MEALTIME COMMUNICATION PATTERNS OF INFANTS FROM 2 TO 24 MONTHS OF AGE

The purposes of this study were to document mealtime communication beh aviors used by 98 Caucasian infants who vr ere studied longitudinally from 2 to 24 months of age and to describe how these behaviors changed in the group over time. Using both closed- and open-ended questions i n personal interviews, these middle and upper socioeconomic status mot hers reported how their infants communicated hunger, satiety and food likes and dislikes. Mothers also reported their own response behaviors when they believed that their infants had not eaten enough. Only a fe w mealtime communication behaviors were common to all infants, suggest ing that infants use various behaviors to communicate similar messages . Food likes were most often communicated by mouth/eating behaviors, s uch as opening the mouth as food approached, eating readily or eating a large amount of food. Food dislikes were communicated by mouth/eatin g behaviors, by facial expressions, and by body movements, such as tur ning the head or body away from food or throwing disliked food. When t he mother perceived that the child had not eaten enough, most mothers offered alternative choices, either at mealtime or shortly thereafter. The results indicate that most infants are communicating via behavior s in feeding situations throughout the 2- to 24-month period.