COVID related parenting stress affected eating habits of children: Study

A recent study from the University of Houston College of Education revealed that the significant tension and stress that parents had felt during the COVID-19 outbreak had a detrimental impact on their children's eating patterns. The results of the study were issued in the Current Psychology journal. At the very beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, when stay-at-home directives were issued and when schools went online, many parents found themselves juggling various tasks like a caretaker, employment, as well as educator. 

Leslie Frankel, Associate Professor of human development and family studies stated that all of those obligations and responsibilities had an impact on parents' mental health, which in turn affected what or how much their children consumed. Prior study has indicated that stress, as well as anxiety, has a detrimental influence on parent-child feeding relations in general, but current data suggest that COVID-19 has further exacerbated the situation. 

Frankel who is the study's primary author and a parenting specialist informed that as these parents lack the time, stamina, or mental capacity to participate in optimum feeding behaviours, so, they turn to dysfunctional feeding behaviours like using food as a reward or pushing their children to eat. Citing Leslie Frankel, ANI reported, “As a result, their children are not able to self-regulate what or how much food they are putting into their bodies, which could have harmful consequences in the long run." 

Between April and June 2020, Frankel and the other co-authors of the research Caroline Bena Kuno, a doctoral student at the University of Houston College of Education, and Ritu Sampige, a UH Honors College student, surveyed nearly 119 mothers and fathers of children aged two to seven. 

Research findings on parenting stress impacted eating habits of children amid COVID

The study looked at two separate forms of COVID-related parental stress and discovered that stress arising from work insecurity and uncertainty in financial security was linked to psychological discomfort, whereas anxiety was linked to worries about family safety and stability. In comparison to the fathers who took part in the study, mothers reported significantly higher levels of stress and anxiety. 

Frankel further explained, "The stress doesn't just go away. Many parents are still feeling uneasy and a parent who is overwhelmed and experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety may not pay attention to or acknowledge their children's cues of hunger and fullness," ANI reported.  

As a remedy, the research team stated that in the case of some other global health catastrophe or natural disaster, leaders, as well as nonprofit groups who are interested in meeting the needs of children and parents, should establish support networks to assist families to manage their everyday pressures.   

Image: ANI/ Representative Image