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Adherence to Active Play and Electronic Media Guidelines in Preschool Children: Gender and Parental Education Considerations

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Abstract

The primary purpose of the present study was to examine adherence to current active play and electronic media use guidelines in a sample of US preschool-aged children and to examine whether differences occurred across gender and parental education. 164 parents completed an on-line survey to estimate preschool children’s active play and sedentary behaviors. For weekdays, 50% of the sample met the active play guideline with this increasing to 65% during the weekend. With respect to electronic media use, 90% of the sample met guidelines during the week, with the percentage meeting guidelines dropping to 78% during the weekend. A greater percentage of preschool children from high parental education families (83.4 ± 3.3) met electronic media use guidelines on the weekends, compared to preschool children from low parental education families (59.4 ± 8.1) (p = 0.002). Our findings indicate that a substantial portion of preschool children are not meeting active play guidelines and that adherence to active play and electronic media use guidelines may be influenced by parental education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Exercise Science, Lansing School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY, 40205, USA

    Paul D. Loprinzi

  2. Program in Exercise and Sport Science, School of Biological and Population Health Sciences, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331-3303, USA

    David P. Schary & Bradley J. Cardinal

Authors
  1. Paul D. Loprinzi
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  2. David P. Schary
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  3. Bradley J. Cardinal
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Correspondence to Paul D. Loprinzi.

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Loprinzi, P.D., Schary, D.P. & Cardinal, B.J. Adherence to Active Play and Electronic Media Guidelines in Preschool Children: Gender and Parental Education Considerations. Matern Child Health J 17, 56–61 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-012-0952-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-012-0952-8

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