Parental Rewards for Children’s Physical Activity: A Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis

Abstract

School-based intervention studies have used rewards to promote physical activity (PA) in children. However, little research has examined parental incentivization of children’s PA including reasons and types of rewards. PURPOSE: To investigate parent-selected rewards for children’s PA in terms of prevalence, type, and motivation to incentivize or not. METHODS: Parents (N=90, mean±SD; 39.3±6.0 y) of children (8.7±2.1 y) completed a web-based survey that included items regarding moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA, min·week-1), use of PA rewards, and demographic characteristics. Open-ended questions were used to determine the type of activity rewarded, type of reward given, and parents’ reasoning for not using PA rewards. Independent sample t-tests were used to determine differences between reward groups (reward, no reward) and parent-reported children’s MVPA. Qualitative data underwent content and thematic analysis. RESULTS: Over half (55%) of the respondents provided PA rewards. There was no significant difference between reward groups for MVPA (reward: 321±195 min·week-1; no reward: 344±180 min·week-1; t(88)=0.862, p>0.05). Two underlying themes as to why parents did not give rewards were deemed “Expectation” (e.g. being active is expected, should be part of everyday life) and “Intrinsic Motivation” (e.g. already active, already enjoy PA). Rewarded PA’s were thematized as “Non-Exercise” (e.g. chores, good behavior, homework), “Sport” (e.g. performance, participation/effort), and “Non-Sport Activity” (outdoor play, structured PA, bike riding, miscellaneous PA). There were two themes for types of rewards including “Tangible” (e.g. money, food, other) and “Non-Tangible” (e.g. verbal praise, electronic time, family activities). CONCLUSION: Rewarding children’s PA is prevalent within this sample of parents. Substantial variety exists regarding the type of PA incentivized and the type of reward provided. Motivations should be further explored to inform intervention design.