Associations of Mother’s Behaviors and Home/Neighborhood Environments with Preschool Children’s Physical Activity Behaviors

Abstract

Objective:

Examining associations of mother’s behaviors and home/neighborhood physical activity (PA) environments with preschoolers’ PA and screen time.

Design:

Cross-sectional online survey.

Setting:

Mothers with a 2 to 5 years old preschooler were recruited from the US panel members of Survey Sampling International.

Participants:

Five hundred thirty-one mothers with a preschool child aged 2 to 5 years old.

Outcome Measure:

Child daily screen time and PA, mother–child inside- and outside-home co-PA.

Analysis:

K-mean cluster analysis and Logit and negative binomial regressions.

Results:

Mothers’ healthy behaviors, such as decreased screen time, healthy eating habits, and increased PA, and perceived importance for PA were significantly (P < .05) associated with preschoolers’ decreased screen time and increased PA. Available toys (P < .01) and maternal perceived neighborhood safety (P < .05) were negatively correlated with preschoolers’ screen time, while available room space (P < .01) was positively correlated with preschoolers’ PA. Variables positively correlated with mother–child co-PA included mothers’ PA (P < .001) and healthy eating habits (P < .05), and home room space (P < .05) for inside-home, and yard space and quality (P < .05) for outside-home.

Conclusions:

Mother’s role modeling and home PA environment were positively associated with preschoolers’ PA behavior.