Table 6.

Parental feeding practices: percentage of total sample of parents (N = 498) reporting a change (%), mean scores before and during the lockdown (M before and M during) for these parents with changed practice, standard deviations (SD), difference in mean scores (M difference = M during – M before), and paired-samples t-tests (t value and p value).

Parental feeding practice	%	M (SD) before	M (SD) during	M difference	t	p
Soothing with food	18	1.62 (0.61)	2.06 (0.75)	0.43	11.44	<0.001
Guided choices - whena	26	1.60 (0.57)	1.96 (0.64)	0.36	8.79	<0.001
Guided choices - amounta	14	2.59 (0.88)	2.89 (0.82)	0.30	4.00	<0.001
Guided choices - whata	22	2.33 (0.68)	2.50 (0.65)	0.18	3.41	<0.001
Meal atmosphere	23	4.01 (0.73)	4.28 (0.76)	0.27	4.05	<0.001
Rules and limits around unhealthy foods	27	3.78 (0.73)	3.68 (0.69)	−0.10	−2.40	0.018
Meal settingb	13	4.03 (0.63)	3.84 (0.54)	−0.20	−3.72	<0.001
Feeding on a schedule	31	4.29 (0.56)	3.90 (0.61)	−0.40	−8.40	<0.001

Answer modalities ranged from never (1) to always (5).

Significant results (p < 0.05) in bold.

^aHigher scores for guided choice indicate higher levels of autonomy granted to the child.

^bMeal setting refers to the place where the child eats, higher scores indicate stricter rules.