Table 7.

Representative quotations from control group participants.

Theme 7a. Desire to Engage in Health Behaviors

I'm very interested in my family's health, because financially, we can't go to the doctor as often, so I'd rather take care of them from the beginning so that we don't struggle, because I live with my husband who currently has health problems. He can no longer eat certain things and I see that my son is starting to eat many of the things that caused my husband's problem, so I don't want him to go down the same path and end up with the same problems. I want him to start eating healthy things. (Session 3, Participant #19)

At first, I thought it was really hard but I figured it was a change that was for the better, for the whole family. And if possible, for those who are far from us, we need to let them know that by eating vegetables and cutting out certain things, you can change the way you eat in a healthy manner. Oh, like a friend that we see is doing really bad or – or any other family member who isn't close to us, we can tell them, "Hey, look at this and this, you can do this." That way it can help them with their health and they won't have as many complications. (Session 6, Participant #40)

Theme 7b. Common Set of Barriers to Health Behavior Change

Another challenge I face is with food, because it's not just at home. I can watch what I cook at home, but my child goes somewhere else, with other friends and other families don't have the same values, so that's a challenge for me. I still haven't overcome that … He'll want to go to McDonald's and I tell him, “I don't go to McDonald's.” “But, they're going to McDonalds!” And he will throw a fit, but I won't go, regardless, but it makes me frustrated because he cries, but I still don't do what he wants, but it kind of pains me that he sees his other friends that their moms allow them things that I don't allow him and most of us Hispanics are kind of like that. (Session 3, Participant #19)

We don't have the habit. We come from a culture where—I don't know if it's because of the scarcity we lived. I don't know if it's that, because it could be that. I can't criticize the reason. Maybe it's because it's so easy to get a hold of all those things, so we take everything we can. (Session 3, Participant #19)

Theme 7c. Engagement in Literacy Activities, including creative problem solving strategies.

Mine is that every night, before going to bed, my daughter always asks me to read her a book, but not from a book. I make a story out of everything they did that day. I create, so that she can imagine, I mean, relive all the moments we experienced throughout the day and she feels very happy and she tells me to go on and on and she doesn't want it to end and it's really nice because I was taught that here. I learned about that imagination with you, that time I came and you started telling us to imagine a lot of things with little pieces of paper that you gave us. So, I got that experience since then and now, I do that every night with my daughter and it's really nice seeing her little face reminding her about everything she did during the day. (Session 3, Participant #17)

Well, in the past, my son—well, you know, I was tired when I'd get home from work and he'd say, “Mommy, read this book to me.” And I would say, “Oh, son, just go to sleep instead. I'm really tired,” or “take a bath and, I'll read it to you tomorrow.” But, now he's starting to read and you learn too and you have fun with the child and he goes happy to bed. (Session 3, Participant #19)

Well, now I read books to my children. I wouldn't do it before. Now, I read books to them every night. I participate with them more. I play with them and I think they feel closer to me and I think it has been very helpful. (Session 3, Participant #17)

I'm the type of person who is very closed-minded and this program has helped me because sometimes I limit myself to—I wouldn't go to the library, because of certain things, but one day I was brave and said, “No! I'm going inside the library because I came to the library,” and I went in and it was like, you need to get yourself up or like this program, ask for information or help from people who know more, but since I'm closed-minded, I limit myself, but thanks to this program, I've gotten braver. (Session 3, Particpiant #19)

Theme 7d. Changes made in response to research study visits

Well, personally, every time the lady asked me, “How much juice do you give your child a day?” And I would answer, I mean, it was a question that made me think that something was wrong, I shouldn't be doing this. And that's when I started analyzing that all the questions they were asking me were because I was doing something wrong and I started taking that into consideration. (Session 3, Particiant #17)

Well, before you guys, I wouldn't feed my children fruits, because they didn't want to eat fruit, so I would take them to McDonald's to eat French fries, junk food. Once you guys got here and started visiting me and started asking me questions like how much fruit my children ate a week and whether we exercised, I realized I wasn't doing any of the things you were asking me, so my goal was that I would buy fruit for my children, I would teach them to eat fruit and that's what I'm doing and I will continue to do so, because it's something healthy for them, to eat a piece of fruit instead of taking them to eat at McDonald's. It's better to cook at home and you've taught me all of that with all the questions you ask me and when I realized I wasn't doing it, I started doing it and my goal is to continue doing it and that's why I'm grateful for this program. (Session 3, Participant #17)

Well, through the – the – when they were going to measure or weigh us, my daughter. at home, that's when I noticed that they asked us what we were eating and how often, because I was in the reading one. So, I started to also be more interested in nutrition. And I started cooking more vegetables for us as well, the adults, because out of convenience, I would just cook the quickest thing, which was chicken and rice. And that's it. And the kids do eat that well. (Session 6, Participant # 37)