Healthy lifestyles in kindergarten and primary school: perception of family and teachers of a group of children

Abstract

The aim of our study is to know how family/parents of a group of children from kindergarten and primary schools and their teachers perceive the role that the institution has on the promotion of healthy lifestyles of their children, regarding its contribution for a better food education and for physical activity behaviors, considering their daily life routines - rest, mobility and physical practice outside school.
We adopted a quantitative and qualitative methodology, carrying out and applying a questionnaire for family/parents (n=63) and a semi-structured interview for kindergarten and primary school teachers (n=6) of a group of children, being 50.8% (n = 32 ) from kindergarten and 49.2% (n=31) from primary school. The questionnaire data analysis, here presented in frequencies and percentages, was performed with the support of SPSS program (version 22.0). From the content analysis of the professionals’ answers, some of the perceptions are highlighted with excerpts from their testimonies.
The results of this study, first from parental response, allow us to conclude that this group of children under observation, have regular rest during the week (81% resting 8-10 hours); a similar number of children move to school walking (49.2 %) or by car (44.4%); 41.3% have a regular physical activity outside school; 73% take their lunch at school. Although most parents consider that the school should play a very important role in promoting the healthy lifestyle habits of their students, they believe that it does not always promote healthy eating. On the other hand, teachers observed the opposite, considering that the schools not only provide healthy food for all children, but also (extra)curricular activities which create moments of moderate or intense regular physical practice.
In addition to this opinion, they refer that beyond the intervention that makes in their classroom, it is at the time of recess that these habits can be improved, by the implementation with the younger children of more energetic physical activities.