The ability of young children to influence adults in the choice of sugary foods and drinks

Abstract

Background There is evidence to suggest that the family is becoming a more democratic unit and that the ability of children to influence adult decision-making processes should not be underestimated. A study was undertaken to investigate whether children can influence adult decision- making in relation to the use of sugary snacks.

Method A cross-sectional interview study; children aged 7-8 years from twenty inner-city Manchester primary schools were interviewed about their pocket money and their perceived levels of influence on the consumption of sugary snacks within their household. Twelve of the questions were scored '1' if the child answered 'yes' (denoting that the child usually got his/her own way) or 'zero' for 'no' (denoting that the child believed the adult was in control). This was reported as the child's influence score within a range of 0-12.

Results The mean influence score for the group (n=340) was 4.7 and was independent of the child's gender, ethnicity or number of children in the family. Sixty-eight per cent (n=232) of the children reported that they usually received sweet items whenever they asked for them. Sixty-three per cent (n=215) of the children admitted to pestering their parents when greeted with a 'no' response, with nearly two-thirds of the 'pesterers' reporting a successful outcome. Evidence of the children's autonomy was shown by nearly three-quarters of the group stating that they received pocket money.

Conclusions In this study, adults' efforts to limit their children's intake of cariogenic food/drink are being undermined by children having an increased degree of freedom either to make or influence decisions particularly about sweet snacks.