Journal article

Publication year: 2014

Pages: 36-53

Journal: International Journal of Home Economics

Volume number: 7

Issue number: 2

ISSN: 1999-561X

Abstract: 
Employed mothers in Germany still struggle to balance family and career due to an insufficient provision of care facilities with nutritional care services for infants and school-aged children. Our study focuses on the different concepts mothers apply to manage everyday life food routines. A mixed method approach of quantitative and qualitative data was used to investigate the conditions and barriers as well as the perception of the mothers with regard to juggling employment and food preparation. Evaluating the last representative German Time Budget Survey 2001/2002 (cross-sectional study of 5,400 households
provided by the German Federal Statistical Office) within a quantitative secondary analysis of 2,007 mothers the results show that amongst all housekeeping activities most of the time is spent on meal preparation. The
qualitative study is based on 48 open interviews with employed mothers. A typology of food provision types reflects the complex strategies and value systems of mothers used to accomplish daily food provision. The results highlight how educational institutions and child care facilities can provide a family-friendly arrangement of offering meals away from home, and support the mother's demand for a healthy diet for herself and her children.

Harvard Citation style: Möser, A. and Leonhäuser, I. (2014) Too bustling to cook? Management of food provision in German family households with employed mothers, International Journal of Home Economics, 7(2), pp. 36-53

APA Citation style: Möser, A., & Leonhäuser, I. (2014). Too bustling to cook? Management of food provision in German family households with employed mothers. International Journal of Home Economics. 7(2), 36-53.