Food, Families and Work

Description

With dual–working households now the norm, Food, Families and Work is the first comprehensive study to explore how families negotiate everyday food practices in the context of paid employment. As the working of hours of British parents are among the highest in Europe, the United Kingdom provides a key case study for investigating the relationship between parental employment and family food practices. Focusing on issues such as the gender division of foodwork, the impact of family income on diet, family meals, and the power children wield over the food they eat, the book offers a longitudinal view of family routines. It explores how the everyday meanings of food change as children grow older and negotiate changes in their own lives and those of their family members. Drawing on extensive quantitative data from large–scale surveys of food and diet — as well as qualitative evidence — to emphasise the larger global context of social and economic change and shifting patterns of family life, Rebecca O'Connell and Julia Brannen present a holistic overview of food practices within busy contemporary family lives. Featuring perspectives from both parents and children, this innovative approach to some of the most hotly–debated topics in food studies is a must–read for students and scholars in food studies, sociology, anthropology, nutrition and public health. Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgements The Authors Chapter 1 Introduction, themes and methods Conceptual approaches The study Analysing the data The chapters Chapter 2 Is parental employment linked to children’s diets? The survey evidence Maternal employment and children’s diet: The United States Maternal employment and children’s diet: The UK Secondary quantitative analysis from the UK: The current study Discussion Conclusion Chapter 3 Who does the foodwork in working families? Background Mothers’ employment hours and how much men do: The macro-level picture Mothers’ employment hours and what men do: The micro-level picture Fathers and foodwork Who and what else helps with foodwork? Accounting for the division of foodwork Managing foodwork and rising prices Discussion Conclusion Chapter 4 When do working families eat together? Families, meals and mealtimes Eating together in working families: The ­macro-level picture Time and synchronicity Eating together in working families: The ­micro-level picture The importance of family meals Eating together in practice Eating together as a family Modified family meals Asynchronicity: The absence of family meals Discussion Conclusion Chapter 5 How much power do children wield over what they eat? Negotiation and control: Children and parents Patterns of negotiation and control A(i) Overt parental control A(ii) Covert parental control B Children resisting strong parental control C Children in control D Negotiated order Discussion Conclusion Chapter 6 How does children’s food play out across the different spaces of their lives? Children’s food practices across everyday spaces Which spaces do children inhabit? Children’s food and eating across contexts Changing patterns of eating across space over time Discussion Conclusion Chapter 7 Changing families, changing food: How do children’s diets change over time? How to make sense of change and continuity in children’s lives How diet change/quality was assessed: Analytic challenges Did children’s diets change over time? Changes in children’s lives Starting school: From a poor to a better diet Starting school: A continuing good diet The start of secondary school: A deteriorating diet Multiple transitions: A deteriorating diet Mother’s new boyfriend and becoming a teenager: From a poor to a good diet Discussion Conclusion Chapter 8 In conclusion Is there a link between parental employment and children’s diets? Who does the foodwork in working families? Do working families eat together? Children’s power and parental control of children’s diets In which other settings do the children of employed parents eat? Do children’s diets in working families change over time and why? Linking qualitative and quantitative data Implications for policy and future research Appendix I: Children’s participation in interview activities at Waves 1 and 2 Appendix II: Sampling and retention in the qualitative longitudinal study Appendix III: Defining and measuring ‘family meals’: Methodological considerations Notes References Author Index Subject Index