Parental Attitude on Children’s after-school Physical Activity Participation: Lesson from a Pilot Study

Abstract

Parental influence on children’s physical activity (PA) have been widely studied, however, limited study was reported particularly about after-school hours. The purposes of this study were: 1) to describe the changes of children PA during an after-school PA pilot program; 2) to explore parental attitudes on children's after-school PA participation. A 6-week afterschool PA pilot program was conducted in one primary school with a group of seven children (aged 8-10). The program content included both academic (i.e., tutorial session) and PA (i.e., organized PA session) components. Quantitative data on children’s PA level during the after-school program was measured by pedometers. Qualitative data on parents of the participating children was collected through focus group meeting. The PA component of the program guaranteed children PA level during the after school hours. With the observed positive change on their child’s behavior, academic performance, still remain the major concerns of parents for allowing children to involve in PA. The pilot program included a combination of PA and academic component satisfied the concern of parents. The findings can add information for future intervention design to increase the PA level of children during after-school hour.