Influence of caregivers on rural children’s ability to avoid food safety risks

Abstract

ObjectiveTo study the influence of caregivers on their children’s ability to avoid food safety risks， so as to provide reference to empower the caregivers to participate food safety social co-governance.MethodsA total of 5 611 rural families were selected from 7 provinces/autonomous regions by stratified random sampling， and factors of caregivers influencing rural children’s ability to avoid food safety risks were examined by ordered probit model.ResultsChildren taken care by grandparents showed significantly stronger ability to identify unsafe foods than by parents. Compared to children taken care by parents， the percentage of children taken care by grandparents who had strong ability to avoid food safety risks was higher by 6.94%， while the percentage of children who had moderate and low ability was lower by 6.48% and 0.46%， respectively. In addition， the neglecting parenting attitudes of caregivers significantly increased children’s acceptance on unsafe foods.ConclusionThe influence of rural caregivers on children's ability to avoid food safety risks was complex. Caregivers type， parenting attitudes and the ability to avoid food safety risks affect children's ability to avoid food safety risks significantly. It is suggested that the government should launch food safety risk communication toward rural caregivers to promote food safety social co-governance.

Keywords

• rural children
• rural caregivers
• food safety
• social co-governance