“Are you done?” Child Care Providers' Verbal Communication at Mealtimes That Reinforce or Hinder Children's Internal Cues of Hunger and Satiation

ObjectiveTo explore the verbal communication of child care providers regarding preschool children's internal and non-internal hunger and satiation cues.MethodsVideo observation transcripts of Head Start staff (n = 29) at licensed child care centers in Colorado, Idaho, and Nevada were analyzed for common themes.ResultsAdults' verbal communication with children at mealtimes emphasized non-internal cues: (1) cueing children to amounts without referencing children's internal cues; (2) meal termination time; (3) asking children if they wanted more without referencing their internal cues; (4) asking children if they were done without referencing their internal cues; (5) telling children to take, try, eat, or finish food; (6) praising children for eating; and (7) telling children about food being good for you. Adults demonstrated an overriding effort to get children to eat.Conclusions and ImplicationsTraining needs to be developed that gives specifics on verbally cueing young children to their internal hunger and satiation cues.