Abstract

Parenting practices during the first years of life are crucial for the development of food preferences, self-regulation of intake and for establishing habits. The role of mothers is essential in the monitoring of their children´s feeding, and their practices may be influenced by several factors. In this study the relationship between mothers’ attitudes towards eating, the importance given to their own weight and that of their children, and intake control exerted over them was evaluated. 82 mothers of preschoolers participated. They were administered the Child Feeding Questionnaire, the Intake Control Exercised on the Children Questionnaire, and the Questionnaire of Emotions and Beliefs to Eating and Weight. Results indicate that concerns about the own weight and the children´s, the attitudes towards eating and the importance given to weight control, are related to the control exerted on children´s intake. This could generate thoughts and behaviors that could be constituted as risk or protective factors in the development of eating habits.