Abstract
The foodways of Indian South Africans have changed extensively over the last two decades. This has been evident in the food choices children make which influence the family meal on a regular basis. The continual accessibility and availability of international branded fast-foods such as McDonalds and KFC in South Africa has had a huge impact of the foodways of Indian South African children. Yet, this community in Durban has been proactive in sustaining their heritage and culture through the preparation and consumption of both traditional, localised and modernised versions of Indian foods. This study investigates the prevalence of pester power amongst Indian South African middle class children between the ages of 10 and 12 years. The term pesters power makes reference to “children’s influence on family consumption patterns (Gunter and Furnham, 1998) which result in the parents and children often negotiating food choices and purchases. This study investigates if class grouping has an impact on the prevalence of pester power capacities of children. This is established through a qualitative study based on 25 in-depth interviews with both parents and children. The objectives of the study investigate firstly; if children are the decision makers of food choices in the homes on a daily basis, secondly; the type of meal consumed on a daily basis, thirdly; the nutritional consideration of the daily meal and fourthly; how these foodways have contributed to the creation of new food cultures in the contemporary era.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
PESTER POWER, INDIAN SOUTH AFRICAN MIDDLE CLASS CHILDREN, FAMILY FOODWAYS
