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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2024 Mar-Apr;95(2):354-367.
doi: 10.1111/cdev.14006. Epub 2023 Sep 28.

Promoting toddlers' self-regulation and healthy eating habits among families living in poverty: A randomized controlled trial of Recipe 4 Success

Robert L Nix  1 , Sukhdeep Gill  2 , Michelle L Hostetler  3 , Mark E Feinberg  3 , Lori A Francis  3 , Cynthia A Stifter  3 , Cheryl B McNeil  4 , Sarah M Kidder  3 , Damon E Jones  3 , Ye Rang Park  1 , Christina N Kim  1 , Ashleigh G Engbretson  1 , Sarah M Braaten  1 , Vivian L Tamkin  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Promoting toddlers' self-regulation and healthy eating habits among families living in poverty: A randomized controlled trial of Recipe 4 Success

Robert L Nix et al. Child Dev. 2024 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

The Recipe 4 Success preventive intervention targeted multiple factors critical to the health and well-being of toddlers living in poverty. This randomized controlled trial, which was embedded within Early Head Start home visits for 12 weeks, included 242 racially and ethnically diverse families (51% girls; toddler mean age = 2.58 years; data collected 2016-2019). Compared to parents in usual practice home visits, parents in Recipe 4 Success displayed greater sensitive scaffolding of toddlers' learning and more responsive food parenting practices (Cohen's d = .21-.30). Toddlers in Recipe 4 Success exhibited greater self-regulation and had healthier eating habits (Cohen's d = |.16-.35|). Results highlight the value of Recipe 4 Success in promoting parent and toddler behavior change that could have life-long benefits.

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