Parental Feeding Practices and Children’s Eating Behaviours: An Overview of Their Complex Relationship

Several studies have found an association between eating behaviours and weight status and obesity risk in childhood. Children’s eating behaviours arise from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Parents appear to play a central role in their development as the main responsible for shaping children’s feeding environment and eating experiences. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on parental influences on eating behaviours across childhood, mainly focusing on parental feeding practices. The associations between parental feeding practices and children’s eating behaviours have been extensively studied. However, most of the findings come from cross-sectional studies, so the possibility of reverse causality cannot be ruled out (i.e., children’s behaviours influencing parents). Most recently, a few longitudinal studies with a cross-lagged design have shown that the relationship between children’s eating behaviours and parental feeding practices seems to be bidirectional, where it is not straightforward whether parental feeding practices are a predictor or a consequence of children’s eating behaviours. Children’s eating behaviours influence parents to adopt certain feeding practices, but these practices also influence children’s behaviours over time. Parental feeding practices may have the potential to shape children’s eating behaviours and should be targeted to promote the development of non-obesogenic traits. However, parent–child interactions are complex and therefore both parent and child characteristics and the family dynamics should be considered.