Exploring mothers' perception of their children's physical development

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-57)Past studies (Haga, 2007; Haga, 2009; Stodden & Goodway, 2007; Williams, Pfeiffer, O'Neill, Dowda, Mciver, Brown & Pate, 2008; Wrotniak, Epstein, Jones, & Kondilis, 2006) have shown a relationship between the level at which children perform motor skills and how much physical activity they engage in. Physical activity levels among our youth are of concern to health professionals since less physical activity has been associated with lower fitness levels and increased health risks (Hag a, 2007; Stodden, Langendorfer, & Robetion, 2009). With childhood obesity and diabetes on the rise, it is impmiant to understand potential reasons for decreased levels of physical activity. Although much research to date has focused on the child's role in this epidemic, little attention has ben paid to the potential constraints parents could be producing in regards to their child's physical activity. The purpose of this study was to understand parent's views, value, beliefs, and interpretations about their child's physical development. Eight mothers and their children, four males and four females (range: 3 years- 1 month to 4 years- 10 months) participated in this study. These mothers shared their stories through one-on-one, unstructured interviews, which lasted approximately one hour. In addition, two quantitative assessments were completed on their children. The first one evaluated the competency level at which they perform fundamental motor skills, and the second one was used to identify the types and intensities of activities they engaged in during outdoor free play at their childcare center. The findings from the mother's stories were then used to help explain the differences in results from their children's gross motor assessments. Results showed the value a mother had for their child's physical development, and the amount of movement experiences a child had may affect the child's motor competency. Specifically, when a mother had a high value for physical development, and their child had a high amount movement experiences, their child had a higher level of motor competence. Conversely, when a child had low movement experiences and a mother who had low value for their physical development, their child's motor competency was lower