Adherence to 24-hour movement guidelines among Australian toddlers and preschoolers: associations with parenting practices.

Background: The right combination of physical activity (PA), sedentary time, and sleep is essential for healthy growth and development. The Australian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years (“the Guidelines”) stipulate the minimum amount of time children should spend being physically active, maximum time in sedentary screen-based activities, and optimal sleep duration. Parents play a central role in the development of children’s movement behaviours; however, few studies have examined associations between parenting practices and adherence to the Guidelines.

Purpose: 1) report the proportion of toddlers and preschoolers meeting the Guidelines for the early years; and 2) determine associations with parenting practices related to PA, screen time, and sleep.

Methods: 239 parent-child dyads attending community playgroups across three Australian states (95.2% female, 54.1% > age 35 y, 58.2% university degree, mean child age: 3.0 ± 1.1 y) completed a survey assessing screen time, sleep, and associated parenting practices. PA was measured using a wrist-worn accelerometer (Axivity AX3). Logistic regression was used to determine which parenting practices were associated with meeting the Guidelines.

Results: 57% of children met the PA recommendation, 31.5% met the screen time recommendation, 72.6% met the sleep recommendation, with 14.4% meeting all three recommendations in the Guidelines. Use of screen time to reward/control child behaviour, limiting or monitoring screen time, parental support for PA, and maintaining a consistent bedtime routine were parenting practices associated with children´s adherence to the Guidelines.

Conclusion: A small proportion of Australian toddlers and preschoolers attending community playgroups meet the Guidelines. Parenting practices that both support and potentially undermine children’s autonomy were associated with children’s adherence to PA, screen time and sleep recommendations.

Practical Implications: Interventions to establish healthy lifestyle behaviours in the early years should target autonomy-promoting parenting practices related to screen time, sleep, and PA.

Funding: Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) (APP1200764).