misbehaves, I withhold his/her favorite food - I use puddings as a bribe to get my child to eat his/her main course	Contingency management/high contingency Instrumental feeding Pushing the child to eat more Rewards
Using food to control negative emotions	Parent uses food to manage or calm the child when he/she is upset, fussy, angry, hurt, or bored	Parental Feeding Style Questionnaire [Wardle et al. (2002)19] - I give my child something to eat to make him/her feel better when he/she is feeling upset - I give my child something to eat to make him/her feel better when he/she has been hurt - I give my child something to eat if he/she is feeling bored	Emotion regulation Emotional feeding Using food to calm
Structure
Rules and limits	Parent sets clear expectations and boundaries regarding what, when, where, and how much his/her child should eat	Family Food Rules Questionnaire [van Assema et al. (2007)20] Are there rules at home about: - which snacks the child is allowed to eat? - when the child is allowed to eat? - how many snacks the child is allowed to eat?	Food rules Limit setting
Guided choices	Parent allows the child a choice in what he/she eats, but options from which the child must choose are determined by the parent	Parental Child Feeding Strategies Questionnaire [Zeinstra et al. (2010)21] - Do you have a bowl with fruit at home from which the child is allowed to take? - If you have different types of fruit at home, is your child allowed to choose what kind of fruit he/she wants?	Child control Limited choices
Monitoring	Parent tracks what and how much the child is eating so that he/she can make sure the child eats sufficient amounts of healthy foods and avoids overeating unhealthy foods	Child Feeding Questionnaire [Birch et al. (2001)16] How much do you keep track of: - the sweets (candy, ice cream, cakes, pies, pastries) that your child eats? - the snack food (potato chips, Doritos, cheese puffs) that your child eats? - the high-fat foods that your child eats?
Meal and snack routines     - Atmosphere of meals     - Distractions     - Family presence     - Meals and snacks schedule	Parent implements consistency and predictability around meals and snacks with regard to their location, timing, presence of family members, conversational tone, and presence/absence of distractions	Family Meal Practices Survey [Lytle et al. (2011)22] - During the past 7 days, how many times was at least 1 parent present when your child ate his/her evening meal? - I allow my child to watch TV during a family meal	Family meal patterns Feeding on a schedule Mealtime behavior Mealtime interruptions Mealtime practices Mealtime schedule
Modeling	Parent purposefully demonstrates healthy food choices and eating behaviors to encourage similar behaviors in the child; or parent unintentionally exhibits unhealthy eating behaviors in front of the child	Child and Family Health Study [Gregory et al. (2011)23] - I try to eat only healthy foods in front of my child - My child sees me eating fast food - My child sees me eating healthy snacks (e.g., fruit, yogurt, nuts, toast)	Dietary modeling Model healthy
Food availability	The amount and types of foods that a parent brings into the home	Often assessed with checklists of common fruits and vegetables (Hearn et al. (1998)24) or high-fat and low-fat foods (Cullen et al. (2004)25)	Healthy environment Covert control
Food accessibility	How readily accessible the parent makes healthy and unhealthy foods in the home	Ready. Set. ACTION! Study [Robinson-O’Brien et al. (2009)26] - In my home, there is a fruit available for my child to have as a snack - In my home, there are cut-up vegetables in the fridge for my child to eat	Energy-dense food discouraging practice
Food preparation	The preparation and cooking methods that a parent employs when preparing meals and snacks, which may impact the healthfulness of the foods served	Food Preparation for Daughters Questionnaire [Cullen et al. (2004)25] - When you served snacks, how often did you serve raw vegetables or fresh fruit? - When you served chicken to your daughter, how often did you remove the skin? - When you serve potatoes, how often are they fried, like French fries or hash browns?	Cooking behavior Dietary fat behavior Nutrition quality of foods served
Unstructured practices	Parent allows child complete control of their eating, including timing and frequency of meals and snacks, and amount and type of foods eaten	Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire [Musher-Eizenman & Holub (2007)27] - Do you let your child eat whatever he/she wants? - If this child does not like what is being served, do you make something else? - Do you allow this child to eat snacks whenever he/she wants?	Catering on child demand Child control Indulgent Permissive feeding style
Autonomy support
Nutrition education	The explanations selected may educate the child about foods’ nutritional qualities, such as the benefits of eating healthy foods or the consequences of eating unhealthy ones	Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire [Musher-Eizenman & Holub (2007)27] - I discuss with my child why it’s important to eat healthy foods - I discuss with my child the nutritional value of foods	Teaching about nutrition
Child involvement	Parent actively involves the child during meal planning, grocery shopping, meal preparation, or mealtime	Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire [Musher-Eizenman et al. (2007)27] - I involve my child in planning family meals - I encourage my child to participate in grocery shopping
Encouragement	Parent suggests or offers specific foods to the child as a prompt for the child to eat the target foods. Parents may also command or direct their child to eat, but prompts come without a consequence for noncompliance	Parental Feeding Styles Questionnaire [Wardle et al. (2002)19] - I encourage my child to enjoy his/her food - I encourage my child to taste each of the foods I serve at mealtimes	Prompting
Praise	Parent provides positive reinforcement by verbally commending the child for eating specific foods or trying new foods	Food Parenting Practices Questionnaire [Vereecken et al. (2004)17] - I praise my child if he/she eats fruits - I praise my child if he/she eats vegetables	Nontangible reward
Reasoning	Parent uses logic or explanations to persuade the child to change his or her eating behavior	Parent Mealtime Action Scale [Hendy et al. (2009)28] - You told the child that his/her friends or siblings like the food - You told the child that a food will make him/her healthy, smart, strong	Positive persuasion
Negotiation	Parent engages with child to come to an agreement about what or how much the child will eat. Negotiation allows for resolution of different opinions between parent and child by finding an acceptable compromise	Food Parenting Practices Questionnaire [Vereecken et al. (2004)17] - If my child does not like something, we agree that he/she only has to eat a small amount - I negotiate with my child how much he/she can leave on his/her plate	Bargaining