The relationship of parents’ attributes and practices with the promotion of recommended movement behaviours in young children during school suspensions

This study investigated the influence of parental attributes and practices on the promotion of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) guidelines in young children during a period of school suspension. We surveyed parents (N = 357) who had at least one preschool-aged child in Hong Kong. Parents’ perceived difficulties in ensuring sufficient PA and limited SB were heightened during school suspension relative to regular school time. The time spent by children performing daily PA decreased to 72.5% relative to regular school time. Contrasting with theorized relationships, parents with more positive PA-related attributes reported greater difficulty in promoting PA and SB guidelines during school suspension. The findings highlight the importance of parental support when family routines are disrupted. Recommendations include the dissemination of health information and the development of resources for indoor PA. Multifaceted approaches should acknowledge individual and contextual factors, supported by further research on PA-related parenting within relevant sociocultural contexts.