Association between parental physical activity and motor skills in their preschool children

Young children often observe and emulate the actions of adults, whom they look up to as role models. Considering that parents have an influence on their children at an early age, the aim of this study was to determine whether there is a correlation between the physical activity of parents and the motor skills of their children of preschool age. The study included 1212 boys and girls and their parents (N=2287) from Croatia. Parents completed the “Single item physical activity” questionnaire (SIPA) for research purposes which assessed their physical activity. Preschool children were tested with “Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency - Second Edition” (BOT-2) and “Test of Gross Motor Development - Second Edition” (TGMD-2), which assessed their motor skills. Multinomial regression analysis showed a significant association between paternal physical activity and score in the TGMD-2 of their children. It is up to parents to encourage their children in physical activity, and thus the development of motor skills. In this way, children will create healthy habits and have a greater chance of being active throughout their lives.