Intergenerational Family Conversations and Decision Making about Eating Healthfully

ObjectiveTo explore how youth, parents, and grandparents discuss issues related to eating healthfully and unhealthfully and to identify intergenerational strategies for educators to improve this communication.DesignIn three intergenerational focus groups, each with 4-8 families, a trained moderator asked questions about family practices and conversations for eating healthfully and unhealthfully.SettingThree focus group sites, each with Pennsylvania Nutrition Education Program sites (PANEP) programs serving low-income populations and multigenerational clientele, based in geographically and culturally diverse communities in Pennsylvania.ParticipantsForty-four individuals (21 pre-teens, 16 parents, and 7 grandparents) from 17 families.Phenomenon of InterestHow youth, parents, and grandparents discuss and influence each other’s healthful and unhealthful eating practices.Analysis“Strength” of evidence determined by repetition of ideas across focus groups and from the respondents’ quotes providing in-depth information.ResultsFamilies demonstrated a wide range of ways that family communication is associated with the adoption of healthful and unhealthful patterns of eating. Parents and grandparents expressed anguish over their struggle and inability to help their children eat more healthfully. All three generations enumerated strategies for dealing with disagreement.Conclusions and ImplicationsGrandparents, parents and children indicate that they need opportunities to learn together and communicate about ways to improve nutrition behaviors.