Background In children physical activity has been shown to be associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study further explores this association for specific characteristics of sports participation, namely membership of a sports club, frequency of sports participation, performing individual versus team sports, performing indoor versus outdoor sports, while differentiating between specific dimensions in the physical, psychological and social domain of HRQoL. Methods Cross-sectional data were collected from Dutch primary school children aged 10 to 12 years. They completed the Movement and Sports Monitor Questionnaire Youth aged 8 to 12 years (MSMQ) and the KIDSCREEN-52, an HRQoL questionnaire for children and adolescents. The data were examined using linear multilevel analyses because of the clustering of children in schools. Results The questionnaires were completed by 1876 children (response rate 81.3%). Membership of a sports club, moderate or high frequency of sports participation, and performing outdoor sports were all significantly associated with better HRQoL. These associations were largely found in the physical domain of HRQoL, to a lesser degree in the social domain, and to a limited extent in the psychological domain. Conclusion The association between sports participation and HRQoL in children depends on both characteristics of sports participation and the domain of life that is concerned. These differences offer starting points for developing tailor-made sports programs for children. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12955-019-1124-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This study aimed at gaining insight into parents' perceptions towards health behaviour in parenting and the impact of the school environment. Healthcare professionals experience barriers to discuss health behaviour in families where levels of overweight and obesity are elevated. There is a need to understand parents' perception and perceived significance of health behaviour. Design and methods: Sixty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of children from three primary schools located in two different neighbourhoods in Zwolle, the Netherlands. Parents were asked to formulate their top three priority goals in parenting, additionally supplemented with 15 predetermined goals, including a health behaviour related goal. Parents ranked the goals in order of importance and gave an explanation. Finally, parents shared their opinions regarding the school environment in promoting health behaviour, according to the EnrG framework. Results: In 8 out of 63 interviews, health was reported in the top three self-formulated goals. Other goals considered important were happiness and being respectful to others. When health was ranked as less important in parenting, routine of health behaviour, own beliefs and religion were given as explanations. The physical school environment and teachers were mentioned as important factors in promoting health behaviour. Conclusions: Parents indicate health behaviour as a key-element in parenting, even when health behaviour is not considered as the most important priority. Practice Implications: Since school is perceived as a logical and powerful environment, healthcare professionals should collaborate with school staff to empower their own, teachers' and parents' roles to address health promotion.