Cassandra Nikolaus1 and Sharon M. Nickols-Richardson2
1Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Description: Sixty-one parents and their 11- to 14-year-old children were randomly assigned to an adult-led (AL; n=21) or teen-led (TL; n=20) grocery store tour or to a no-intervention group (n=20). Families in AL and TL groups attended one, 90-minute tour. Adult and teen leaders of these tours received identical training on tour curriculum. Before and three months after the tour or no-intervention period, each parent reported their perceptions about grocery shopping with their child on an 8-item semi-quantitative investigator-designed questionnaire.
Evaluation: Parents were primarily Caucasian (77%), female (90%), and aged 43±6.5 years (mean±SD), while adolescents were primarily Caucasian (79%), female (55%), and aged 11.9±1.1 years. At baseline, 62% of parents reported that shopping with their children was as desirable as shopping alone, and 78% of parents reported that their children were helpful with the process. Eight percent of parents perceived that shopping with their children was no different than shopping alone, and 6% noted that their purchases were no different. Eighty-three percent of parents indicated that their children requested sweets and snacks while shopping, and 41% reported that their children requested fruits and vegetables. These perceptions did not differ before or three months after the tours and did not differ between groups.
Conclusions and Implications: Peer- or adult-led grocery store tours did not impact parental perceptions regarding their child’s engagement in grocery shopping. Participation in a single grocery store tour may not be effective in altering parental perceptions of their child’s role in grocery shopping.