Food literacy is a set of knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes needed for the planning, management, selection, preparation and consumption of food. With their attitude to food and nutrition and their established views, parents make a significant contribution to the food literacy level among children. This dissertation aims at finding out how well parents know the food-related topics taught at school, what their views on food literacy are, and what they do to improve the level of food literacy in their children. The survey was completed by 62 parents of primary school 8th and 9th graders. The data was obtained through a questionnaire filled out by the parents.
The survey has shown that the parents know well which food-related topics their children are being taught at school. In the parents' views on and attitudes to food literacy, differences were observed based on their level of qualifications. The parents with secondary school qualifications find it most important for their children to know how to use kitchen utensils and cooking appliances and to make simple meals, while parents with higher-level qualifications find it most important for their children to know healthy food and food hygiene. Encouraging children to do house chores plays an important part in teaching children to be independent. The parents with secondary school qualifications mostly encourage their children to make simple dishes and plan their daily meals. The parents with higher-level qualifications find it very important to encourage their children to eat healthy food and to observe hygiene standards in food preparation. In passing down the knowledge of food and nutrition, the parents assigned an important role to themselves, so it can be said they feel responsible for teaching their children to be food literate. It is vital for the parents and the school to engage in shared activities designed to promote food literacy among children, since having common goals helps yield better results in teaching healthy eating to children.
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