Beyond table manners: Children’s gratitude for food and the role of parental socialization

• Published in: Appetite p. 107695
• Main Authors: Nguyen, Simone P., Seip, Isabella, Longinetti, Alexis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 26-09-2024
• Subjects: children; food gratitude; parents; children; parents; food gratitude
• ISSN: 0195-6663; 1095-8304; 1095-8304
• DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107695

This investigation explores children’s food gratitude and parents’ socialization of this gratitude within the United States. Study 1 examined children’s spontaneous expressions of gratitude (N = 1,441), focusing on the concepts of food environmental sustainability, properties, origins, scripts, and well-being. Study 2 surveyed parents (N = 110) regarding their engagement in socialization practices that promote children’s food gratitude: conversations; modeling; niche selection; and, scaffolding. The results unveil nuances in younger and older children’s gratitude for food concepts as well as parents’ differential use of food gratitude socialization practices and emphasis on specific concepts. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that parents’ food gratitude socialization practices predict parents’ reports of their children’s food gratitude. These studies elucidate variability in children’s gratitude for food and parents’ contribution to its development within this domain. These findings have implications for food gratitude socialization. (137 words)