Abstract
A questionnaire survey was conducted with a total of 1, 269 parents of the children attending 13 kindergartens in Miyagi prefecture to examine who takes care of the children's meals. Mothers are living with 96.7% of the children, and 99.1% of those mothers take care of their meals. The meals for 78.6% of all the children are taken care of only by the mothers. Fathers are living with 92.7% of the children, and 7.9% of those fathers take care of their meals. In some households, a grandparent, especially the mother's mother, takes care of the children's meals. Of the parents who take care of the children's meals, 36.3% reported being bothered with this activity, while 35.9% of these parents were candid in their answers, including reporting personal problems. Almost all the parents taking care of their children's meals pay attention to nutrition, taste, and other attributes, as well as teaching their children suitable table manners for eating the meals.
