Involvement in meal preparation

• Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status. 

• In Belgium, 24% of children and adolescents never help with meal preparation, while 24% do it rarely, 22% help 1-3 times per month, 22% 1-4 times per week, and 8% help every day or almost every day.
• The frequency of helping with meal preparation does not differ between children aged 3 to 9 years and adolescents aged 10 to 17 years.
• The proportion of children and adolescents who are never involved in meal preparation is much higher in boys (31%) than in girls (17%). The other frequencies do not differ by sex. 

• Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
• The education level is calculated at the household level by considering the highest diploma obtained by: (i) the respondents or their partner for adults (aged 18 years and above), or (ii) the father and mother (or carer, if applicable) for children and adolescents (aged 3 to 17 years). However, for simplicity, we refer to the education level of individuals rather than the education level of their households.

• There is an association between the level of education and children’s and adolescents’ involvement in meal preparation. Those from low-educated families are less frequently involved in meal preparation compared to those from mid- or high-educated families.
• The proportion of children and adolescents never involved in meal preparation is higher among those from low-educated families (30%) compared to those from mid-educated (21%) and high-educated families (19%).
• In addition, the proportion of children and adolescents rarely involved in meal preparation is lower among those from low-educated families (19%) compared to those from mid-educated (27%) and  high-educated families (28%).
• Similarly, children and adolescents from low-educated families are less likely to be involved in meal preparation 1-3 times per month (20%) compared to those from high-educated families (27%).

• Adjusted = results weighted for the season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status, and adjusted according to age and sex based on a linear regression model (using the Belgian population of 2022-2023 as reference). 
• The questions were formulated differently in 2014-2015 and 2022-2023:
  • ​in 2022-2023, we asked parents of children (3 to 9 years) ‘How often does your child help with the preparation of a hot meal ?’ and adolescents ‘How often do you help your (step)parents with the preparation of a hot meal?’. The proportion of individuals that answered the option ‘Never’ is presented ;
  • in 2014-2015, we asked a less specific question to parents of children (3 to 9 years) ‘Is your child involved in meal preparation ?’. The proportion of individuals that answered the option ‘Never’ is presented. Similarly, adolescents were asked ‘Do you help with meal preparation ?’. The proportion of individuals that answered the option ‘No’ is presented. 

• There are no regional differences in the proportion of children and adolescents who are never involved in meal preparation.
• Overall, the proportion of children and adolescents who are never involved in meal preparation has decreased from 40% in 2014-2015 to 24% in 2022-2023, across all regions. However, the formulation of the question changed between 2014-2015 and 2022-2023, this could have influenced these results.

• Adjusted = results weighted for the season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status, and adjusted according to age and sex based on linear regression model (using the Belgian population of 2022-2023 as reference).​
• The questions were formulated differently in 2014-2015 and 2022-2023:
  • in 2022-2023, we asked parents of children (3 to 9 years) ‘How often does your child help with the preparation of a hot meal ?’ and adolescents ‘How often do you help your (step)parents with the preparation of a hot meal ?’. The proportion of individuals that answered the option ‘Never’ is presented ;
  • in 2014-2015, we asked a less-specific question to parents of children (3 to 9 years) ‘Is your child involved in meal preparation ?’. The proportion of individuals that answered the option ‘Never’ is presented. Similarly, adolescents were asked ‘Do you help with meal preparation?’. The proportion of individuals that answered the option ‘No’ is presented.

• The proportion of adolescents who are never involved in meal preparation has decreased from 51% in 2014-2015 to 24% in 2022-2023. In children, this proportion did not change between 2014-2015 and 2022-2023.  However, the formulation of the question changed between 2014-2015 and 2022-2023, this could have influenced these results.