Parents perceptions of online physical activity and leisure with early years children during Covid-19 and beyond

Prior to Covid-19, businesses offering enrichment activities for pre-school
aged children were saturating the early years (0–5 years) market. However,
the pandemic caused sudden changes to family routines with regular
leisure activities cancelled. Using Lareau’s theory of concerted cultivation
as a framework, we explored how physical activity (PA) was managed by
parents of pre-school children and how routines changed during the
pandemic. A UK national online survey was completed by 925 parents.
Sixteen tailored, follow-up semi-structured interviews were undertaken
with parents. Due to the nature of the pandemic and the age range of the
young children, it was the parents who ultimately made decisions about
PA, and it was parents who had to adapt, often to a challenging set of
circumstances. Our data suggests many parents sought to utilise informal
play and online PA during the lockdown periods with mixed levels of
success. For those that attended baby, toddler, and pre-school sport
sessions provided by commercial businesses prior to lockdown, the vast
majority were eager to resume their in-person classes as opposed to
continuing online. Parents perceived a wider range of benefits and cultivation for their child if they attended such classes in person (e.g. expert
delivery, socialisation, and routine).