Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice in Early Childhood Nutrition and Marketing Mix of Parents in Na Siew Subdistrict, Mueang District, Chaiyaphum Province

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to examine knowledge, attitudes and practice in early childhood nutrition and marketing mix among parents of pre-school children in Na Siew subdistrict, Mueang district, Chaiyaphum province. Population in this study were 126 parents of pre-school children in 4 child development centers. Data collections were done with questionnaires: 1) parent's knowledge of nutrition and marketing mix with confidence levels using Kuder-Richardson: KR-20 of 0.92 and 0.94; 2) parents’ attitudes and practices with Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.92 and 0.95. The data were analyzed using percentages, means and standard deviations.

Results showed that the majority of the respondents were females (86.80%), aged 50-59 years (29.40%), related to the children by being grandmother (65.08%), had primary school education (42.86%), were married (96.03%), worked as farmers (42.86%), had monthly income less than 10,001 Baht (29.36%), came from skipped-generation families (53.97%), had 4-5 family members (34.13%), and received news and information through television (84.13%). Parents’ knowledge was at a high level on nutrition and marketing mix (72.22% and 57.94%). Their attitudes in nutrition and marketing mix were at a high level (=4.09, SD=0.52 and =4.06, SD=0.42), respectively, and their practices on nutrition and marketing mix were also at a good level (=4.37, SD=0.42 and =3.96, SD=0.32).

It was suggested that parents should focus on preparing food that is appropriate for their child’s age. Knowledge of marketing mix needs to be encouraged for parents so their children could receive appropriate food according to their age.