Direct Sibling Influence on Eating Behavior in Early Childhood: Siblings as Role Models and Caregivers.

Objective: Despite the majority of US children having at least 1 sibling, little is known about how siblings influence eating behavior and obesity risk. This qualitative study explored mothers' perceptions of older siblings' influences on younger siblings' eating behavior in the context of mealtimes in early childhood.

Methods: A purposive subsample of mothers (n = 30) who participated in the Intervention Nurses Start Infants Growing on Healthy Trajectories and SIBSIGHT studies completed retrospective semi-structured interviews designed to explore the implications of sibling influences on maternal feeding practices during infancy and toddlerhood.

Sleep SAAF Responsive Parenting Intervention for Black Mothers Impacts Response to Infant Crying: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objective: Many parents use food to soothe their infant, regardless of infant hunger, which can increase risk for rapid weight gain. Interventions promoting alternative soothing strategies may help parents respond more appropriately to crying. This secondary analysis aimed to examine effects of the Sleep SAAF (Strong African American Families) responsive parenting (RP) intervention on maternal responses to infant crying and to explore moderating effects of infant negativity.

Resource dilution in maternal feeding practices after birth of a secondborn.

Firstborn children have higher prevalence of obesity than secondborn siblings. The birth of a sibling typically results in resource dilution when mothers begin to divide their time and attention between two children. This mixed-methods analysis applies the family systems process of resource dilution to test the hypothesis that characteristics of the secondborn impact how parents feed the firstborn.

Sleep parenting practices are associated with infant self-soothing behaviors when measured using actigraphy.

Objective/background: Night wakings are common during infancy, with variability in infant self-soothing or requiring parent involvement to fall back asleep. Reasons for variable soothing behaviors are unclear and may be influenced by early-life sleep parenting practices. The study applied a novel method using sleep actigraphy in mother-father-infant triads to quantify infant-only wake bouts (i.

The feeding to Manage Child Behavior Questionnaire: Development of a tool to measure' non-nutritive feeding practices in low income families with preschool-aged children.

The parent feeding literature has largely focused on the use of controlling, intrusive practices to manage children's food intake (e.g., restriction, pressure).

Agreement in Infant Growth Indicators and Overweight/Obesity between Community and Clinical Care Settings.

Background: Infants from low-income backgrounds receive nutrition care from both community and clinical care settings. However, mothers accessing these services have reported receiving conflicting messages related to infant growth between settings, although this has not been examined quantitatively.

Objective: Describe the agreement in infant growth assessments between community (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) and clinical (primary care providers) care settings.

INSIGHT responsive parenting intervention effects on child appetite and maternal feeding practices through age 3 years.

Expert guidance encourages interventions promoting structure-based practices to establish predictable eating environments in order to foster children's self-regulatory skills. However, few studies have examined whether and how child characteristics may moderate effects of interventions on maternal feeding practices. This analysis aimed to examine the effect of the INSIGHT Responsive Parenting (RP) intervention delivered largely during infancy, on child appetitive traits at 2.

Time for bed! Earlier sleep onset is associated with longer nighttime sleep duration during infancy.

Objective/background: Clinical recommendations include putting infants to bed using a consistent bedtime routine at an appropriate hour to promote longer nighttime sleep. Actigraphy was used in this exploratory study to examine how bedtime routines and nighttime sleep onset were associated with nighttime total sleep time (TST) and efficiency from 6 to 24 weeks of age.

Patients/methods: Infants (n = 24) wore sleep actigraphs for three, one-week periods at 6, 15, and 24 weeks of age.

A longitudinal study of sleep-wake patterns during early infancy using proposed scoring guidelines for actigraphy.

Objective/background: We describe developmental and day-to-night sleep patterns across the first six months of life using actigraphy and compare these to mother-reported perceptions of infant sleep.

Patients/methods: This observational, burst design included three, one-week bursts of data collection at six, 15, and 24 weeks of age. Infants wore an actigraphy device (Actiwatch Spectrum) on their right ankle for each one-week period.

Patterns of Gestational Weight Gain and Infants Born Large-for-Gestational Age Across Consecutive Pregnancies.

Introduction: Factors that occur between consecutive pregnancies may influence repeated excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) and infants born large-for-gestational age (LGA). We examined interpregnancy interval, weight retention, and GWG in women's first pregnancy as predictors of excessive GWG and LGA in women's second pregnancy.

Methods: We used data from women's first two live births during the First Baby Study, a 3-year prospective observational cohort of first-time mothers (N = 549).

INSIGHT Study Maternal Return to Work and Infant Weight Outcomes.

Objective: Maternal return to work within 12 weeks of delivery is associated with poor child health and development. However, little is known about the impact of return to work on the risk of child obesity. We examined whether timing of maternal return to work is associated with rapid infant weight gain from 0 to 6 months and weight-for-length at 1 year.

From the children's perspective: What are candy, snacks, and meals?

Objective: There remains a lack of consensus on what distinguishes candy (i.e. features sugar as a principal ingredient, also called sweets or lollies), snack foods, and foods served at meals; therefore, this study examined characteristics elementary-aged children use to distinguish between these food categories.

Right sizing prevention. Food portion size effects on children's eating and weight.

Experimental findings provide consistent evidence that increasing the portion size of palatable, energy dense entrees relative to an age appropriate reference portion increases children's energy intake of the entree and the meal. Most of these studies have been conducted on preschool aged children between 2 and 6 years of age, in childcare or laboratory settings, using repeated measures designs. In these studies, children's intake is compared across a series of meals, where the size of the entrée portion is varied and other aspects of the meal, including the portion size of other items on the menu, are held constant.