Comparing Caregiver and Child Perceptions With Actual Child Physical Activity and Motor Skill Competence: A...

Area of Science:

• Child Development
• Public Health
• Motor Control

Background:

• Preschool-aged children's physical activity (PA) and motor competence (MC) are crucial for long-term health.
• Health disparities in young children persist, particularly in rural areas.
• Understanding caregiver perceptions is key to effective health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the alignment between caregiver perceptions/expectations and children's actual PA and MC.
• To identify gaps in caregiver understanding of PA and MC in rural southeastern US children.
• To inform interventions addressing health disparities in early childhood.

Main Methods:

• Collective case study design with 11 caregiver-child dyads.
• Data collection: caregiver interviews, visual PA representations, objective PA measures, BMI, and MC assessments.
• Analysis: two-phase process involving individual case narratives and cross-case synthesis.

Main Results:

• Caregivers highly valued PA but had vague definitions.
• Caregivers overestimated children's PA levels; actual step counts were low-to-average.
• Awareness of children's motor competence (MC) was limited.
• Discrepancies noted between perceived and actual PA performance.
• Observed differences in PA engagement (sport vs. general).

Conclusions:

• Significant gaps exist in caregiver understanding of children's PA and MC.
• Accessible caregiver education on PA and MC is essential.
• Community programs using a systems approach can bridge perception gaps and reduce health disparities.