Preschoolers' physical activity behaviours: The role of parental support, enjoyment and modeling of physical activity during the early years

The influence of parents' physical activity behaviours on the physical activity habits of 102 preschool-aged children was examined in this study. Parent-child dyads were recruited from English- and French-speaking child care centers in Northern Ontario. The sample consisted of 54 boys and 46 girls between the ages of 3 to 5 years and their parents (mean age = 34.7 years). There was an equal representation of participants from English-speaking (n=51) and French-speaking (n= 49) daycares. Close to half of the families (n = 46) had an annual household income greater than ;Questionnaires regarding family sociodemographics and physical activity habits were completed. Results showed that children were more likely to engage in one hour or more of daily physical activity if they watched less than one hour of television or videos each day (B = 1.55, p<0.01), received greater parental support for being active ( B = .78, p<0.10) or if parents found physical activity to be highly enjoyable (B = .69, p<0.05). Children who received greater parental support to be active were 6.3 times more likely to be highly active than inactive (B = 1.44, p<0.05). Finally, being an older child (B = -.08, p<0.01) or having older parents (B = -.26, p<0.01) reduced the likelihood that a child was highly active. Parents can promote physical activity among their preschoolers by limiting television time and being highly supportive of their child's active pursuits.