Parental support exceeds parenting style for promoting active play in preschool children

Abstract

Emerging evidence suggests that parenting style may directly or indirectly influence school-aged children's activity behaviour. Given that relatively fewer studies have been conducted among preschool-aged children, this study's primary purpose was to examine the direct relationships between parental support and parenting style on preschool children's active play behaviour, and determine whether parenting style acts as an effect modifier. One hundred and ninety-five parents completed a questionnaire assessing their parental support, parenting style, and their child's active play behaviour. While controlling for parenting style, parental support was positively associated with active play behaviour (β = 0.30, p < 0.001). However, parenting style was not directly associated with active play nor did it moderate the relationship between parental support and child active play (β = 0.04, p = 0.90). Thus, to establish healthy active play behaviours in early child development, parents are encouraged to provide sufficient levels of active play-related support.