Play & Grow: prospective observational cohort of toddlers to inform obesity prevention, Columbus, Ohio, USA

Household chaos, child temperament, and structure-related feeding practices in toddlerhood: A moderation analysis

Structure-related feeding practices may promote intuitive child eating behaviors and foster responsiveness to internal cues of hunger and satiety. Caregivers' ability to engage in structure-related feeding practices likely depends on a complex ecology of factors, including household- and child-characteristics. This study examined associations between household chaos and structure-related feeding practices, and the moderating effect of child temperament. Data were from 275 caregiver-toddler dyads from central Ohio. Child temperament was reported by caregivers when children were 18 months of age, whereas household chaos and structure-related feeding practices were reported by caregivers when children were 36 months of age. Multivariable linear regression models were constructed to assess the relationship between chaos and structure-related feeding practices. Interaction terms between household chaos and three dimensions of child temperament were tested to determine whether temperament moderated the relationship between chaos and structure-related feeding practices. Household chaos was not independently associated with structure-related feeding practices, but higher levels of child effortful control were associated with greater mealtime structure. There was a statistically significant interaction between household chaos and child temperamental surgency, such that greater levels of chaos were associated with less structured mealtimes, but only when children had low-surgency. Findings suggest household chaos and child temperament inform caregiver feeding practices, but the influence of chaos may depend on more proximal factors, like child temperament. Recommendations to improve caregiver-child feeding interactions should be sensitive to characteristics of the broader family home environment.

Self-Compassion and Depressive Symptoms as Determinants of Sensitive Parenting: Associations with Sociodemographic Characteristics in a Sample of Mothers and Toddlers

Parenting that is sensitive and responsive to children's needs has been shown to support children's optimal growth and development in many cultural contexts. Numerous studies suggest that self-compassion is positively related to sensitive parenting. Despite growing research interest linking self-compassion to responsive parenting, there are considerable gaps in the literature. The current study examined the associations between self-compassion, depressive symptoms, socioeconomic status, and sensitive parenting. Data was obtained from a cohort study of 300 families in central Ohio enrolled when children were a mean (SD) calendar age of 18.2 (0.7) months. Children of all gestational ages at birth are included, and 37% were born preterm (<37 weeks' gestation). Observational protocols were used to determine maternal sensitivity in a semi-structured play setting. Self-compassion was assessed with the Self-Compassion Scale when children were 24 months old. Self-compassion was not associated with sociodemographic characteristics including maternal education, household income, child sex and gestational age. In unadjusted regression models, depressive symptoms were related to sensitive parenting (B = -0.036, SE = 0.016, p = 0.03), but self-compassion was not a statistically significant predictor (p = 0.35) of sensitivity, and neither self-compassion nor depressive symptoms were statistically significant predictors of sensitive parenting after adjustment for covariates. Considerations for future studies are discussed.