Exploring Children’s Food Practice Perspectives for Child-Centred Food Ecosystems
The Challenge
Children’s interactions with food significantly impact their wellbeing, yet most research into children’s food practices are adult-derived, offering limited insights into children’s perspectives. Amplifying children’s voices in food practice research may better inform initiatives tailored towards their food needs and priorities. This research aimed to capture 8–12-year-old children’s descriptions of and involvement in their everyday food practices, including enablers and constraints affecting these practices.
Our vision
In collaboration with children, we hope to gain further insight into how food practice determinants intersect revealing windows of opportunity for developing and enhancing sustained public health strategies aimed at improving child food and nutrition outcomes.
Our approach
This research project was conducted with primary school-aged children using place-based participatory ethnographic methods to understand their perspectives on factors affecting food practices including the impact of different dimensions and contexts; and how children believe food practices could be optimised.
Data were collected using three methods in the home and community:
Progress
Children reported involvement in food planning, acquisition, preparation, consumption, and tidy-up practices. The study presented a holistic view of how individual, social, and structural determinants interweave across time and space, and interconnect with other everyday practices.
Their participation ranged from being less involved, partnering with adults or other children, to independent practices. Children’s involvement was largely influenced by their desire to participate and adults’ willingness to cede control.
Children either conformed or resisted to food governance techniques, with resistance heightened when they had limited agency or were unable navigate or negotiate expected norms.
The findings emphasise the importance of privileging children’s voices in understanding their food experiences. This study may guide adults in supporting children’s involvement in food practices and governance decisions. Insights from children’s perspectives may inform interventions and policies aimed at meaningfully changing children’s routine food practices and ensuring their inclusion in future research.
Contact Us
If you are interested in hearing more about the project, please get in contact:
Email: sophie.wrightpedersen@hdr.qut.edu.au
Publications
Lead Researchers
