著者

今井 景子

出版者

こども教育宝仙大学

雑誌

こども教育宝仙大学紀要 = Bulletin of Hosen College of Childhood Education

巻号頁・発行日

no.11, pp.1-12, 2020-03-04

---

Objective:The objective of this study was to investigate why parents/guardians make charaben (an abbreviated form of"character bento" ; a Japanese boxed lunch in which food is decorated to resemble popular animals, anime characters, etc.) andwhether children like it.Methods:A questionnaire survey was conducted in October 2018 on the parents/guardians of 637 children attending nursery school and kindergarten in Tokyo. The questionnaire items assessed which type of bento box (charaben vs. normal) parents/guardians and their children preferred and what they thought about charaben.Results:Data were obtained from 456 parents/guardians (71.5% valid response rate). About 64% of the children and 20% of theparents/guardians preferred charaben, and 21% of the parents/guardians had actually prepared charaben. Girls preferred charaben significantly more than boys (71.1% vs. 57.6%, respectively), younger children preferred charaben significantly more than older children (3-year-olds : 78.4% ; 4-year-olds : 64.9% ; 5-year-olds : 46.4%), and children who ate small meals preferred charaben significantly more than children who ate bigger meals (small meals : 79.2% vs. big meals : 62.1%). Parents/guardians who thought charaben was good for dietary education (59.9%) recognized the importance of making a bento box that children enjoy eating,whereas parents/guardians who thought charaben was not good for dietary education (17.1%) emphasized nutrition. The remaining parents/guardians (23.0%) recognized the importance of their child's preferences, food shapes that are easy to eat, and food safety.Conclusion:Children's bento box preferences were influenced by those of their parents/guardians, as well as their sex, age, and typical meal size. These results suggest that parents/guardians should prepare bento boxes that not only have a fun appearance, but also are nutritious and match the child's level of development. Therefore, parents/guardians should recognize their child's level of development and focus on nutrition,hygiene, and easy-to-eat shapes to prepare optimal bento boxes for their children