“You Can’t Go to the Park, You Can’t Go Here, You Can’t Go There”: Exploring Parental Experiences of COVID-19 and Its Impact on Their Children’s Movement Behaviours

The COVID-19 outbreak and related public health guidelines have changed the daily lives of Canadians and restricted opportunities for healthy movement behaviours for children. The purpose of this study was to explore how parents experienced the pandemic-related restrictions and how they impacted the...

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Main Authors: Negin A. Riazi, Kelly Wunderlich, Madelaine Gierc, Mariana Brussoni, Sarah A. Moore, Mark S. Tremblay, Guy Faulkner
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
Series:Children
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/3/219
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author Negin A. Riazi
Kelly Wunderlich
Madelaine Gierc
Mariana Brussoni
Sarah A. Moore
Mark S. Tremblay
Guy Faulkner
author_facet Negin A. Riazi
Kelly Wunderlich
Madelaine Gierc
Mariana Brussoni
Sarah A. Moore
Mark S. Tremblay
Guy Faulkner
author_sort Negin A. Riazi
collection DOAJ
description The COVID-19 outbreak and related public health guidelines have changed the daily lives of Canadians and restricted opportunities for healthy movement behaviours for children. The purpose of this study was to explore how parents experienced the pandemic-related restrictions and how they impacted their children’s movement behaviours. <b>Methods</b>: Twenty-nine semi-structured one-on-one interviews were conducted (June–July 2020) with parents of children (5–11 years old) in Ontario and British Columbia. Interviews lasted between 24–104 min, were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed. <b>Results</b>: Findings emphasized various individual (e.g., motivation), interpersonal (e.g., parent work schedule), built (e.g., closure of parks) and natural environment (e.g., weather) factors related to children’s movement behaviours. The findings highlighted the loss of structured activities and destinations for children’s physical activity, and restricted opportunities for outdoor play exacerbated by shrinking childhood independent mobility. <b>Conclusion</b>: Families are adapting to many pandemic-related challenges including adhering to public health restrictions, parents juggling multiple roles, conducting work and school from home, as well as exacerbating factors like weather. It will be important to continue to encourage outdoor time, support policies and practice that facilitate independent mobility, and develop centralized resources that help families in the maintenance of healthy movement behaviours.
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spelling doaj.art-a830fa9af6854025ae37c55bb3936b882023-11-21T10:16:16ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672021-03-018321910.3390/children8030219“You Can’t Go to the Park, You Can’t Go Here, You Can’t Go There”: Exploring Parental Experiences of COVID-19 and Its Impact on Their Children’s Movement BehavioursNegin A. Riazi0Kelly Wunderlich1Madelaine Gierc2Mariana Brussoni3Sarah A. Moore4Mark S. Tremblay5Guy Faulkner6School of Kinesiology, The University of British Columbia, 210-6081 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, CanadaSchool of Kinesiology, The University of British Columbia, 210-6081 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, CanadaSchool of Kinesiology, The University of British Columbia, 210-6081 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, CanadaDepartment of Pediatrics, The University of British Columbia, Rm 2D19, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4, CanadaSchool of Health and Human Performance, Dalhousie University, Stairs House, 6230 South Street, Halifax, NS B3H 1T8, CanadaHealthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, 401 Smyth Road, Research Building 1, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, CanadaSchool of Kinesiology, The University of British Columbia, 210-6081 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, CanadaThe COVID-19 outbreak and related public health guidelines have changed the daily lives of Canadians and restricted opportunities for healthy movement behaviours for children. The purpose of this study was to explore how parents experienced the pandemic-related restrictions and how they impacted their children’s movement behaviours. <b>Methods</b>: Twenty-nine semi-structured one-on-one interviews were conducted (June–July 2020) with parents of children (5–11 years old) in Ontario and British Columbia. Interviews lasted between 24–104 min, were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed. <b>Results</b>: Findings emphasized various individual (e.g., motivation), interpersonal (e.g., parent work schedule), built (e.g., closure of parks) and natural environment (e.g., weather) factors related to children’s movement behaviours. The findings highlighted the loss of structured activities and destinations for children’s physical activity, and restricted opportunities for outdoor play exacerbated by shrinking childhood independent mobility. <b>Conclusion</b>: Families are adapting to many pandemic-related challenges including adhering to public health restrictions, parents juggling multiple roles, conducting work and school from home, as well as exacerbating factors like weather. It will be important to continue to encourage outdoor time, support policies and practice that facilitate independent mobility, and develop centralized resources that help families in the maintenance of healthy movement behaviours.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/3/219physical activityscreen timequalitativeoutdoor playinterview
spellingShingle Negin A. Riazi
Kelly Wunderlich
Madelaine Gierc
Mariana Brussoni
Sarah A. Moore
Mark S. Tremblay
Guy Faulkner
“You Can’t Go to the Park, You Can’t Go Here, You Can’t Go There”: Exploring Parental Experiences of COVID-19 and Its Impact on Their Children’s Movement Behaviours
Children
physical activity
screen time
qualitative
outdoor play
interview
title “You Can’t Go to the Park, You Can’t Go Here, You Can’t Go There”: Exploring Parental Experiences of COVID-19 and Its Impact on Their Children’s Movement Behaviours
title_full “You Can’t Go to the Park, You Can’t Go Here, You Can’t Go There”: Exploring Parental Experiences of COVID-19 and Its Impact on Their Children’s Movement Behaviours
title_fullStr “You Can’t Go to the Park, You Can’t Go Here, You Can’t Go There”: Exploring Parental Experiences of COVID-19 and Its Impact on Their Children’s Movement Behaviours
title_full_unstemmed “You Can’t Go to the Park, You Can’t Go Here, You Can’t Go There”: Exploring Parental Experiences of COVID-19 and Its Impact on Their Children’s Movement Behaviours
title_short “You Can’t Go to the Park, You Can’t Go Here, You Can’t Go There”: Exploring Parental Experiences of COVID-19 and Its Impact on Their Children’s Movement Behaviours
title_sort you can t go to the park you can t go here you can t go there exploring parental experiences of covid 19 and its impact on their children s movement behaviours
topic physical activity
screen time
qualitative
outdoor play
interview
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/3/219
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