Parent education for responsive feeding during complementary feeding: a scoping review of intervention components, implementation barriers, and implications for child and family nursing.

BACKGROUND

Responsive feeding is a core component of complementary feeding and may support children's eating autonomy, self-regulation, and healthy dietary patterns. However, caregivers may experience uncertainty about children's appetite, growth, food refusal, and self-feeding, as well as practical, cultural, and social barriers that make responsive feeding difficult to apply in everyday life.

AIM: To map the available evidence on parent education related to responsive feeding during complementary feeding and to discuss implications for child and family nursing.

METHODS

A scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and reported according to PRISMA-ScR. Four databases were searched from inception to January 2026. Eligible sources addressed responsive feeding among parents or caregivers of infants and young children and reported educational approaches, feeding practices, implementation determinants, or relevant outcomes. Data were charted and narratively synthesised.

RESULTS

Fourteen sources were included. Core educational components included recognising hunger and satiety cues, supporting self-feeding and age-appropriate autonomy, establishing meal routines, reducing pressure and food-based rewards, and promoting positive, minimally distracting mealtimes. Reported outcomes included improved child self-feeding, reduced controlling caregiver practices, more consistent meal routines, and healthier dietary patterns. Implementation was influenced by food insecurity, caregiver workload, growth-related concerns, food waste, family norms, and conflicting feeding advice.

DISCUSSION: Responsive feeding education should move beyond information provision towards relationship-centred, culturally responsive, and context-sensitive support.

CONCLUSION

Child and family nursing services may provide underused opportunities for anticipatory guidance on responsive feeding. Future research should evaluate multidisciplinary interventions adapted to family contexts and integrated across maternity, child health, and community care services.