Dataset Information

A longitudinal study of children's outside play using family environment and perceived physical environment as predictors.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A natural and cheap way of increasing children's physical activity is stimulating unstructured outside play.

Purpose

This study examined whether characteristics of the family and perceived physical environment were associated with the duration of children's outside play.

Methods

Parents participating in the "Be Active, Eat Right" cluster RCT control group (N?=?2007) provided information on potential predictors of outside play (i.e. family and perceived physical environment) of their 5-year-old child by questionnaire. Child outside play was assessed by parental reports both at five and seven years. Linear regression analyses, adjusted for seasonality, were performed to evaluate associations between potential predictors and child outside play. Linear mixed models were fitted to evaluate the relationship between potential predictors and the development of outside play over two years, with season entered as a random factor.

Results

Family environment was the strongest construct predicting child outside play, while parent perceived physical environment had no significant association with child outside play. Parental habit strength and the presence of rules were the strongest predictors of increased outside play. Parent perceived difficulty in improving child outside play was the strongest predictor of decreased outside play.

Conclusion

Family environment predicted child outside play and not perceived physical environment. Parental rules and habit strength regarding improving outside play were associated with an improvement of child's engagement in outside play.

SUBMITTER: Remmers T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4075777 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

A longitudinal study of children's outside play using family environment and perceived physical environment as predictors.

Remmers Teun T Broeren Suzanne M L SM Renders Carry M CM Hirasing Remy A RA van Grieken Amy A Raat Hein H

The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity 20140616

<h4>Background</h4>A natural and cheap way of increasing children's physical activity is stimulating unstructured outside play.<h4>Purpose</h4>This study examined whether characteristics of the family and perceived physical environment were associated with the duration of children's outside play.<h4>Methods</h4>Parents participating in the "Be Active, Eat Right" cluster RCT control group (N = 2007) provided information on potential predictors of outside play (i.e. family and perceived physical e ...[more]

PMID: 24934086

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Project description:BackgroundFrom a public health perspective there is growing interest in children's play, including play involving risk and adventure, in relation to children's physical and mental health. Regarding mental health, it is theorised that adventurous play, where children experience thrilling, exciting emotions, offers important learning opportunities that prepare children for dealing with uncertainty and help prevent anxiety. Despite these benefits, adventurous play has decreased substantially within a generation. Parents have a key role in facilitating or limiting children's opportunities for adventurous play, but research identifying the barriers and facilitators parents perceive in relation to adventurous play is scarce. The present study therefore examined the barriers to and facilitators of adventurous play as perceived by parents of school-aged children in Britain.MethodsThis study analysed data from a subsample of parents in Britain (n = 377) who participated in the nationally representative British Children's Play Survey. Parents responded to two open-ended questions pertaining to the barriers to and facilitators of children's adventurous play. Responses were analysed using a qualitative Framework Analysis, an approach suitable for managing large datasets with specific research questions.ResultsFour framework categories were identified: Social Environment; Physical Environment; Risk of Injury; Child Factors. Social Environment included barriers and facilitators related to parents, family and peers, as well as community and society. Dominant themes within the Social Environment related to perceptions about the certainty of child safety, such as supervision and the safety of society. Beliefs about the benefits of adventurous play for development and well-being were also important in the Social Environment. Physical Environment factors focused on safety and practical issues. Risk of Injury captured concerns about children being injured during play. Child Factors included child attributes, such as play preference, developmental ability and trait-like characteristics.ConclusionsImproved understanding of what influences parent perceptions of adventurous play can inform public health interventions designed to improve children's opportunities for and engagement in adventurous play, with a view to promote children's physical and mental health.

Project description:IntroductionIn pediatric physical therapy, there is an ongoing debate about the use of therapeutic handling and its potential effects on motor learning. In this study, we build on enactive theoretical perspectives to explore the role of therapeutic handling in connection to children's sensory-motor play, engagement, and performance during a single physical therapy session.Material and methodsThis is a qualitative study based on video observations of therapy sessions and interviews with 15 physical therapists (PTs) each treating two different children aged 0-3. The authors utilized a framework of co-reviewing, discussing, and reflecting on the sessions. Themes were identified and used to describe the ways by which PTs' therapeutic handling unfolds, with connections to theories on sensory-motor play and learning, along with enactive perspectives on embodiment, experience, mutual incorporation, and sense-of-agency.ResultsThe characteristics and purposes of therapeutic handling are presented in two main themes: (1) position and support, and (2) directing movement. We found that position and support promoted sensory-motor improvement when the PTs' handling aligned with the child's play interests and engagements. As part of play, the children used new and additional support surfaces to self-initiate better posture and movement solutions and reach play goals. The PTs' ways of directing movements varied. To awaken curiosity and induce a child's self-driven motor exploration the PT needs to be subtle, flexible, and precise in the directing of movement. This entails responsiveness to the child's signals and bodily know-how in the placing of hands and direction of pressure to enable the child to actively participate in and eventually self-drive movement.DiscussionTherapeutic handling that is mutually incorporated between PT and child can enrich the child's playing-to-learn-to-move process by providing novelty and facilitating the child's sense-of-agency in the self-initiated exploration and refinement of movement possibilities. In the PTs' effort to merge therapeutic handling with children's play, the momentum of interaction can open new therapeutic windows of movement experience and learning opportunities.

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Dataset Information

A longitudinal study of children's outside play using family environment and perceived physical environment as predictors.

Background

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

A longitudinal study of children's outside play using family environment and perceived physical environment as predictors.

Similar Datasets

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