A qualitative study reporting maternal perceptions of the importance of play for healthy growth and development in the first two years of life.
Early childhood development
Low-to-middle income country
Movement behaviours
Qualitative
Journal
BMC pediatrics
ISSN: 1471-2431
Titre abrégé: BMC Pediatr
Pays: England
ID NLM: 100967804
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
09 09 2020
09 09 2020
Historique:
received:
02
06
2020
accepted:
25
08
2020
entrez:
10
9
2020
pubmed:
11
9
2020
medline:
15
5
2021
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
In order for infants and toddlers to meet recommended movement guidelines, their caregivers need to encourage play daily. This study used a qualitative approach to understand how mothers perceive and promote play and physical activity during the first 2 years of life. Mothers with children between 0 and 24 months were recruited from the SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit in Soweto, South Africa. 19 mothers agreed to participate and were grouped into three focus group discussions (FGDs) by age of the child: 0-6-months, 7-14-months, and 15-24-months. Thereafter, 12 mothers (4 from each FGD) were selected for inclusion in in-depth interviews (IDIs). After coding and theme/sub-theme identification had been completed for all IDIs, a process of cross-cutting theme identification and confirmation across FGDs and IDIs was carried out. The mothers were (mean ± SD) 27 (6) years old. All mothers had attended secondary school, but only nine had matriculated. Only one mother was married (and lived with the child's father), and the majority (n = 15) were unemployed. Most children were male (63%) and were aged 11 (7) months. Four main themes emerged: 1) Physical activity as an indicator for health, 2) Promoting play and development, 3) Gender bias in play, and 4) Screen time. This study showed that developmental attainment was the most important outcome for mothers, and so focussing intervention content on the promotion of child development through movement is advised. Screen time was freely available to children, and we recommend educating mothers on the movement guidelines, with a particular focus on the detrimental effects of screen time in this age group. Mothers reported many barriers to promoting play, and these are essential to consider when designing interventions in this context, in order to allow for equal opportunities for play to be provided to all children.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
In order for infants and toddlers to meet recommended movement guidelines, their caregivers need to encourage play daily. This study used a qualitative approach to understand how mothers perceive and promote play and physical activity during the first 2 years of life.
METHODS
Mothers with children between 0 and 24 months were recruited from the SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit in Soweto, South Africa. 19 mothers agreed to participate and were grouped into three focus group discussions (FGDs) by age of the child: 0-6-months, 7-14-months, and 15-24-months. Thereafter, 12 mothers (4 from each FGD) were selected for inclusion in in-depth interviews (IDIs). After coding and theme/sub-theme identification had been completed for all IDIs, a process of cross-cutting theme identification and confirmation across FGDs and IDIs was carried out.
RESULTS
The mothers were (mean ± SD) 27 (6) years old. All mothers had attended secondary school, but only nine had matriculated. Only one mother was married (and lived with the child's father), and the majority (n = 15) were unemployed. Most children were male (63%) and were aged 11 (7) months. Four main themes emerged: 1) Physical activity as an indicator for health, 2) Promoting play and development, 3) Gender bias in play, and 4) Screen time.
CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that developmental attainment was the most important outcome for mothers, and so focussing intervention content on the promotion of child development through movement is advised. Screen time was freely available to children, and we recommend educating mothers on the movement guidelines, with a particular focus on the detrimental effects of screen time in this age group. Mothers reported many barriers to promoting play, and these are essential to consider when designing interventions in this context, in order to allow for equal opportunities for play to be provided to all children.
Identifiants
pubmed: 32907550
doi: 10.1186/s12887-020-02321-4
pii: 10.1186/s12887-020-02321-4
pmc: PMC7487567
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
428Subventions
Organisme : CIHR
Pays : Canada
Références
J Pediatr. 2014 Jun;164(6):1421-4
pubmed: 24657125
J Phys Act Health. 2019 Jul 17;16(12):872-879
pubmed: 31319404
Springerplus. 2016 Oct 6;5(1):1730
pubmed: 27777865
J Pediatr. 2017 Feb;181:235-241
pubmed: 27866822
Child Care Health Dev. 2019 Nov;45(6):823-831
pubmed: 31335976
Acta Paediatr. 2008 Jul;97(7):977-82
pubmed: 18460044
Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2013 Sep;52(9):857-65
pubmed: 23820003
BMC Public Health. 2018 Nov 20;18(1):1271
pubmed: 30453927
J Phys Act Health. 2020 Jan 1;17(1):126-137
pubmed: 31877558
J Nutr Educ Behav. 2019 Sep;51(8):946-957
pubmed: 31101479
Dev Psychol. 2009 May;45(3):688-701
pubmed: 19413425
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2017 Dec 22;14(1):176
pubmed: 29273035
Obesity (Silver Spring). 2020 Mar;28(3):631-637
pubmed: 31944621
J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2019 Feb/Mar;40(2):99-104
pubmed: 30753173
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2015 Mar 29;12:43
pubmed: 25889978
Pediatrics. 2014 May;133(5):e1172-8
pubmed: 24733868
J Phys Act Health. 2020 Jan 1;17(1):109-119
pubmed: 31877557
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2015 Jun 08;12(6):6475-505
pubmed: 26062040