3 research outputs found
Correlates of children's independent outdoor play: Cross-sectional analyses from the Millennium Cohort Study
Time spent outdoors is associated with higher levels of physical activity. To date, correlates of independent outdoor play have not been investigated. This study aimed to identify potential demographic, behavioural, environmental and social correlates of children's independent outdoor play.
Data were from the Millennium Cohort Study when children were aged 7 years. Parents reported whether their children played out unsupervised (yes/no) as well as the above mentioned correlates of unsupervised outdoor play. Children's physical activity levels were measured using waist worn accelerometry. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine associations between correlates and odds of independent (unsupervised) outdoor play. Adjusted multiple linear regression was used to estimate associations between independent outdoor play and objective measures of physical activity. Activity was measured as average daily moderate-to-vigorous activity, steps, and sedentary behaviour.
3856 (n = 29%) participants were categorised as engaging in independent outdoor play. Older age, being white British, being in poverty, living in close proximity to both family friends and family, having fewer internalising problems, having more externalising conduct problems and fewer pro-social behaviours were associated with higher odds of independent outdoor play. Independent outdoor play was associated with > 2 additional minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity (B = 2.21 95% CI, 1.09 to 3.34), > 330 additional steps per day (B = 336.66 95% CI 209.80 to 463.51), and nearly 5 min less time spent sedentary per day (B = â 4.91 95% CI â 7.54, â 2.29)
Younger children, those from a higher socio-economic-status, those isolated in location from family friends and family, and those with high levels of prosocial behaviour have lower levels of independent outdoor play. Independent outdoor play was associated with higher levels of physical activity and less time sedentary. Future interventions to promote independent outdoor play should target such populations
Samoan kids in the city : the impact of Samoan parenting practices on Samoan children's independent mobility and physical activity : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health at Massey University, SHORE & Whariki Research Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
Physical activity (PA) is vital to the optimal health and development of children and in turn,
independent mobility (IM) - outdoor play and travelling to destinations unsupervised - is an
essential component of PA for children. There is a growing body of research on the extent to
which childrenâs daily IM and PA are influenced by parentsâ experiences and perceptions of
streets and public spaces as safe and desirable â or otherwise. However, little is known about
Samoan parentsâ experiences and perceptions of their social and physical surroundings and the
associated impact on their childrenâs daily IM and PA.
Extended families, traditional households and the village-based life of Samoan people are
changing. For Samoan people in New Zealand, the transition from a traditional ad hoc and
exchange-based way of life to a modern, more formal and cash-based socio-economic reality
has seen Samoan parents increasingly living in a ârat raceâ. This modern reality has influenced
Samoan parenting practices in New Zealand.
This research is nested in and arose from the âKids in the Cityâ (KITC) research project â a
Health Research Council funded study of the independent mobility and physical activity of
children, in relation to neighbourhood urban design and neighbourhood perceptions of safety
in six Auckland neighbourhoods. The critical realism approach from KITC was used to identify
the underlying mechanisms influencing Samoan parentsâ parenting practices and childrenâs IM
and PA behaviours. Three methods were used to collect the data: computer assisted telephone
interviews (CATI) with parents (n=36); semi-structured interviews with parents (n=14), follow
up interviews with parents (n=8), and key informant interviews (n=6); as well as 7-day selfreported
travel diaries kept by the children (n=37). Triangulating the data collection methods
allowed varied perspectives on the influences of Samoan parenting practices to be gathered,
as well as information on how their perceptions of their neighbourhoods were shaped, and
how these perceptions then informed their decision-making around their childrenâs activity
behaviours.
Key themes that emerged from the findings were: 1) Samoan parenting incorporates Samoan
practices with Western practices and the values and beliefs that underpin these; 2) Samoan
cultural affiliation impacts on how parents perceive their social and physical surroundings as
positive or negative; and 3) parentsâ perceptions of their surroundings largely informs where
children are allowed to go and not go â unsupervised. The findings make it clear that cultural
perceptions influence the decisions Samoan parents make about where they will allow their
children go without adult supervision, thereby rendering notions of IM to be of little value.
They do not see the value of IM when the developmental benefits of being physically active
can be achieved through collective family, church and other activities. Further, Samoan
ontology and epistemologies need to be valued and validated in urban planning and design to
allow a better understanding of how and why Samoan children interact with their surrounding
social and physical neighbourhoods â independently or otherwise