The effect of mothers' fears of Covid-19 on their attitudes towards feeding their children and using food supplements

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the correlation between mothers' COVID-19 fears and their attitudes toward feeding their children and using food supplements. The mothers of 312 children aged 3-6 years participated in this study. Data were collected online using the Descriptive Characteristics Form for Children and Their Families, the Questionnaire Form on Food Supplement Use, the Mother's Attitudes Toward the Feeding Process Scale (MAFPS), and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale. During the pandemic, 58.9% of children used food supplements. Of these, 38.7% used vitamins/multivitamins, 39.4% used food supplements to strengthen their immunity against the disease, and 23.8% of mothers stated that the food supplement was effective in preventing COVID-19. As the fear of coronavirus increased, the mothers' attitudes toward feeding their children were negatively affected. The mothers' fears of COVID-19 negatively affected their attitudes toward feeding their children by 24.0%. Therefore, nurses should ask whether mothers use food supplements for their children during the pandemic period and inform those who use them about the effects and possible side effects of using this method.