Lives we choose to live: Linking employed mothers' daily schedules to daily routines for feeding children

INTRODUCTION Child feeding routines are important because the recurrence of parents' food-related practices can influence children’s nutrition and health. New ways of understanding routine feeding practices are needed because significant changes in work and family life have occurred over the past decade. The aim of this qualitative study was to develop an understanding of working mothers’ daily routines for feeding children. METHODS Nineteen purposively sampled low-income employed mothers of preschool-age children living in upstate New York reported details about the context of their children’s eating episodes in a 24-hour qualitative dietary recall. We analyzed interview transcripts using the constant comparative method. RESULTS Employed mothers’ child feeding routines consisted of the regular sequencing of food preparation activities and children’s eating episodes. Mothers’ child feeding routines contributed to children’s eating episodes taking place in the same locations over time. Child feeding routines required synchronization between the daily schedules of mothers and their children. Key aspects of mothers’ daily schedules included transporting others, relying on others for children’s transportation, commuting to work, having multiple jobs, and splitting job and childcare shifts with a partner. Disruptions in daily schedules of mothers and their children, such as working overtime and waking up late, required the modification of child feeding routines. DISCUSSION These findings provide conceptual insights for public health researchers and practitioners. Public health professionals who give nutritional advice and develop policy need to consider the role of caregivers’ daily schedules in children’s food and eating.