The good, the bad, and the blameless: A thematic analysis of the parental role in childhood obesity on an Internet discussion board

Abstract

Abstract Background Childhood obesity affects an increased percentage of families globally. For families, obesity is often a tense issue, not least because of the negative stigma and cultural perceptions associated with it. Discussions around childhood obesity do not take place only at homes or in health care, but increasingly on social media, such as Internet discussion forums. On these platforms, parents, including those having a child with obesity, are exposed to cultural ways of framing childhood obesity, and defining who is responsible for children’s weight. Method We gathered and analysed 16 discussion threads on childhood obesity taken from a Finnish internet discussion forum, vauva.fi, between 2015 and 2021 (a total of 331 posts). For the analysis, we chose threads where parents having a child with obesity took part. The data were analysed and interpreted with inductive thematic analysis. Results In the online discussion on childhood obesity, the posts were mostly about the reasons and solutions for obesity, and obesity was discussed in the context of parental responsibility and lifestyle choices within the family. We located three themes that were used to define parenthood: being a good parent, being a bad parent, and being a blameless parent. Parents listed healthy elements in their family’s lifestyle to prove their good parenthood, whereas other commenters frequently tried to point out mistakes in the parents’ behaviour or offer advice. Moreover, many acknowledged that some factors causing childhood obesity were outside the parents’ influence. In addition, many parents brought up that they were genuinely ignorant of the reasons for their child’s overweight. Conclusions Our results showed that for the parents and other commentators childhood obesity is not only a question of weight and lifestyle changes. Instead, defining good of parenting and related tasks was a recurring theme in the discussions. Consequently, counselling for parents in health care should be expanded from supporting a healthy lifestyle to strengthening parents’ identity as being good enough parents. Furthermore, efforts should be made to increase parents’ self-efficacy. In addition, supporting parents to accept and process feelings related to the child’s weight would help them to adapt to their situation.