Jasleen MahindruPhysical literacy not only includes participation in physical activity but also encompasses motivation, physical competence, and the value of movement for life. Recently, global trends of obesity raised attention to the lack of physical literacy among children in Canada.
Valerie Carson, a professor in the faculty of kinesiology, sport, and recreation at the University of Alberta, developed PLAYshop, a program that helps parents promote physical activity with their children.
PLAYshop focuses on manipulative, locomotor, and balance skills by striving to build foundational skills that help children develop healthy, lifelong habits. Carson’s study proves the effectiveness of the program and shows its additional benefits, such as stronger relationships between parents and children and increased confidence levels.
PLAYshop helps build confidence through physical literacy
PLAYshop was designed to promote the idea of children taking the lead in their physical literacy journey. “Ultimately, [parents] don’t need to be super stringent and exactly follow the rules,” Carson said.
She highlighted the importance of choice in relation to fostering excitement and motivation among children, something that helps them be confident in themselves and their abilities. The key idea is to keep children engaged in physical activity and ensure they feel good about it.
According to Carson, this means keeping activities fun, and “not too hard, or too easy.” Families are given games and activities that consider how to keep children active, while being interesting and creating a positive experience.
Additionally, PLAYshop makes bonding between parents and children easy and entertaining. “Something we heard from parents is this strong growth in family connection and bonding,” Carson said.
PLAYshop promotes accessibility of physical literacy to all families
Originally started in-person, PLAYshop fostered a “specific kind of community setting,” Carson said. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, PLAYshop moved to virtual delivery, an option that is still used to benefit families. Through various delivery types, activities that foster physical literacy are available no matter the circumstances a family is under.
Virtual delivery features an app that parents use, and extends accessibility to PLAYshop beyond Edmonton to even remote and rural areas, Carson explained. It’s convenient, and lets parents and children choose how they want to approach physical activity. Overall, there have been high rates of parental satisfaction with both delivery methods.
What makes PLAYshop unique is its brief intervention. While other programs have focused on increasing physical literacy through multiple sessions, PLAYshop’s accessibility comes from its delivery of one workshop session, which is followed by support for parents.
Carson highlighted PLAYshop’s goal of being as “brief and time efficient” as possible. It understands that parents have busy schedules and need support and flexibility to promote physical literacy. PLAYshop also works to counter factors that could prevent children from engaging in physical activity, such as poor weather conditions or cost barriers. It rejects the idea that parents need to buy expensive equipment or travel to certain locations for physical activities.
“We’ve recently received funding to expand PLAYshop,” Carson added. The program will expand to include not only researchers delivering the workshop, but also community members. This way, PLAYshop can reach more families in diverse communities and spread across Canada.
