Program Objectives

Program Objectives

This section provides a breakdown of the FRIDGE objectives addressed in each of the three sections of the program. These are general objectives for each section. Specific objectives for each activity are listed later in this document.

Enhancing Family Communication About Food

Goal: Family members will gain communication skills to facilitate effective family communication about food-related issues.

General Objectives: Participants will:

• Identify one or more core communication skills necessary for healthy communication surrounding family food decisions.
• Demonstrate 2-3 communication methods for reaching agreement (and reducing disagreement) with family members regarding food selection, food preparation, and eating practices.
• Use various strategies to share their personal views about food.
• Use the components of active listening skills when communicating with family members.
• Describe one or more ways misunderstandings might occur.
• Develop a more tolerant attitude towards family members' personally held values and preferences for food selection, preparation and eating practices.
• Develop a more tolerant attitude towards other family members' food behaviors.
• Develop a problem¬solving attitude for dealing with other family members' unhealthful food behaviors.

Objectives for Section 2:
Learning Together about Food and Nutrition

Goal: Join family members together in a shared learning experience designed to help them: (1) examine similarities and differences in eating habits and nutrition knowledge of the different generations represented in the family, and (2) use current nutrition recommendations to establish new shared family dietary behaviors.

General objectives: Participants will:

• Gain an appreciation of changes in the US dietary guidance system over the past 70 years and the impact on the eating habits of family members of different generations.
• Apply current nutrition recommendations to individual and family food purchases and meal planning behaviors:
  - analyze foods for sugar, calories and other nutrients which need to be addressed by different generational members
  - articulate the importance of eating appropriate sized portions for different generations
  - list 2-3 sources of added sugar and how it affects health across the life span
• Articulate 2-3 generational views about what it means to eat healthfully and why it's important.

Objectives for Section 3:
Working as a Team to Improve Family Eating Practices

Goal: Establish family plans to adopt healthier food selection, preparation, and eating practices.

General objectives: Participants will:

• Distinguish cooperative problem solving from other forms of problem solving.
• Gain a greater sense of appreciation of the value of family cooperation and teamwork to improve family dietary intake.
• Apply one or more lessons learned from participating in team-building exercises to family situations.
• Develop an increased awareness of how one's own behavior affects and is affected by family dynamics for discussing and making decisions about food.
• Create or plan time as a family to address goals for eating more healthfully.
• Develop an agreed upon (with family members) vision for how the family will eat more healthfully.
• Develop specific, actionable, collaborative plans (with family members) for healthy eating.