Fussy Eating Rescue: Evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of a mobile-web app for responsive feeding practises among parents of toddlers

INTERVENTION: A mobile web app and push notifications will be used to deliver intervention content. Participants in the intervention group will have access to the app for 6 weeks. The amount of time that they engage with the app will be at the participants' own discretion. Intervention content, developed by a team of experts, offers education and practical advice based on established behaviour change theory and techniques to help parents use evidence‐based feeding practises to manage toddler fussy eating. This includes information about toddler growth and development, parent feeding strategies (e.g. repeated offers of vegetables, family meals, offering foods without pressure, avoiding the use of food to reward eating or behaviour), and toddler nutrition requirements. Information will be presented as short articles and interactive activities. The mobile web app also includes a self‐monitoring tool to help parents keep track of repeated offers of vegetables (a key parent feeding strategy) and tools to help parents self‐regulate emotions and behaviours related to their toddler’s fussy eating (e.g. promoting mindfulness, practical tips for toddler tantrums). Text messaging (SMS) will be used to promote parent engagement, provide feedback on goal setting and self‐monitoring activities, and remind them of key messages. Participants will be able to specify their own personalized SMS notification schedule (e.g. days and times). SMS notifications will be personalised where appropriate. Participants who are inactive after 1 week will receive an SMS notification to invite them to engage with the app. Inactive participants will continue to receive a weekly reminder to engage with the app until the end of the 6 week pilot or until the participant requests that the notifications no longer CONDITION: Diet and Nutrition ‐ Other diet and nutrition disorders Parent feeding practices;Fussy eating behaviours; ; Parent feeding practices ; Fussy eating behaviours Public Health ‐ Health promotion/education PRIMARY OUTCOME: Intervention engagement, assessed by (1) describing app usage metrics (e.g. session interval, session length, time in app, screen flow, retention, push notifications received/read), using app usage metrics to calculate its App Engagement Index (previously developed by members of the research team).[6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] Participant retention rate, assessed as the percent of recruited participants who complete the 6‐weeks post‐intervention questionnaire.[6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] Usability of the app platform, assessed with the System Usability Scale (SUS)[6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] SECONDARY OUTCOME: BEGIN SECONDARY OUTCOMES: ; ; ; Perceived ease in using the app platform, assessed with the mHealth App Usability Questionnaire[6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] PRIMARY OUTCOME 5: ; ; Perceived usefulness of the app platform, assessed with the mHealth App Usability Questionnaire[6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] PRIMARY OUTCOME 6: ; ; User satisfaction with the app platform, assessed with the mHealth App Usability Questionnaire[6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] Structure of meal settings, assessed with the "structured meal setting" subscale of the Feeding Practices and Structure Questionnaire[6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] Structured meal timing, assessed with the "structured meal timing" subscale of the Feeding Practices and Structure Questionnaire[6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] ; Parent modelling of healthy eating, assessed with the “modelling” subscale of the Comprehensive Feeding Practises Questionnaire[6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] Family meal setting, assessed with the family meal setting subscale of the Feeding Practices and Structure Questionnaire[6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] Parent description of child's specific food avoidance behaviours, assessed with the Meal Behaviour Questionnaire [6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] Parent perception of child's food fussiness, assessed with the "food fussiness" subscale of the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire [6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] Parents' trust in children's appetites, assessed with the "distrust in appetite" subscale of the Feeding Practices and Structure Questionnaire[6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] Parents' use of persuasive feeding practices, assessed with the "persuasive feeding" subscale of the Feeding Practices and Structure Questionnaire[6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] Parents' use of repeated exposure, assessed with one question previously validated for this purpose" (How many times do you offer a food to your child before deciding whether they like the food?)[6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] Parents' use of reward for eating, assessed with the "reward for eating' subscale of the Feeding Practices and Structure Questionnaire[6 weeks post‐intervention commencement] PRIMARY OUTCOME 4: INCLUSION CRITERIA: Participants will be eligible for inclusion if they currently live in Australia, are able to read and write in English, have a mobile phone that can access the internet and care for a child that is 12‐36 months old and lives with them at least half of the time.