Table 3 Eleven themes and three subthemes from focus groups

Employment

 1. Work is a parent’s highest priority.

 2. Exhausting work schedules make it hard to prevent childhood overweight.

 3. A bad economy, insufficient income and food price sensitivity influence parents’ ability to promote their preferred home and food environment.

Day care

 1. Preschool policy influences what children ate at home.

 2. Preschools can do more to help parents keep their children at a healthy weight.

  a. Food provided to children in family-based day care is often unhealthy.

 3. Schools should provide more opportunities for children to participate in physical activity.

Neighborhood environments

 1. Liquor stores, fast food and soda are everywhere and influence what children eat.

 2. Advertisements influence what children want to consume and ultimately what they eat.

 3. Dirty, unsafe neighborhood streets and parks are obstacles to children’s health.

  a. Relatives help by providing children opportunities for physical activity.

Community relationships

 1. Neighborhood structural factors influence community relationships.

 2. Compared to their country of origin, parents experience a lack of social support from neighbors in the U.S., which limits children’s access to healthful food and physical activity.