Parenting style and practices can shape children's vegetable consumption

Children’s eating habits start developing very early, and parents influence what those habits become. Parents can shape children’s eating both through everyday actions around food – like offering vegetables or letting children help in the kitchen – and through their general parenting style, which creates an emotional climate between the parent and the child. In our study, we examined how different parenting styles and vegetable related parenting practices were associated with how much vegetables 3–6 year old children ate. We also looked at whether a parent’s general style can change the impact of specific practices.

We analyzed 767 children and their parents who took part in the DAGIS Survey in 2015–2016. Parents kept a three day food diary of what their child ate and filled out a questionnaire about parenting style and vegetable-related practices.

Children ate more vegetables when parents made them easy to access at meals but allowed children to decide what and how much to take. In contrast, children ate less vegetables when parents were more overprotective – meaning overly involved or controlling in ways that don’t match the child’s developmental level. We also found that involving children in choosing or preparing vegetables was associated with higher intake only when parents scored lower on nurturing or overprotective parenting. This suggests that the same practices can work differently depending on the general parenting style.

From this study alone, we cannot confirm whether parents’ behavior affects children’s vegetable intake or whether children’s eating also shapes how parents act – likely both. However, prior research also shows that the accessibility of vegetables is important for children’s intake. More research is needed to understand why overprotective parenting might reduce vegetable intake and why some practices may work only with certain general parenting styles. Such knowledge can help support parents who want to encourage children’s vegetable intake.

Original article:
Vegetable-Related Parenting Practices, Parenting Style and Preschoolers’ Vegetable Consumption: Cross-Sectional Associations and the Moderating Role of Parenting Style.
Rahkola J, Lehto R, Vepsäläinen H, Abdollahi AM, Björkqvist J, Tilli E, Serasinghe N, Gubbels J, Burnett AJ, van der Borgh-Sleddens E, Roos E, Erkkola M, Ray C. Maternal & Child Nutrition. 2025.