Parenting in Motion: Parent’s Perspectives on the Relationships between Play-based Physical Activity and Emotion Regulation in Early Childhood.

Physical activity during early childhood, otherwise known as ‘play-based physical activity’, may support emotion regulation development, thereby contributing to positive mental health outcomes across the lifespan. To initiate the co-design of a novel play-based physical activity parenting program, one-hour qualitative interviews (n=17) were conducted with parents of children aged two-four years. Interviews aimed to understand the regulatory effects of play-based physical activity and its role in parenting practices. Thematic template analysis identified five themes highlighting that play-based physical activity encompasses various forms, and dimensions, and is interwoven with learning across multiple domains. Play-based physical activity offered both preventative and immediate regulatory benefits, and facilitated family connection, and co-regulation. However, variation was found in parents’ utilisation of play-based physical activity for managing child emotion regulation difficulties. Some parents reported using it to respond to child dysregulation sensitively, others used it to distract and promote positive emotions during child dysregulation, and some did not consciously use it as a parenting strategy. Furthermore, several barriers were identified that limit play-based physical activity engagement and effectiveness, such as low parent capacity. Our findings confirm prior evidence of the regulatory benefits of play-based physical activity and physical activity, and extend this literature by showing the role, and effects of play-based physical activity in early childhood parenting practices.