Tucker et al. BMC Public Health 2011, 11:168 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/11/168 parent involvement is they [parents] aren’t role modeling and they don’t want to be involved.” By contrast, a couple of providers shared past positive experiences they had had with parents who participated in activities in their child’s classroom, one of which shared, “...[w]e had a parent come in and they did an activ[ity]...about outer space with the children. The children had to move around and become a moving solar system. So getting parents involved... can also be another way of bringing that excitement in...They have ideas that we wouldn’t necessarily think of.” Another provider spoke about a game night that the children had requested, which was held at the childcare centre in the evening and offered children the opportunity to compete against their parents in a physical game. She explained, “...we had a phenomenal turnout [at that event]... [t]he parents all came in very much complaining, but the kids were hyped...once they [the parents] came back out they had such fun.” While inviting parents into the childcare centre might not always be possible, it is clear that the partnership between childcare staff and parents is essential to facilitate healthy active behaviours among young chil- dren. One childcare provider highlighted the importance of open communication and complementary physical activity messaging when she said, “[i]f we don’t educate the parents, how are we going to educate the kids. We need to work together with them. It’s very important.... [it’s] like toilet training...you need to have the parents doing it with you. If not, it’s not working.” Discussion The purpose of this study was to explore childcare provi- ders’ perspectives of the role of parents and the home environment on supporting physical activity behaviours of preschool-aged children enrolled in childcare centres. What was not expected, and therefore, was particularly enlightening, was the reliance of childcare staff on par- ents/guardians to create a home environment that com- plements the positive and encouraging physical activity messaging children may receive in childcare. This finding is important given that parents of preschoolers have pre- viously acknowledged their dependence on childcare staff to ensure their children are sufficiently active [23,24]. Hearing childcare staff place a similar expectation on par- ents highlights the importance of parent-childcare staff partnerships that work together in service of developing healthy and active preschoolers. This finding warrants discussion because there has been increased attention placed on the childcare environment as a venue to sup- port activity behaviours [28-32], and yet, staff are report- ing that they cannot be fully successful in encouraging this important health behaviour if support and reinforce- ment for activity are lacking in the child’s home. Physical activity is a complex behaviour that is influenced by a number of individuals (e.g., parents, childcare staff, Page 5 of 7 siblings, etc.) and environments (e.g., home, childcare, and neighbourhood). Therefore, as mentioned above, it seems necessary that parents and childcare providers work together to ensure that preschoolers engage in suffi- cient physical activity. One plausible way to achieve this partnership might include activity documentation; if par- ents and childcare staff recorded the amount of activity children engaged in daily, this would serve to inform their care counterpart of the need for additional activity within their home or childcare environment. Having a better line of communication between the childcare staff and parents would allow these individuals to ensure their children, or the children they care for, are engaging in appropriate amounts of activity. Moreover, this commu- nication will result in confirmation that their efforts are being continued and supported in the counter-environ- ment (e.g., parents support of preschooler activity is extended to the childcare environment and vice versa). These partnerships might be maximized by providing educational material and resources for both parents and childcare staff to increase their confidence and comfort in supporting active behaviours among young children. Childcare staff also noted the importance of parental role modeling to encourage active play among young children. Parents themselves have acknowledged the importance of their own role modeling in previous research [23]. Parental role modeling is often captured using parent activity levels [33]. Interestingly, in a systematic review of environmental correlates of physical activity in youth, Ferreira and colleagues noted that dur- ing childhood, fathers are more influential role models for children of both genders [34]. Specifically, fathers’ physical activity levels appear to be associated with physi- cal activity levels of children despite genders, while mothers’ activity levels appear to be linked with girls’ activity behaviours [34]. Among preschoolers, Sallis and colleagues identified that parental physical activity levels were significantly correlated with child activity participa- tion and suggested that the impact of parental role mod- eling may extend to venues outside the home [15]. This suggests the influence and reach that parental role model plays in fostering health behaviours among their children. Parental support for physical activity has been identified as a significant positive influence on children’s physical activity participation [35]; that is, by playing with chil- dren, providing transportation to parks and activity facil- ities, and reinforcing physical activity participation, parents can increase physical activity participation among preschoolers [35]. In fact, Oliver and associates recently suggested that increased preschooler physical activity is a result of parent activity prioritization and parental sup- port [36], and Moore and colleagues noted that pre- schoolers with two active parents were 5.8 times more likely to be active than preschoolers with inactive parents