Contribution of parental feeding practices and home environmental factors to the eating behaviours of preschool children

From family and ecological systems perspectives, parental feeding styles at the dyadic level play a proximal role in shaping young children's eating behaviours. However, far less is known about how broader family-level factors contribute to these behaviours. This cross-sectional study investigated the contribution of parental feeding styles and home environmental factors to the eating behaviours of preschool children. A total of 253 parent–child dyads were recruited from 16 kindergartens in Hong Kong, China. Parents completed validated questionnaires, namely the Parental Feeding Style Questionnaire and the Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire, which assessed feeding styles (instrumental, emotional, encouragement to eat, and control over eating), the home environmental factors (mealtime structure, mealtime distractions, and household chaos), and children's appetite-trait eating behaviours. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses, controlling for demographic variables, were conducted. Parental feeding styles explained 3–12 % of the variance in children's eating behaviours. Notably, control over eating was associated with lower emotional overeating and reduced food fussiness, as well as with lower satiety responsiveness (i.e., greater appetite). Adding home environmental factors explained an additional 15 % of the variance beyond feeding styles, with significant incremental contributions observed for desire to drink, food responsiveness, and slowness in eating. These findings underscore that both proximal feeding styles and family-level home environmental factors uniquely and additively shape preschool children's eating behaviours. Interventions should therefore promote not only responsive and structured parental feeding styles but also structured mealtimes, reduced mealtime distractions, and a more organised household environment to support healthy eating in children.