Children’s verbal satiety expressions and caregivers’ responses during preschool mealtimes in Sweden

Abstract Background The development of young children’s recognition and expression of satiety states is an essential part of becoming an independent eater. Children’s ability to self-regulate food intake develops throughout childhood with the support of responsive feeding practices by caregivers. Knowledge about the social factors that support children’s development and usage of expressions of fullness is, however, extremely limited. Method The current study examined children’s (1–6 years old) verbal expressions related to satiety during preschool lunches and how these were interactionally responded to by caregivers. Longitudinal video-recordings from four preschools ( n = 97 lunches) were collected across two cities in Sweden, involving 92 children and 22 adults. The video recordings were searched for instances in which children produced verbal satiety expressions (e.g. “I’m full”): 77 cases were identified across the corpus. The videos and accompanying transcripts were analysed using descriptive statistics and discursive psychology to examine the timing, form, and interactional organisation of the satiety expressions. Results The results demonstrated that young children clearly used verbal satiety expressions at interactionally appropriate moments during mealtimes and actively sought caregivers’ verbal responses. The results also show that the caregivers accepted children’s satiety expressions and provide empirical examples of responsive feeding in practice. Conclusion The study provides some of the first empirical evidence on how young children spontaneously engage in satiety-related interactions in early childhood education and care settings.