Children and parents\u2019 perspectives of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Ontario children\u2019s physical activity, play, and sport behaviours

Monika Szpunar,Brianne A. Bruijns,Jennifer D. Irwin,Shauna M. Burke,Patricia Tucker,Jason Gilliland,Stephanie Truelove,Leigh M. Vanderloo

doi:10.1186/s12889-021-12344-w

Abstract

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures have resulted in the closure of many physical activity-supporting facilities. This study examined Ontario parents’ and children’s perspectives of COVID-19’s impact on children’s physical activity behaviours, return to play/sport during COVID-19, as well as barriers/facilitators to getting active amid extended closures of physical activity venues.MethodsParents/guardians of children aged 12 years and under living in Ontario, Canada were invited to participate in an interview. 12 parent/guardian and 9 child interviews were conducted via Zoom between December 2020 – January 2021, were audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Thematic content analysis was undertaken to identify pronounced themes.ResultsThemes for both parent and child interviews fell into one of three categories: 1) barriers and facilitators for getting children active amid COVID-19 closures of physical activity-supporting facilities; 2) changes in children’s activity levels; and, 3) perspectives on return to play/sport during and post-pandemic. Various subthemes were identified and varied between parents and children. The most common facilitator for dealing with children’s inactivity voiced by parents/guardians was getting active outdoors. Parents/guardians noted their willingness to have their children return to play/sport in the community once deemed safe by public health guidelines, and children’s willingness to return stemmed primarily from missing their friends and other important authority figures (e.g., coaches) and sporting events (e.g., tournaments).ConclusionsFindings from this study could inform families of feasible and realistic strategies for increasing children’s physical activity during community closures, while also providing public health experts with information regarding what supports, or infrastructure might be needed during future lockdown periods and/or pandemics.

Highlights

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures have resulted in the closure of many physical activity-supporting facilities
Szpunar et al BMC Public Health (2021) 21:2271 unstructured play often leads to higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA), which is associated with numerous health benefits [2, 3]
Study design This study was part of a larger cross-sectional study, entitled ‘Return to Play’, which quantitatively assessed the perspectives of parents during the pandemic (i.e., August – December 2020) regarding their children’s physical activity levels, their intentions to resume sports and physical activities post-pandemic and their risk tolerance

Summary

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures have resulted in the closure of many physical activity-supporting facilities. In Ontario, these rules included many additional prohibitions, including, but not limited to: bans on indoor and outdoor gatherings; closures of facilities where people regularly gather (e.g., community centres, gyms, parks, trails, shopping malls); and, closures of schools and other large institutions (i.e., workplaces and non-essential businesses [8];). These new rules, regulations, and policies led to the restructuring and/ or termination of many activities that previously supported physical activity for individuals of all ages, including children [9]. Colours were used to inform citizens about the activities that were allowed and/or prohibited, and to keep jurisdictions aware of the risk in their respective communities

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