Physical Activity Practices, Policies and Environments in Washington State Child Care Settings: Results of a Statewide Survey

Abstract

Introduction Child care is an important setting for the promotion of physical activity (PA) in early childhood. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between specific PA environments and recommended practices in child care settings as well as the degree to which child care settings met recommended standards for total PA time. Methods In 2013, all programs licensed to care for children ages 2 to 5 in WA state were surveyed about their PA related practices. Logistic regression was used to determine odds of meeting best-practice standards for outdoor time and PA. Results The response rate was 45.8% from centers (692/1,511) and 32.1% from homes (1,281/3,991). Few programs reported meeting best-practice standards for the amount of time children spend being physically active (centers: 12.1%, homes: 20.1%) and outdoor time (centers: 21.8%, homes: 21.7%). Programs where children go outside regardless of weather and those reporting more adult-led PA had higher odds of meeting best-practice standards for both PA and outdoor time. Meeting best-practice standards for outdoor time was the strongest predictor of meeting best-practice standards for total PA time (centers: OR 15.9 (9.3 – 27.2), homes: OR 5.2 (3.8–7.1)). Conclusions for Practice There is considerable room for improvement in licensed child care settings in WA to meet best-practice standards for young children’s outdoor and PA time. Initiatives that create policies and environments encouraging outdoor play and adult-led physical activity in child care have the potential to increase physical activity in substantial numbers of young children.

Implementation of policies and practices to increase physical activity among children attending centre‐based childcare: A cross‐sectional study

“…However, only 39% of services reported having a written PA policy and 26% a written SSR policy, rates similar to New Zealand childcare services . Additionally, just 8% of services reported implementing all seven policies and practices assessed in the study, suggesting that there remains scope for support to implement a broader range of PA promoting policies and practice Challenges with implementing PA promoting policies and practices such as having daily FMSs sessions have consistently been documented in Australia and internationally; due to implementation predominantly being reliant on staff knowledge and skills . The lack of comprehensive PA and screen time policies could be due to beliefs that such policies are not important to support child activity or a lack of time and/or knowledge to review and update policies so they are consistent with recent changes in guidelines.…”

The Influence of the Early Childhood Education and Care Environment on Young Children’s Physical Activity: Development and Reliability of the PLAYCE Study Environmental Audit and Educator Survey

“…Robust measurement of ECEC environments can also play an important role in monitoring and assessing ECEC quality standards [23]. In Australia, the Children's Education and Childcare Quality Authority (ACECQA) regularly assess ECEC centres on meeting quality, standards and elements, including 'children's health and safety' and 'physical environment'.…”

“…Robust assessment of ECEC environments is important both for determining influences on young children's physical activity, and the monitoring and assessment of ECEC regulatory standards [23]. Of the various environmental measurement instruments available, the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) tool has been most extensively used to assess the social, physical and policy environment of ECEC services [24].…”

Examining Relationships between Food Procurement Characteristics and Nutritional Quality in Washington State Child Care Settings

“…The complete methodology of the 2013 Washington Child Care Survey and select results are published elsewhere. 27,28 We used the 2013 survey results to initiate a secondary and exploratory analysis. Briefly described be-low are survey tool development, administration, and measures relevant to this analysis.…”