What do parents and preschool staff tell us about young children's physical activity: a qualitative study
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BioMed Central
Open Access
Research
What do parents and preschool staff tell us about young children's physical activity: a qualitative study Genevieve M Dwyer*1, Joy Higgs†2, Louise L Hardy†3 and Louise A Baur†1,3 Address: 1University of Sydney Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Locked Bag 4001 Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia, 2The Education for Practice Institute, Charles Sturt University, 16 Masons Drive North Parramatta, NSW 2151, Australia and 3NSW Centre for Overweight and Obesity, Level 2, K25 Medical Foundation Building University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia Email: Genevieve M Dwyer* - [email protected]; Joy Higgs - [email protected]; Louise L Hardy - [email protected]; Louise A Baur - [email protected] * Corresponding author †Equal contributors
Published: 11 December 2008 International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2008, 5:66
doi:10.1186/1479-5868-5-66
Received: 10 June 2008 Accepted: 11 December 2008
This article is available from: http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/5/1/66 © 2008 Dwyer et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract Background: Physical activity and small screen recreation are two modifiable behaviours associated with childhood obesity and the development of chronic health problems. Parents and preschool staff shape behaviour habits in young children. The aims of this qualitative study were to explore the attitudes, values, knowledge and understanding of parents and carers of preschool-age children in relation to physical activity and small screen recreation and to identify influences upon these behaviours. Methods: This research involved a focus group study with parents and carers of the target population. A purposive sample of 39 participants (22 parents, 17 carers) participated in 9 focus groups. Participants were drawn from three populations of interest: those from lower socioeconomic status, and MiddleEastern and Chinese communities in the Sydney (Australia) metropolitan region. Results: All participants understood the value of physical activity and the impact of excessive small screen recreation but were unfamiliar with national guidelines for these behaviours. Participants described the nature and activity patterns of young children; however, the concept of activity 'intensity' in this age group was not a meaningful term. Factors which influenced young children's physical activity behaviour included the child's personality, the physical activity facilities available, and the perceived safety of their community. Factors facilitating physical activity included a child's preference for being active, positive parent or peer modelling, access to safe play areas, organised activities, preschool programs and a sense of social connectednes
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