Children's Behavior. Physical Activity Regarding Parents' Perception vs. Children's Activity

Abstract

There is little doubt about regular exercise being an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, the increasing proportion of children and adolescents participating regularly in appropriate physical activities, should be one of the main objectives of health promotion. The family/parents seems to be one of the most important socializing agents, influencing participation in physical activities. Although the values attributed to sport and physical activity are many and diverse, the beliefs and expectations of parents are important for a child's behavior. The main purpose of this study was to verify the parents' expectations and perceptions of reality related to their children's activities. The subjects of the study were 55 school children ( 33 in first grade and 22 in fourth grade, 25 boys and 30 girls). An adaption of the Sample Activity Questionnaire (Rowland 1990) was issued to the children's parents for the diagnosis of exercise deficiency, regarding the level of spontaneous and organized activity. Besides, we asked the children to report on their physical activity habits during a week. Parents said that their daughters (43.3%) are significantly less active than boys (20%). Furthermore, the parents' answers showed that they believe that children are active enough (72% of the boys and 66.7% of the girls) and that they are as active as their friends. Once again, it was interesting to see that children didn't participate (65% of the boys and 71% of the girls) in organized sports activities outside physical education programmes in school. Pedagogic implications are discussed further.