Examining child schooling/care location and child temperament as predictors of restaurant-related behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic: findings from a nationally representative survey

• Published in: Frontiers in nutrition (Lausanne) Vol. 11; p. 1281686
• Main Authors: Goldsmith, Juliana, Ferrante, Mackenzie J., Tauriello, Sara, Epstein, Leonard H., Leone, Lucia A., Anzman-Frasca, Stephanie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 07.08.2024
• Subjects: childcare; children; COVID-19; Nutrition; restaurants; temperament; COVID-19; restaurants; children; childcare; temperament
• ISSN: 2296-861X; 2296-861X
• DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1281686

Emerging research highlights impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. families, including changes in eating behavior and increased child body mass index. Aims of the present study were to examine whether child temperament and at-home vs. out-of-home childcare/school predicted families' restaurant-related behaviors during the pandemic. Examining energy balance-related behaviors, like restaurant patronage, during the pandemic can help better understand lasting impacts on child health behaviors and health outcomes. An online survey was administered to U.S. parents with a 4-to-8-year-old child in October 2020 (n = 1,000). Linear and logistic regression examined whether child temperament and at home vs. out-of-home childcare/school predicted: (1) the frequency the child consumed restaurant meals (take-out, delivery, dine-in), (2) who chose the child's restaurant meal, and (3) parent-reported reasons for the child's meal choice. Income, education, employment, race/ethnicity, and regional COVID-19 restrictions were tested as covariates. Parents with children higher on negative affectivity reported more frequent restaurant use in-person (  < 0.05) and via delivery (  < 0.05) compared to parents of children lower on negativity. Child negativity was also linked with parent-reported reasons for children's restaurant meal choices. Parents of children receiving at-home childcare/schooling used delivery services less frequently than those receiving out-of-home care or schooling (  < 0.01). These findings suggest that individual and family factors may impact restaurant use and the meal selection process for children using restaurants during and beyond the COVID-19 era. Continued examination of individual differences in the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic can facilitate intervention and policy approaches that fit with different families' needs.