TABLE VI.

Barriers and Facilitators to Preschools’ Physical Activity

Age “I find a lot of stuff in the [activity centre] … will say your child has to be fully potty trained. So like it might be only an hour or two hours so what’s the big deal of having a child potty-trained?” “…I find there’s not enough things for that age group….”

Season and Weather “I think climate really plays a factor in our abilities. I know we’re much more active in the summer-time and the spring and fall and in the winter it’s not as easy.” “During the summer their activity behaviours are great. I love how active they are and how they want to be outside doing things but in the winter ….[I]t’s cold and I don’t want to go outside and play with them anymore.” “It’s really important that I get my kids out. I try at least every day to do that, to get some outside air and activity because that’s important to me too, like I get cabin fever so fast.”

Daycare “It’s structured, it’s consistent. It goes from group to group, the expectations are there. Obviously it is overseen by the Ministry. There is so much outdoor activity anticipated and if they can’t have that there are alternate activities….” “My preschooler actually is in a [private preschool] program and they don’t have the room to have the physical activity part of it every day or even once a week, so they get it once a month.”

Siblings “It’s really hard when you’ve got one at home and one big person and they think that you’re the cruise director all day. I agree. On weekends the three of them will play even though there’s a wide range of age. They will just take off and find something that the three of them will play and I never hear from them unless I want to do something with them and then we’re all together, but the three of them will entertain each other quite well. But the minute the older two are gone, it’s ‘What are we doing now Mom?’ ” “I’m having a problem because both my kids love swimming. [My daughter’s session] will be at one time and [my son’s] is a half-hour later. Well do you think I can hold him for half an hour without him screaming and kicking because she’s in the pool and we’re sitting there watching? No, so I have to have both times so we’re both in the pool at the same time so there’s no fighting.”

Financial Costs “…being a single parent, I don’t have the funds to pay for uniforms and fees and all that stuff.”

Time “…I’ve just started working full-time and it’s a long commute and I’m away from the home for such a long period of the day that [I] do more with the kids on the weekend. Yeah, okay then between the laundry and the cleaning and everything else, especially at this time of year [December] when there’s so much extra stuff to do that I can’t even begin to think of doing some organized physical activity with the kids.”

Society and Safety “I always think of the toys the kids have today…. there are many more things that will also keep them inside more so than before. Where if she didn’t have that then she’d be outside because there’d be nothing to do inside. I think today they are so focused in on the mind, like you need to sit down and you need to learn. So everything they’re inventing are not things that you take outside and do.” “I think the other thing to mention is that the climate, the culture in our society today is very different from when we all grew up where in the morning you could say go outside and play and I’ll call you when it’s time for lunch or …dinner. Safety issues come into play, you don’t want your kids out of your sight for a long period of time…because you don’t know what’s out there that could impact on their safety and well being.”

Parents’ Impact “But we try to find ways to be physically active other ways, like for example, maybe parking at the other end of the mall and when you go in one door, go out the wrong door and have to walk all the way around as a family and skip and hop and try to make it fun. So we try to be creative in ways to increase the activity to help her out so that she does get a little bit extra and to make it fun and a family sort of thing.” “…what the child sees he is going to do moreso…. Like if parents are active, kids are going to be active. And if parents aren’t the kids aren’t either.”

Child’s Activity Preferences “She is more the reader, more the crafty type…you find her a lot of times just sitting down in the sand box trying to build something but a lot of times we have to get her moving and we go for walks to try to get her moving.” “Mine [children’s activity levels] vary actually and I think that is to do with their personality. So my older one is a lot more physical, so he needs to run around and let off steam.… For my 3-year old, who is a girl…. [s]he never stops from the time she gets up. She hasn’t napped since she was a year and a half.”