Perception Versus Reality: Parent-Reported and Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Time During Early Childhood

Objectively measuring physical activity (PA) in early childhood is challenging. Less is known about how parent-reported PA aligns with objectively measured PA in this age group. The study aimed to (a) compare parent-reported with objectively measured child PA and sedentary behavior and (b) investigate sex differences in both measurements. Children wore an ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometer for at least 3 days. Parents completed a 24-hr recall questionnaire regarding the time their child spent sitting and in various PA intensities. Descriptive statistics and t- tests were conducted to determine differences between PA measurement methods and sex. Seventy-one parent–child dyads ( M age = 4.05 years, 50% girls) participated. Parents significantly overestimated their child’s time spent in daily moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA; M diff = 38.0 min; p < .01) and vigorous PA (VPA; M diff = 42.9 min; p < .002). Parents significantly underestimated their child’s time spent sedentary (143.7 min via parent-report vs. 476.8 min via accelerometry, M diff = 333.1 min; p < .001). Accelerometer data indicated boys spent significantly more time in MVPA and VPA compared with girls (114.99 min vs. 90.6 min and 34.99 min vs. 25.7 min, respectively), but parents reported boys and girls spent relatively the same time per day in MVPA (147.3 min vs. 134.3 min, respectively) and VPA (80.4 min vs. 66.1 min). The contrast between parent perception and children’s objectively measured PA and sedentary behavior is stark. Strategies encouraging parents and childcare administrators to monitor children’s sitting time while equipping them with physically active tasks to break up periods of sedentary time should be emphasized in early childhood.