Healthy eating habits and nutritional knowledge of mothers have the most bearing on what their children eat, according to a new report from market researcher The NPD Group. Recent NPD research finds that in households with kids, when the adult female has a good Healthy Eating Index (HEI), a measure of diet quality similar to federal dietary guidance, the majority of kids in the household are eating just as well. Although moms’ healthy eating behaviors impact how their children eat, attitudes about nutritional eating do not necessarily align with actual behavior, according to the NPD report, titled,  “What’s on the Minds of Moms and How Are They Coping.”  Three-fourths of new moms and 65% of experienced moms said they actively seek out foods with nutrition benefits. However, the study finds that fewer moms actually eat foods with nutritional benefits. Moms also give themselves high marks when it comes to nutritional knowledge. The NPD study reports that 67% of moms feel they are extremely or very knowledgeable about nutrition and eating, and 81% feel they are the primary source for nutritional education for their children. Yet when asked to assess their children’s level of nutritional knowledge, few moms ranked their children extremely or very knowledgeable; a little more than half of children 6- to 17-years old were considered somewhat knowledgeable. One-fourth of moms considered their children 6- to 12-years old not very knowledgeable.