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Physical Activity and Motor Skill Development During Early Childhood: Investigating the Role of Parent Support

Maeghan E James1,2, Kelly P Arbour-Nicitopoulos1, Matthew Kwan2,3

  • 1Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON,Canada.

Pediatric Exercise Science
|May 11, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Parental support for physical activity (PA) is linked to children's motor skills, but the connection is influenced by the child's own activity levels and skills. These factors are crucial for understanding the relationship.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Child Development
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Parental involvement significantly influences early childhood development.
  • Understanding factors that promote children's physical activity (PA) and motor skill development is essential.
  • Previous research highlights the importance of the home environment in shaping children's health behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between parent physical activity (PA) support and children's motor skill development and PA.
  • To explore whether child's PA and motor skills moderate these relationships during early childhood.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal cohort study with 589 children (mean age 4.93 years).
  • Assessed motor skills using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition.
  • Measured moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) via accelerometers and parent support via a 5-item scale. Moderation analyses were performed.

Main Results:

  • Parental PA support was significantly associated with children's motor skills (P = .007).
  • Child MVPA moderated the parent support-motor skill relationship (P = .021).
  • Motor skills significantly moderated the parent support-child MVPA relationship (P = .022), though the direct link between parent support and child MVPA was not significant (P = .051).

Conclusions:

  • Parental PA support is related to children's motor skills and PA, but the strength of this link is context-dependent.
  • Child-level factors, such as motor skills and PA, play a significant moderating role.
  • Future research on parental PA support should incorporate child-specific characteristics.
Abstract

Keywords:
motor developmentmovementpreschoolerssocial support

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