Parenting style based on the mother’s personal mastery and the mother-child attachment in relation to child feeding disoders: A qualitative study

Child feeding disorders affect the child’s developmental growth due to malnutrition. This study aimed to explore the mother’s experience of having children with a feeding disorder in relation to their knowledge and attitude about child feeding. We conducted an observational study with in-depth interviews. Seven mothers of toddlers with eating disorders but without neurological delays agreed to participate. The mothers reported that their children started to have an eating disorder approximately from the age of 2 up to 6 months, and then the disorder worsened by the age of 12 months. Lack of knowledge about the development of child eating behaviour was observed among the mothers. Mothers expressed having anxiety and feeling stressed during feeding times.