The Relationship Between Maternal Parenting Patterns, Participation in Posyandu Visits, and Children's Food Selectivity Habits With the Incidence of Stunting Among Children

Abstract

Stunting is one of the chronic nutritional problems that has long-term impacts on the quality of human resources. Efforts to prevent stunting can be carried out through promotive and preventive approaches, including paying attention to maternal parenting patterns and children's eating behavior. Simpang Warga Dalam Village has a relatively high stunting rate despite having abundant local food resources. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between maternal parenting style and children’s picky eating habits with the incidence of stunting among children aged 24–59 months. This research is an analytical observational study with a cross-sectional approach. The sample consisted of 71 mothers with children aged 24–59 months, selected using total sampling. Data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed using the chi-square test and Spearman correlation. The results showed that most mothers were aged 20–35 years (63.4%), had a secondary education (50.7%), and were unemployed (95.8%). Most children were aged 36–59 months (74.6%) and male (56.3%). The majority of mothers had a moderate level of parenting (43.7%), and most children exhibited picky eating behavior (80.3%). More than half of the children were not stunted (54.9%). There was a significant relationship between maternal parenting and stunting (p = 0.000; r = 0.561), as well as between picky eating behavior and stunting (p = 0.001; r = 0.416), both showing a positive correlation with moderate strength.