Feeding and Eating

Parental feeding practices that support healthy eating in children are particularly important because a child's food intake will strongly influence healthy growth and development. Childhood obesity and suboptimal diets are found among children from the time they move to a solid diet, suggesting the need to focus on feeding and eating from very early in a child's life. Although the early years are critical for establishing healthy eating habits, children continue to learn about food and gain greater independence in their food choices and intakes throughout childhood, indicating that continued parental support to promote healthy eating in children is essential. Feeding and eating is a complex and ongoing area of research, and this entry provides a broad overview of the key concepts related to feeding and eating in early and later childhood, including food exposure, repetition, and role modeling and parental use of pressure to eat, restriction, and reward.