Direct Parent Engagement to Improve Fundamental Movement Skills in Children: A Systematic Review

Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are basic movements in children that represent the building blocks for more complex motor skill development, and act as a prerequisite for enduring sport and physical activity (PA) engagement and positive health-related behaviours (Seefeldt, 1980, Psychology of Motor Behavior and Sport, 36, 314-323; Wick, Leeger-Aschmann, Monn, Radtke, Ott, Rebholz, Cruz, Gerber, Schmutz, Puder and Munsch, 2017, Sports Medicine, 47, 2045-2068). However, FMS is vastly inadequate worldwide including the UK, and consequently there are alarming levels of inactivity and obesity in children (Bolger, Bolger, O’Neill, Coughlan, O’Brien, Lacey, Burns and Bardid, 2021, Journal of Sports Sciences, 39, 717-753; Morley, Till, Ogilvie and Turner, 2015, Human Movement Science, 44, 150-156). Parents have largely been ignored by research despite them having the power to influence their children’s PA behaviour as their primary role models. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate if parent-focused interventions could improve FMS of 2–7-year-old children, and to evaluate which setting and method of parent engagement was most impactful. A systematic review was performed with keyword searches conducted via SPORTDiscus, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. Only nine articles worldwide met the inclusion criteria that examined the influence of PA interventions with direct and explicit parental participation on the FMS proficiency of their early year’s children, either within the home environment, the community, or the childcare and educational setting, none of which originated from the UK, highlighting the urgent need for further FMS interventions that involve parents. FMS improved in all nine studies, with significant changes reported in seven of the articles (P < 0.05). Parent counselling would appear to be an inadequate method for improving children’s FMS. However, education and empowerment of parents, co-activity, and the provision of clear FMS guidance, messaging, and structure may be key components that facilitate positive parental influence on children’s FMS. Furthermore, the recent emergence of smartphone apps has increased accessibility and feasibility of FMS practice in the home environment and may be integral to future FMS interventions. Direct parent involvement can have a positive effect on children’s FMS and further research is clearly warranted.