Child and parent characteristics related to parental feeding practices. A cross-cultural examination in the US and France

Although cross-cultural research between France and the United States has contributed to our understanding of adult eating habits, no research to date has considered differences in the way that French and American parents feed their children. American mothers (n = 59) and fathers (n = 38) and French mothers (n = 72) and fathers (n = 50) provided information about the feeding practices that they use with their children. U.S. parents reported higher levels of non-nutritive feeding practices and child control over feeding, whereas French parents reported greater monitoring and restriction of their child’s food intake for weight reasons. Feeding practices were linked to child Body Mass Index (BMI) in both socio-cultural contexts.