Parental practices affect children’s movement behaviours

Using data from the parent-offspring GUSTO* cohort study, researchers found an association between parental practices and higher moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and lower inactivity among school-aged Singaporean children.

Lack of PA, high sedentary behaviour, and sleep deficiency in children and adolescents are emerging threats to public health. [J Sport Health Sci 2022;11:427-437] Adequate time spent in PA may have favourable effects against obesity and noncommunicable diseases at a later age. [https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/noncommunicable-diseases-childhood-overweight-and-obesity; Obes Rev 2019;20:61-73; Sci Rep 2015;5:16160]

Cross-sectional and prospective models demonstrated that parental involvement in PA, parental support for PA, and overall parental practices were tied to 24-hour movement behaviours (24h-MBs) at ages 5.5 and 8 years after adjusting for interdependency of 24h-MBs and potential confounders (p<0.05 overall). [Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2024;doi:10.1186/s12966-024-01574-x]

Movement behaviours

Increasing parental practices from a z-score of −2 to +2 may lead to up to a 15-minute increase in MVPA, 20-minute increase in light PA, and 40-minute decrease in inactivity daily at age 5.5. At age 8, the results were similar for MVPA and light PA. For inactivity, a 20-minute reduction was tied to the increases in parental practice scores.

The findings mean that children spent more time moving and less time in inactivity owing to parental support, the researchers said. “[Hence,] these findings are noteworthy as the potential increase in PA accounts for a substantial portion of the recommended daily amounts of MVPA (60 min/day) and estimated changes would result in a significant increase in the proportion of children meeting PA recommendations,” the researchers explained.

The results further underscore the importance of parental practices in shaping children’s MBs and the significance of parental involvement in PA and support in promoting an active lifestyle from a young age. “When parents actively engage in PA themselves and provide support and encouragement to their children, it establishes a normative behaviour and reinforces the value of being physically active,” they said.

Sleep duration

Greater parental involvement in PA, parental support for PA, and overall parental practices were tied to shorter total sleep duration relative to remaining behaviours at age 8 but not at age 5.5. Specifically, the increase in parental practices from a z-score of −2 to +2 equated to a 5-minute increase in sleep duration at age 5.5 but a 20-minute reduction by age 8.

According to the researchers, the contrast between the two age points may have been driven by the decline in sleep duration as children grow. For instance, in Singapore, younger children may enjoy naptimes in school as kindergartens allow them to have it. But once they move forward to primary school, the nap times go away.

“This could mean that at age 5.5, parental practices that encouraged PA may have led to less time spent in inactivity, but at age 8, PA was increased at the expense of both inactivity and napping/total sleeping time,” the researchers explained.

“This raises the importance of considering the significance of adequate sleep for children’s overall wellbeing and for parental practices to adopt a 24-h paradigm that considers PA, sedentary behaviour, and sleep, collectively,” they added.

Environmental factors

Neighbourhood facilities for active play, facilitators, and barriers to active mobility and overall environmental factors were not tied to 24h-MBs at both age points in the adjusted model (p>0.05 overall).

“Further research using more granular and objective approaches to investigate the built and natural environments is warranted to better understand the relationships between details of neighbourhood environmental facilities and 24h-MBs,” the researchers noted.

Parents play a crucial role

A total of 826 parents from the GUSTO cohort completed the questionnaire on parental practices and environmental factors at age 5.5 years, while 425 children (52 percent boys, 59 percent Chinese) provided valid accelerometer measurements at both age points.

“Our study illustrates the important influence of parental practices on MBs among Asian school-aged children in Singapore,” said the researchers. Parents play a critical role in promoting or preventing healthier behaviours in children, especially during their younger years (<12 years) when they have less volitional control. [Health Educ Behav 2010;37:621-644; BMC Public Health 2016;16:568]

“[O]ur findings are important in taking a contemporary perspective to investigate predictors of the full spectrum of 24h-MBs. This information has the potential to shed light on research possibilities and aid in the development of strategies to enhance MBs for better health and wellbeing [of children in Singapore and more widely],” they concluded.