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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Nov 1.
Published in final edited form as: Appetite. 2018 Jul 27;130:35–44. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2018.07.027

Table 2:

Semi structured Interview Guide

For this first set of questions I am interested in learning more about how you feed your child. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers, please feel free to provide me with as much detail as you feel comfortable with as we work through each question.
1) To start out, can you tell me a little bit about how meals and snacks look for your child? For example, I am interested in learning…
   -How often your child eats meals/snacks?
   -Who they are with when they eat meals/snacks?
2) When do you feed your child a meal/snack?
   -Who decides if it is time for a meal/snack?
   -If it is you, how do you decide?
     - What if you child asks for a meal/snack at a time different than you had planned?
     -Is the timing of meals/snacks the same every day or does it change?
3) Who decides what your child will eat for a meal/snack?
  -If it is you, how do you decide?
     -Is the decision about what to eat for meals/snacks always made by the same person or does it change?
4) Is your child allowed to help themselves to food without asking you first?
  -Are there foods/drinks in your house that your child is not allowed to eat, or that have special rules/limits?
  -How are enforce those rules/limits enforced?
5) Who decides how much food your child eats for a meal/snack?
  -Does your child play a role in this decision?
  -Who serves the portion?
  -If you serve your child, how do you decide how much food to give them?
     -Is the decision about how much food your child eats always made in the same way or does it change?
  -Do you think it is appropriate for preschool aged children to serve themselves?
6) What do you do if your child refuses to have certain foods put on their plate (or refuses to eat certain foods they are served)? Is this always handled in the same way or does it change?
7) How is it handled if your child says they are done eating/no longer hungry but there is still food left on their plate or you feel like they have not eaten enough?
8) How is it handled if your child wants more food than you put on his or her plate (or than they put on their plate)? More snack during a snack time?
9) In general, when you are with your child, how much control do you feel like you have over what and how much they eat?
10) We have talked today about many different decisions you make about how to feed your child. Are there any guidelines, rules or routines that you follow when feeding your child that I did not ask about?
During the first part of the interview today we have talked a lot about the choices you make about when, how, and how much your feed your child at home. During the second part of this interview I want to talk with you more about what impacts these decisions that you make about feeding your child, in particular I am interested in learning more about what things might come up during the course of the day that might change the way you typically do things?
I have talked with a lot of parents and asked them about the types of things they think impact their rules and routines and food, as well as the types of foods they feed their child. I am going to go through and list some of the things other parents have talked about – if they make sense to you, you can elaborate with regard to how they impact you and your family. If not – we can skip and move on to the next one. I will also give you time to share with me other things that impact your family that I do not bring up.
  1) Do you ever feel as though the way you feed your child is impacted by their mood or behavior on a particular day? In what way?
  2) Do you find that you change the way you feed your child, either the rules/routines or the types of food you serve….
     -on days when you are feeling particularly stressed, distracted, sad, or worn-down?
     -as a result of a tough day at work or a fight/disagreement with a co-worker, spouse or partner?
     -because of another change to your routine, for example, on days when you have special activities or days when your spouse/partner is keeping a different schedule that usual?
     - when you are in a different location or with different people than usual?
  3) Can you think of other things that come up during the course of the day that change your typical routine or the types of foods you serve your child for meals or snacks?