Researching Children's Mealtimes

Sally Wiggins Young is a leading expert in research on family mealtimes and children’s eating practices and has been an active and internationally prominent researcher since the early 2000s. Her research specialises in Discursive Psychology, and she is internationally renowned as an expert in this approach, having written a solo-authored textbook (Discursive psychology: Theory, method, and applications, Sage, 2017) and co-edited three books (Discursive psychology and embodiment, Palgrave, 2020; Critical Bodies, Palgrave, 2008; Discursive Research in Practice, CUP, 2007). Her empirical research spans 25 years and covers children’s eating practices from infancy (weaning) to early childhood in family mealtimes and kindergarten, as well as teenagers and older adults in family dinners. She has a blog on eating talk entitled Mouth:Full that is already attracting attention worldwide.

• About the author. Preface. Acknowledgements. 1: On researching how children eat. 2: Eating as a social activity. 3: Capturing eating as it happens. 4: Starting to eat. 5: Developing tastes. 6: Establishing likes. 7: Negotiating refusals. 8: Achieving satiety. 9: Beyond mealtimes. Glossary. Sample consent form. Transcription symbols. References. Index.

‘In this timely book, Professor Wiggins captures the intricate complexities of children’s interactions with food by entering into “a world that is at once both utterly mundane and unexpectedly extraordinary”. By carefully unpacking real-life occurrences of eating-in-interaction in fine detail, a fascinating world of one of the most fundamental activities we engage in from birth is brought to a contemporary context. Crossing disciplinary boundaries between anthropology, linguistics, psychology, and sociology, a rich backdrop of research on children’s eating foregrounds chapters of empirical research from a multidisciplinary and ‘interactional approach’. Each chapter gently guides the reader through unfolding discussions and examples of interactions to reveal carefully crafted and deeply insightful analysis of children’s social eating practices as they naturally occur with others. Readers will enjoy greater insight into how children engage with milk feeding when infants, and are supported to eat independently, experience sensory tasting – including food likes and dislikes - and achieve a sense of fullness (or satiety), all as social activities. This deep dive into children’s eating practices is essential reading for all those interested in children’s social activities and eating interactions – two essential ingredients of life!’ Professor Amanda Bateman, Department of Education, Birmingham City University, UK. ‘Have you ever wondered about mealtime interactions between children and their families? If so, this book takes the everyday behaviour of children’s social eating and provides an in-depth exploration of an apparently simple act, offering a thoughtful, multidisciplinary account of family mealtimes. Research on the language, psychology, sociology and anthropology of eating together is carefully and critically presented. Then a practical guide is offered to support future research with a plea to include greater cooperation between disciplines. So much can be learned about us as humans from the ways in which we interact during meals. Particularly given the biological imperative to eat set against the interpersonal dynamics of the family unit and the wider sociocultural, political and commercial structures underpinning the food supply. There is no other book which presents interactional research on children’s mealtimes with such clarity, care and precision. Overall, a wonderful resource for placing interactional approaches at the centre of how children eat.’ Marion M Hetherington BSc(Hons), DipEd, DPhil (Oxon) Professor Emerita, School of Psychology, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK Affiliate Professor, School of Nutritional Sciences, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, US ‘This book is an innovative addition to the literature on the myriad aspects of children’s eating. Not only is it a practical manual on the conduct of interactional research; it also serves as a novel basis for interdisciplinary work in a field unduly limited by disciplinary fragmentation. It is thus an invaluable landmark for researchers and students at all levels.’ Anne Murcott Honorary Professorial Research Associate, SOAS, University of London Professor Emerita, London South Bank University, UK ‘Children’s mealtimes are a microcosm of the social world, infused with morality, politics, power, pleasure, and negotiation as much as nutrition. In this rich and timely book, Sally Wiggins moves beyond idealised accounts of the family meal to show, with analytical precision, how eating together is collaboratively accomplished in everyday life. Drawing on ethnomethodology, conversation analysis, discursive psychology, and language socialisation, she offers both a conceptual reorientation and a practical guide to researching the intricate interplay of food, language, and bodies. This is an indispensable resource for scholars across anthropology, linguistics, psychology, and sociology, and a landmark contribution to the interactional study of children’s eating.’ Alexa Hepburn Professor Emerita, School of Communication and Information Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey Honorary Professor, Department of Communication and Media, Loughborough University, UK