Exploring Children's Physical Activity Behaviours According to Location: A Mixed-Methods Case Study

Exploring the Relationship Between Play During School Recess and Motor Performance in 6- to 8-Year-Old Children

BACKGROUND

Playing with others, which in school occurs mainly during recess, might be an enabling factor to improve children's motor performance, as behaviour is shaped by observing and imitating others.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the current study was to examine whether children's play activities and with whom 6- to 8-year-old children play during recess are related to their motor performance.

METHODS

The study sample consisted of 86 Dutch participants (mean age 6.92 ± 0.62 years, 58.1% boys). A modified version of the System for Observing Children's Activity and Relationships during Play was used to observe the following play variables: sedentary or active behaviour, group size, activity type, and type of interaction. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2 was used to measure three components of motor performance: Manual Dexterity, Aiming and Catching, and Balance. Associations between the play variables and the motor components were investigated using compositional data analysis and logistic regressions.

RESULTS

The results showed that children who spent more time in sedentary behaviour rather than in active behaviour were less likely to have motor difficulties in the Aiming and Catching component. None of the other play variables were related to motor performance.

CONCLUSIONS

One explanation might be that these play variables in itself are not related to motor performance, but that these variables should be investigated as an integrated whole rather than in isolation. Therefore, future research should investigate whether interactions between the play variables are related to motor performance.

Tracking Children's Physical Activity Patterns across the School Year: A Mixed-Methods Longitudinal Case Study

Despite the breadth of health benefits associated with regular physical activity (PA), many children in the UK are not sufficiently active enough to meet health guidelines, and tend to become less active as they mature into and throughout adolescence. Research has indicated that children's school, home and neighbourhood environments can all significantly influence their opportunities to engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). However, less is known about how children's MVPA patterns within these key environments may change across the school year. The current mixed-methods case study aims to explore this issue by tracking key stage 2 (KS2) and key stage 3 (KS3) children's MVPA patterns across the school year. Fifty-eight children (29 boys, 29 girls, KS2 = 34, KS3 = 24) wore an integrated global positioning systems (GPS) and heart rate (HR) monitor over four consecutive days in the first term of school (autumn), before these measurements were repeated in the two remaining school terms (winter-summer). A subsample of children (n = 6-8 per group) were invited to take part in one of six focus groups each term to further explore their PA behaviours and identify the barriers and facilitators to PA. The children's MVPA was significantly lower (p = 0.046) in term 2 (winter/spring term) than during the warmer terms (autumn and summer). All the locations showed reductions in MVPA in term 2, except indoor MVPA, which increased, and MVPA on foot in the neighbourhood, which remained consistent. Focus groups revealed location, friends, and the variety of options to be associated with MVPA, and poor weather, parental permission, and time limitations to be barriers to MVPA. This mixed-methodological, repeated-measures design study highlights differences in the activity patterns and perceptions of children over the school year. Future studies should implement longitudinal, multi-method approaches to gain deeper insight into how children's PA behaviours differ over time. Consequently, this can inform future health policies promoting children's PA throughout the year.