COVID-19-Related Parenting Stress Impacted Eating Habits of Children

The incredible stress parents experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on the eating habits of their children, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Houston College of Education.

When stay-at-home mandates were ordered and school went virtual at the onset of the pandemic, many parents suddenly had to juggle multiple roles such as caregiver, employee and educator. Leslie Frankel, associate professor of human development and family studies, said all those responsibilities took a toll on parents’ mental health, and in turn, what and how much their children were consuming.

Previous research has shown that stress in general is known to have a negative impact on parent-child feeding interactions, but new findings published in the journal Current Psychology reveal COVID-19 only magnified the problem.

Release date: 12 October 2021
Source: University of Houston