Parents' perception of the promotion of physical activity as part of the Purzelbaum project in Swiss daycare centers

Abstract

Introduction Already in early childhood, physical activity (PA) is important for healthy development. Parents are a significant influencing factor on PA behavior (Su et al., 2022), and are therefore, involved in the “Purzelbaum”-daycare project to promote PA (radix, 2011). Purzelbaum is a one-and-a-half-year training program that certifies “movement-friendly” daycare centers upon completion. This study examines whether the participation and perception of PA by parents differs in daycare centers with or without Purzelbaum certification.

Methods Between February and April 2024, parents from daycare centers in various Swiss cantons were invited to complete an online questionnaire about PA in daycare centers. In addition to demographic data, five questions assessed the perception of PA. On a Likert scale, parents rated the extent to which they felt that PA is part of the daycare center's daily routine, the importance of PA, and the extent to which children have the opportunity to be physically active. In addition, they were asked to what extent parents are informed by the daycare centers about the topic of PA and whether the daycare centers offer parent-child activities involving PA. The Fisher-Freeman-Halton exact test (in SPSS) was used for analyses.

Results Parents (n=353; mean age=37.93, SD=5.24; 86% completed Bachelor; 73% female; mean # of days children spent in daycare=2.39, SD=1.00; 84 Purzelbaum and 278 non-Purzelbaum daycare centers) completed the questionnaire. Age and education differed significantly between the two groups (p=.033 and p=.006, respectively). No group differences were for sex and number of days children spent in daycare (ps>.05). Parents from Purzelbaum daycare centers are more likely to feel that PA is part of everyday life (m_pb=3.83, SD=.41; m_npb=3.60, SD=.63; p=.023), that it is highly valued (m_pb=3.70, SD=.54; m_npb=3.21, SD=.74; p<.001) and that the children can be physically active at any time in the daycare center (m_pb=3.61, SD=.54; m_npb=3.36, SD=.77; p=.034). They also stated more frequently that the daycare center informs them about the child's PA behavior (m_pb=3.44, SD=.65; m_npb=2.82, SD=.95; p<.001) and that there are parent-child activities involving PA at daycare center festivals (m_pb=3.10, SD=.88; m_npb=2.34, SD=.93; p<.001).

Discussion/Conclusion Parents of children in Purzelbaum daycare centers consider PA to be more present in the daycare center than parents of children in non-Purzelbaum daycare centers. They also seem to be better informed about the children's PA behavior and benefit more frequently from joint PA in the daycare centers. Purzelbaum therefore appears to have a positive influence on parents. Whether the perceived PA affinity of the Purzelbaum daycare centers influences PA in the families and whether the PA behavior of the children is actually influenced by the Purzelbaum certification needs to be investigated in further studies.

References

Caspar, C., & Knecht, C. (2011). Konzept Purzelbaum: Bewegung und gesunde Ernährung in der Kindertagesstätte. RADIX.

Su, D. L. Y., Tang, T. C. W., Chung, J. S. K., Lee, A. S. Y., Capio, C. M., & Chan, D. K. C. (2022). Parental influence on child and adolescent physical activity level: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(24), 16861. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416861