Abstract:BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
Three-fourths of US preschool-age children are in child care centers. Children are primarily sedentary in these settings, and are not meeting recommended levels of physical activity. Our objective was to identify potential barriers to children’s physical activity in child care centers.
METHODS:
Nine focus groups with 49 child care providers (55% African American) were assembled from 34 centers (inne… Show more
“…However, there was also recognition of the need for children to be ‘school‐ready’, with academic development often deemed to be (more) important for young children . Because even though I feel that the gross motor is something that's important for the children to experience and engage in, I don't think that their parents necessarily do … I don't think that physical activity is high on the priority list of things that schools want to necessarily provide.…”
SummaryPositive activity behaviours (i.e. higher physical activity [PA]/lower sedentary behaviour [SB]) are beneficial from infancy, yet evidence suggests that young children (0‐ to 6‐year‐olds) are relatively inactive. To better understand the perceived influences on these behaviours and to aid intervention development, this paper systematically synthesizes the extensive qualitative literature regarding perceived barriers and facilitators to PA and SB in young children (0–6 years old). A search of eight electronic databases (July 2016) identified 43 papers for inclusion. Data extraction and evidence synthesis were conducted using thematic content analysis, underpinned by the socio‐ecological model (i.e. individual, interpersonal, community, organizational and policy levels). Parents, childcare providers and children perceived seven broad themes to be important for PA and SB, including the child; the home; out‐of‐home childcare; parent–childcare provider interactions; environmental factors; safety; and weather. Each theme mapped onto between one and five levels of the socio‐ecological model; barriers and facilitators at the interpersonal level (e.g. parents, care providers and family) were most frequently cited, reflecting the important (perceived) role adults/peers play in shaping young children's behaviours. We provide an overarching framework to explain PA and SB in early childhood. We also highlight where gaps in the current literature exist (e.g. from male carers; in developing countries; and barriers and facilitators in the environmental and policy domains) and where future quantitative work may focus to provide novel insights about children's activity behaviours (e.g. safety and weather).
“…However, there was also recognition of the need for children to be ‘school‐ready’, with academic development often deemed to be (more) important for young children . Because even though I feel that the gross motor is something that's important for the children to experience and engage in, I don't think that their parents necessarily do … I don't think that physical activity is high on the priority list of things that schools want to necessarily provide.…”
SummaryPositive activity behaviours (i.e. higher physical activity [PA]/lower sedentary behaviour [SB]) are beneficial from infancy, yet evidence suggests that young children (0‐ to 6‐year‐olds) are relatively inactive. To better understand the perceived influences on these behaviours and to aid intervention development, this paper systematically synthesizes the extensive qualitative literature regarding perceived barriers and facilitators to PA and SB in young children (0–6 years old). A search of eight electronic databases (July 2016) identified 43 papers for inclusion. Data extraction and evidence synthesis were conducted using thematic content analysis, underpinned by the socio‐ecological model (i.e. individual, interpersonal, community, organizational and policy levels). Parents, childcare providers and children perceived seven broad themes to be important for PA and SB, including the child; the home; out‐of‐home childcare; parent–childcare provider interactions; environmental factors; safety; and weather. Each theme mapped onto between one and five levels of the socio‐ecological model; barriers and facilitators at the interpersonal level (e.g. parents, care providers and family) were most frequently cited, reflecting the important (perceived) role adults/peers play in shaping young children's behaviours. We provide an overarching framework to explain PA and SB in early childhood. We also highlight where gaps in the current literature exist (e.g. from male carers; in developing countries; and barriers and facilitators in the environmental and policy domains) and where future quantitative work may focus to provide novel insights about children's activity behaviours (e.g. safety and weather).
“…Parental preferences for academics and concerns about safety have been reported by child care providers as barriers they face in promoting PA in child care. 45 Teacher training and self-efficacy in implementing APOs is another possible barrier. Although the relationship between PA and learning is gaining considerable support through research in school-aged children, 46 it is not yet as well established in preschoolers.…”
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Physical activity (PA) is important for children's health and development, yet preschoolers are not meeting PA recommendations. The objective of this study was to examine different PA opportunities at child care and how variation in indoor versus outdoor and free versus teacher-led opportunities relate to children's PA.
“…Biological explanations and socialisation as well as social expectations have been shown to be significant with respect to gender differences in motor skills (Campbell and Eaton 1999;Copeland et al 2012;Koda et al 2004;Mondschein et al 2000;Rossholt 2012;Walsh 2014). Research on infants has shown a small difference in motor skills favouring boys (Campbell and Eaton 1999).…”
This article discusses how 2-year olds cope with various everyday activities as observed by kindergarten staff from a gender perspective. Everyday activities are part of the daily pedagogical life in a kindergarten and are linked to situations such as meals, dressing and undressing, grooming and potty/toilet training. Data were collected through structured observation of 535 boys and 509 girls. The children, aged between 30 and 33 months, were observed over a 3-month period. The observation guideline material ''Alle Med'' (''Everyone Included'') was used to assess how children master everyday activities. The result reveals gender differences favouring the girls. In the present article, this result will be analysed against a backdrop of gender-related theory.
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