TITLE:
Mutual Experiences of Japanese Parents and Their Children When Late School-Age Children Engage in Meal-Related Family Routines: A Qualitative Analysis of Parent and Child Dyads
AUTHORS:
Saeko Ando, Tae Kawahara, Nagisa Yasui, Maiko Yasuzato, Marie Tabayashi, Yui Masui, Akemi Yamazaki
KEYWORDS:
Family Meals, Late School Age Children, Family Role, Family Communication
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.12 No.6,
June
30,
2022
ABSTRACT: Purpose: The objective of the present study was to identify the type of experiences that parents and their children have with each other when late-school age children take on roles in family routines related to daily meals. Methods: A grounded theory approach was used. The participants were children in the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades of elementary school and their main caregivers. First, 10 parent and child dyads were interviewed using a semi-structured schedule. Next, online group interviews were conducted for 17 parent and child dyads to deductively confirm the categories. Results: The average age of the subjects was 41.9 years for parents and 10.4 years for children in parent-child interviews, and 41.1 years for parents and 9.6 years for children in group interviews. Six categories emerged with nineteen subcategories. Conclusions: Experiences mutually nurtured by parents and their children included experiences in which children used negotiation and conversation skills to consensually engage in family routines related to meals. It also included experiences that socialized the children in family life and fostered good communication. The six categories will be useful for healthcare professionals and school authorities in providing health guidance that addresses health functions of late school-age children and their families.