A cross-sectional study on eating behavior of nursery school children and parents’ perceptions of their children’s eating problems

Abstract

Objectives: Although dental support is important for the healthy development of dietary function, stud- ies on eating behavior and oral function in early childhood are limited. This study aimed to clarify dietary problems in nursery school children and parents’ perceptions of their children’s diet. Materials and Methods: By using a self-administered questionnaire, the survey was conducted on 371 parents of children aged 3–6 years attending seven nursery schools in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Results: Regarding dietary problems, 55% of the parents reported walking around during the meal, 25% shared chewing with mouth open, and 29% stated difficulty in smooth swallowing with a mouth filled with food. These problems were significantly associated with decreased quantity and longer time of the meal, which were major concerns of the parents. Although no parent consulted dental pro- fessionals regarding dietary problems, 39% of theparents agreed about the need for dentistry sup- port on children’s diet. Conclusion: This study on young children’s diet indi- cated that oral functional problems in mastication and swallowing underlie dietary problems such as decreased quantity and longer time of the meal, and a considerable ratio of parents expected support from dentistry for their children’s diet.