A comparison of parent and childcare provider's attitudes and perceptions about preschoolers' physical activity and outdoor time.

BACKGROUND: Young children depend on adult caregivers to provide opportunities for physical activity. Research has focused on barriers and facilitators to children's physical activity while in childcare, but parental influences remain largely unknown. This study examines parent's attitudes about preschoolers' physical activity and outdoor time, compares them with those of childcare providers and determines the association between parental attitudes and preschoolers' measured activity. METHODS: Parents and childcare providers from 30 childcare centres were surveyed regarding attitudes towards preschoolers' physical activity and outdoor time. Children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was determined by using 24-h accelerometry. Parent and childcare providers' responses were compared. Mixed-effect linear regression examined moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sedentary time as outcomes with parental attitudes as predictors, family demographics as covariates and centre as a random effect. RESULTS: Three hundred eighty-eight parents and 151 childcare providers participated. On average, children were 4.3 (0.7) years old. Parents and childcare providers both considered daily physical activity important for preschoolers, but providers rated the importance of daily outdoor time higher on a 10-point scale (8.9 vs. 7.6, P < 0.001). More parents than providers believed that children would get sick by playing outside in the cold (25 vs. 11%, P < 0.05). Parents were more comfortable with their child playing outside at childcare compared with outside at home (8.9 vs. 6.9, P < 0.001). Lower income parents felt less comfortable than higher income parents with their child playing outside either near home or at childcare. Neither home nor total child activity levels were associated with most parental attitudes queried. CONCLUSIONS: While parents and childcare providers value daily physical activity for children, some parents expressed discomfort about their young children engaging in outdoor play, especially around home and in cold weather. These findings highlight the importance of childcare-based interventions to promote preschoolers' physical activity and outdoor play.

Parental factors in children's active transport to school.

OBJECTIVE: Identify non-distance factors related to children's active transport (AT) to school, including parental, home, and environment characteristics. Understanding the factors related to children's AT to school, beyond distance to school, could inform interventions to increase AT and children's overall physical activity. STUDY DESIGN: Participants were in the Neighborhood Impact on Kids Study, a longitudinal, observational cohort study of children aged 6-11 and their parents in King County, WA and San Diego County, CA between 2007 and 2009. Parents reported frequency and mode of child transport to school, perceived neighbourhood, home and family environments, parental travel behaviours, and sociodemographics. METHODS: Children living less than a 20 minute walk to school were in this analysis. Children classified as active transporters (walked/bicycled to or from school at least once per week) were compared with those not using AT as often. RESULTS: Children using AT were older and had parents who reported themselves using active transport. Having a family rule that restricts the child to stay within sight of the parent or home and more parent working hours were related to lower odds of a child using AT. CONCLUSIONS: Children's AT to school is associated with parental AT to work and other locations. Interventions should be considered that enable whole family AT, ameliorate safety concerns and decrease the need for parental supervision, such as walking school buses.