Abstract
The purpose of this study was to survey the concern for nutrition and the degree of nutritional knowledge of elementary school children's parents and their perception on the eating habits of their children. This study also investigated the effects of the concern for nutrition and the nutritional knowledge on the eating habits of their children. The questionnaire was answered by 383 mothers and fathers in the Kyonggi area. The general nutritional attitude and the perception of their children's eating habits were represented by frequencies and analyzed tv chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test. The difference of nutritional knowledge was represented tv mean and S.D. and was analyzed by one-way ANOVA test. Statistical significance was tested at the 0.05 level. The main results of the study are summarized as follows. 1) Parents had a comparatively deep concern for nutrition and a high level of knowledge. With increasing concern for nutrition, nutritional knowledge tended to be better and the higher proportion of participation in the nutritional education program increased. 2) The majority$(58.5\%)$ of the subjects thought that the eating habit of their children was not appropriate. The subjects had relatively high recognition about their children's eating habits and pointed out the unbalanced diet, snacks, and skipping a meal among their children's eating habits. Nevertheless, there were no significantly differences among the concern for nutrition of the parents and perception on their children's eating habits. As the parents' nutritional attitude, concern for nutrition, and nutritional knowledge can affect the children's eating habits, tire suggest that schools open nutritional education programs for parents in order to acquire proper food and nutrition information, and that schools and homes should be more closely connected.
