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Physical Activity and Sleep, Knowledge and Perceptions of Child Movement Behaviours and Childcare Practices Among
Christine W St Laurent1, Caroline Tran1,2, Joseph Kang1,3
1Department of Kinesiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.
Insights
Family childcare providers show varied knowledge of child movement and sleep guidelines. Enhancing provider education and resources can promote healthy practices in these settings.
Area of Science:
- Child development
- Public health
- Behavioral science
Background:
- Early childhood is crucial for establishing healthy 24-hour movement behaviors (sleep, physical activity, sedentary behavior).
- Home-based family childcare settings, serving approximately 25% of US children under 5, may lack resources and support for health promotion compared to center-based care.
- Limited research exists on sleep health within family childcare environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- Identify physical activity and sleep behaviors of family childcare providers.
- Assess provider knowledge, perceptions, and practices related to children's 24-hour movement behaviors.
- Explore associations between provider factors and childcare practices for children's health.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 84 adult family childcare providers in western Massachusetts.
- Data collected via a semistructured online questionnaire including demographics, childcare practices, provider behaviors, and knowledge/perceptions.
- Qualitative analysis of open-text responses complemented quantitative data.
Main Results:
- Providers generally reported moderate physical activity and fair sleep quality.
- Knowledge of child movement and sleep guidelines was inconsistent among providers.
- Higher provider income, age, and knowledge correlated with more recommended practices for nap sleep, screen time, and physical activity.
Conclusions:
- Identified gaps in provider knowledge and practice present opportunities for targeted interventions.
- Improving provider education and addressing environmental barriers are crucial for implementing evidence-based strategies.
- Interventions can support healthy movement and sleep behaviors in underresourced family childcare settings.
Background:
Early childhood is an important phase for optimizing 24-h cycle behaviours (sleep, sedentary behaviour and physical activity) to support physical, social-emotional and cognitive health. While research often focuses on centre-based childcare, about 25% of US children under 5 attend home-based family childcare. Family childcare settings may face inequities in educational, financial, and resource support needed for health-related practices. Furthermore, limited studies have addressed daytime sleep health in such settings. Thus, the purpose of this cross-sectional study was to (1) identify physical activity and sleep behaviours of family childcare providers, (2) determine the provider knowledge and perceptions and childcare practices relating to children's 24-h movement behaviours and (3) explore relations between these factors.
Methods:
Adult family childcare providers of western Massachusetts (N = 84, 85.7% female; age = 43.5 ± 10.8 years, 14.3% Hispanic) completed a semistructured online questionnaire. In addition to demographic and childcare practice information, quantitative sleep and movement behaviour variables included provider behaviours, provider knowledge and perceptions of child behaviours and childcare practices and policies. Open-text responses were analysed qualitatively.
Results:
Most participants reported moderate physical activity levels and 'fairly good' sleep quality, although knowledge of child movement and sleep guidelines varied widely. Higher provider income, age and knowledge were significantly associated with more recommended practices for promoting nap sleep, screen time and physical activity in childcare settings.
Conclusions:
Gaps in knowledge and inconsistent practices suggest key opportunities for targeted interventions. Enhancing provider education and addressing environmental barriers may support the implementation of evidence-based strategies to promote healthy movement and sleep behaviours in these underresourced settings.
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