Parent's influence on preschool children's physical activity: A daily diary study of parents attempts

Abstract

Parental influences play a key role in preschooler’s physical activity (PA) (Loprinzi & Trost, 2009).  Factors associated with parental influences include parents satisfaction with their child’s PA (Wilson et al., 2013) and children’s PA (Wilson & Spink, 2011). Little is known about parents’ day to day interactions about PA. This study describes the attempts that parents make daily to promote PA and examines whether the child’s PA and parents’ satisfaction with that PA are associated with parents’ attempts. This study consisted of 19 parent-child pairs (11 boys & 8 girls; Mage=3.8yrs).  Parents completed a background questionnaire and a daily diary for 10 days. In the diary, parents described their attempts to promote PA and satisfaction with their child’s PA.  PA was assessed using accelerometers worn by the children for 10 days. Of the 19 parents, 5 made no attempt, 4 made attempts less than 50% of the days, and 10 made attempts 60% or more of the days, with a range of 0-4 attempts per day. The proportion of attempts did not differ between weekends (44.9%) and weekdays (43.1%; p=.84). A multilevel model was performed predicting parents’ attempts with parents’ satisfaction and the child’s PA.  On a given day, parents who were more satisfied with their child’s PA were more likely to have made an attempt (OR=1.7, p=.004).  There was no relationship between child’s PA level and their attempts (OR=1.0, p=.347). These findings provide insight into the link between parent influences, child’s PA and parents’ perceptions of the PA.