Study design

This study utilised a qualitative descriptive research design to explore parental perceptions of children’s physical activity participation across home, school, and community environments. A qualitative approach was considered appropriate because it allows for an in-depth and contextually grounded exploration of perceptions, experiences, and meanings that cannot be fully captured through quantitative methods [20,21]. The study was conceptually informed by the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM), which recognises that health behaviours are shaped through interactions across individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and policy-level influences [9,10]. Reporting of the study was guided by the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist [22].

Context and setting

The study was conducted in Enugu City, the administrative capital of Enugu State in southeastern Nigeria. Enugu is a rapidly urbanising metropolitan area characterised by a mixture of public institutions, commercial centres, and residential communities. The educational environment within the city is often characterised by strong emphasis on academic achievement, with many schools implementing extended school hours, supplementary lessons, and substantial academic workloads. At the same time, urbanisation and infrastructural limitations may contribute to reduced access to safe recreational spaces and organised opportunities for physical activity among children. These contextual conditions made Enugu City an appropriate setting for exploring parental perceptions of children’s physical activity participation.

Ethical considerations

Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Health Research Ethics Committee (NHREC/05/01/2008B–FWA00002458–IRB00002323). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection. Participation was voluntary, confidentiality was maintained throughout the study, and participants were informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any stage without consequence.

Participant selection and sampling strategy

Participants were recruited using purposive sampling to identify information-rich individuals capable of providing detailed insight into the research question [23]. Eligible participants were parents or primary caregivers of children enrolled in nursery, primary, or secondary schools within Enugu City who were familiar with their children’s physical activity participation in school or community settings. Parents whose children had severe physical, cognitive, or psychological impairments that could substantially limit participation in physical activity were excluded to maintain focus on typical participation experiences within mainstream school contexts.

To ensure variation in perspectives, recruitment was conducted across diverse public settings commonly accessed by parents, including churches, marketplaces, shopping centres, and recreational areas within Enugu City. During recruitment, efforts were made to include parents from different educational backgrounds, occupational categories, school types (public and private), and children’s educational levels (nursery, primary, and secondary school). Recruitment continued until thematic sufficiency was achieved. Throughout the data collection process, interview transcripts were reviewed alongside ongoing interviews, and preliminary coding and discussion of emerging concepts were undertaken by the research team. The research team met regularly to review emerging codes and reached consensus that thematic sufficiency had been achieved when successive interviews yielded no substantially new themes. Subsequent interviews provided additional depth and clarification rather than novel conceptual insights, consistent with the principles of reflexive thematic analysis [24,25]. A total of 20 parents participated in the study. No eligible participants who agreed to participate subsequently withdrew from the study.

Data collection procedures

Data were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted between August and October 2025. The interview guide was developed by the research team based on the study objectives, relevant literature, and the socio-ecological framework underpinning the study. Questions explored parental perceptions of children’s physical activity participation, satisfaction with available opportunities, perceived barriers, and strategies for improving participation across home, school, and community settings. The interview guide was pilot-tested with two parents who were not included in the final study sample, resulting in minor modifications to improve clarity and flow. No repeat interviews were conducted, as sufficient depth of information was obtained during the initial interviews.

To accommodate participants’ preferences and schedules, both telephone and face-to-face interviews were utilised. Fourteen interviews were conducted via telephone, while six interviews were conducted face-to-face at locations selected by participants to ensure privacy and comfort. All interviews were conducted in English and lasted between 30 and 45 minutes. No non-participants were present during the interviews.

Data collection was conducted by a four-member research team comprising CO, OJ, CE, and AO, all of whom had training and experience in qualitative research. Before data collection, the team jointly reviewed the interview guide and discussed interviewing techniques to ensure consistency in questioning, probing, and participant engagement across interviews. CO served as the primary interviewer, while OJ, CE, and AO supported the interviews by taking field notes, coordinating interview logistics, and conducting follow-up probing where appropriate. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to participation. For participants interviewed face-to-face, written consent was obtained immediately before the interview. For participants interviewed by telephone, the participant information sheet and consent form were sent via WhatsApp before the scheduled interview, and signed consent forms were returned electronically prior to the commencement of the interview. At the beginning of each telephone interview, verbal confirmation of informed consent was also obtained before audio recording commenced. With participants’ permission, all interviews were audio-recorded to facilitate accurate transcription. Following completion of data collection, interviews were transcribed, analysed, and interpreted between November 2025 and early 2026 prior to manuscript preparation and submission.

Researcher positionality and reflexivity

The research team maintained ongoing reflexive engagement throughout the study to acknowledge how the researchers’ backgrounds and assumptions may have influenced data collection and interpretation. The team comprised academic physiotherapists and public health researchers based at Nigerian universities, with professional interests in child health, rehabilitation, and physical activity promotion. The qualitative research team comprised two male researchers (KF [MSc] and CE [MSc]) and four female researchers (CO [PhD], AO [MSc], OJ [BMR(PT)], and JE [PhD]), providing diversity in perspectives throughout the study. Different members of the team contributed to data collection, data analysis, and the interpretation of findings according to their respective roles. No relationship was established with participants prior to recruitment or the commencement of the interviews. These professional backgrounds may have shaped assumptions regarding the importance of physical activity and concerns about increasingly sedentary lifestyles among children.

The researchers recognised that their professional identities could position them as authority figures during interviews, potentially influencing participants’ responses. To minimise this influence, interviews were conducted using open-ended, non-judgemental questioning, and participants were reassured that there were no right or wrong responses. Before each interview, participants were informed about the purpose of the study, the researchers’ professional backgrounds, and the objectives of the research. Throughout data analysis, reflexive discussions and peer debriefing sessions were conducted to critically examine interpretations and ensure that the findings remained grounded in participants’ accounts rather than the researchers’ preconceptions.

Data analysis

Data were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) following the six-phase framework proposed by Braun and Clarke [24,25]. This approach recognises coding and theme development as interpretive processes shaped through researchers’ active engagement with the data. Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim, and all identifying information was removed to maintain confidentiality. The transcripts were read and re-read by the research team to facilitate familiarisation with the dataset. Manual coding was undertaken iteratively by KF and CO through close engagement with the transcripts, with codes continuously refined as analysis progressed and new insights emerged. Subsequently, CO, KF, AO, and JE engaged in regular reflexive discussions to review and refine the codes, compare interpretations, resolve differences through discussion, and develop candidate themes. Rather than seeking statistical inter-coder agreement, these discussions were used to deepen interpretation, refine conceptual understanding, and strengthen analytic rigour, consistent with the principles of reflexive thematic analysis. Themes were reviewed iteratively against the coded extracts and the full dataset to ensure coherence and meaningful representation of participants’ experiences. The final themes were defined and refined through ongoing interpretive discussions among CO, KF, AO, and JE until consensus was reached on the final thematic framework. Illustrative participant quotations were selected to support the analytic narrative and demonstrate the relationship between the data and the study findings.

Participant characteristics

A total of 20 parents participated in the semi-structured interviews. The demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the participants and their children are presented in Table 1. The sample represented a range of educational and family contexts within Enugu City.

Download:

• PNG
  larger image
• TIFF
  original image

Table 1. Socio-demographic characteristics of parents and children (N = 20).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0351523.t001

Regarding the educational level of children, half of the participants reported that their children were enrolled in secondary schools (n = 10, 50.0%), while 30.0% (n = 6) had children in nursery schools and 20.0% (n = 4) had children in primary schools. Reflecting this distribution, children’s ages ranged from early childhood to adolescence, with 35.0% (n = 7) aged 11–15 years, 30.0% (n = 6) aged 1–5 years, 20.0% (n = 4) aged 6–10 years, and 15.0% (n = 3) aged 16–17 years.

Most parents were aged between 41 and 50 years (n = 8, 40.0%), followed by those aged 31–40 years (n = 7, 35.0%) and 51–60 years (n = 5, 25.0%). The majority of participants were female (n = 14, 70.0%). Half of the participants held postgraduate qualifications (n = 10, 50.0%), while 40.0% (n = 8) were university graduates. Most participants were employed within the government public sector (n = 15, 75.0%), and the majority had children attending private schools (n = 13, 65.0%).

Five major themes were identified from the qualitative analysis: (1) parents’ perceptions of children’s physical activity participation, (2) parents’ satisfaction with physical activity opportunities, (3) perceived enablers of physical activity participation, (4) perceived barriers to physical activity participation, and (5) perceived strategies for improving children’s physical activity participation.

Theme 1: Parents’ perceptions of children’s physical activity participation

Parents described children’s physical activity participation as dynamic and highly dependent on context. Many participants reported that children behaved differently across home, school, and community environments, with some children appearing reserved within structured school settings but highly active at home.

“In school… he’s very quiet… but at home, he’s super active.” (P1, Female)

Several participants also explained that family routines and parental involvement strongly influenced participation in physical activity. Some parents described intentionally creating opportunities for active play and exercise within the home environment.

“At home and in church, the environment is structured; he participates because I intentionally involve him in exercises and activities with his siblings.” (P20, Female)

Children’s personalities were further perceived as shaping their engagement in physical activity. Parents frequently described children as energetic, shy, outgoing, or reserved, and interpreted these characteristics as influencing willingness to participate in active play or organised activities.

“I will describe her as super active… very active in both school and community.” (P14, Female)

Several parents further expressed concern regarding the frequency and consistency of participation in physical activity. Participation was often described as irregular and constrained by school schedules, fatigue, and competing academic demands.

“They leave home very early and return late, so they are usually too tired to play.” (P18, Female)

Overall, parents described children’s physical activity participation as highly context-dependent, with engagement varying according to family routines, school structures, and opportunities within the wider community. These accounts underscore the interconnected influences shaping children’s everyday physical activity experiences.

Theme 2: Parents’ satisfaction with physical activity opportunities

Parents’ satisfaction with children’s physical activity opportunities varied considerably and existed along a continuum ranging from high satisfaction to dissatisfaction. To further illustrate this variation, participants’ responses were grouped into broad satisfaction categories (Table 2).

Download:

• PNG
  larger image
• TIFF
  original image

Table 2. Parental satisfaction with children’s physical activity opportunities (N = 20).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0351523.t002

A small number of participants reported high satisfaction with school and community physical activity opportunities, particularly where schools provided organised sports programmes and structured physical education.

“I am very satisfied with the opportunities provided in school and community; I would rate it 10 out of 10.” (P17, Male)

Several participants expressed moderate or conditional satisfaction. Although they acknowledged the availability of some opportunities, they felt that the frequency and quality of activities remained limited.

“The school tries, but I wish they had more regular sports programmes.” (P5, Female)

“The activities are fair, but there is still not enough time for exercise because of academic work.” (P9, Female)

Many participants expressed dissatisfaction with current physical activity opportunities. Dissatisfaction was commonly linked to inadequate facilities, limited play spaces, safety concerns, and the perceived prioritisation of academics over physical development.

“I am not really satisfied because there is hardly enough time for play and physical activities.” (P8, Female)

“There are not enough safe places for children to play around here.” (P6, Male)

Across different satisfaction levels, parents consistently emphasised the importance of physical activity for children’s overall health, development, and well-being.

Parents’ satisfaction with physical activity opportunities appeared to reflect broader differences in school provision, environmental resources, and available support systems. Participants who reported higher satisfaction often described structured school programmes and supportive environments, whereas dissatisfaction was commonly associated with limited opportunities, inadequate facilities, and competing academic demands.

Theme 3: Perceived enablers of physical activity participation

Parents highlighted multiple family, school, and environmental factors that supported children’s physical activity participation. At the family level, parental encouragement and active involvement emerged as important facilitators. Participants who valued physical activity often created opportunities for active play, encouraged outdoor activities, and attempted to reduce sedentary behaviours within the home.

“Parents are key… registering kids in activities and encouraging them to be active.” (P7, Female)

“I encourage my children to play outside whenever there is free time instead of sitting with phones.” (P12, Male)

School-related factors also emerged as important enablers. Parents whose children attended schools with structured sports activities, physical education periods, and basic recreational facilities perceived these opportunities as supportive of regular participation.

“The school has sports activities every week, and that helps because the children have time set aside for exercise.” (P11, Male)

Supportive social relationships were also perceived as facilitating participation. Peers, siblings, teachers, and extended family members were frequently described as encouraging children to participate in physical activities. Accessible and safe spaces for play further influenced participation. Parents reported that children were more likely to engage in physical activity where playgrounds, open spaces, or safe compounds were available.

“When children have space to run around and friends to play with, they are naturally more active.” (P15, Female)

Taken together, these findings highlight the importance of coordinated support across families, schools, and communities. Parents viewed structured school programmes, encouragement at home, and safe recreational environments as complementary factors that collectively promoted children’s physical activity participation.

Theme 4: Perceived barriers to physical activity participation

Participants identified multiple barriers that limited children’s participation in physical activity across school, family, and community environments. Academic demands emerged as one of the most commonly reported barriers. Parents described long school hours, extra lessons, homework, and examination pressures as reducing the time and energy available for physical activity.

“By the time they return from school and extra lessons, they are already tired and still have homework to do.” (P18, Female)

“Most of their time is spent on school activities, assignments, and preparing for exams.” (P10, Female)

Several parents also perceived that schools prioritised academic achievement over physical education and recreational activities.

“The timetable is tight, and physical education is not regular, so it affects participation.” (P5, Female)

Community-level barriers were also frequently discussed. Parents expressed concern regarding inadequate recreational facilities, lack of playgrounds, traffic hazards, and neighbourhood safety concerns.

“There are no safe places for children to play around here anymore.” (P9, Female)

“Because of traffic and safety concerns, I prefer keeping them indoors most of the time.” (P13, Male)

Parental work schedules and household responsibilities were further described as limiting opportunities for supervision and active engagement with children. Some participants also identified child-related factors such as illness, shyness, screen time, and preference for indoor activities as barriers to participation.

“Sometimes he just prefers staying indoors with television and games.” (P3, Female)

Collectively, these findings illustrate the complex and interconnected nature of the barriers influencing children’s physical activity participation. Parents described navigating competing academic demands, environmental constraints, and family responsibilities, highlighting the need for multi-level approaches to address these challenges.

Theme 5: Perceived strategies for improving physical activity participation

Parents proposed several strategies for improving children’s physical activity participation across school, family, and community settings. School-based recommendations included increasing the frequency of physical education, improving sports facilities, organising regular sporting activities, and creating more balanced school schedules.

“Schools should create more time for sports and reduce the pressure from constant academic work.” (P6, Female)

“There should be more organised sports and better playground facilities in schools.” (P16, Male)

At the family level, participants highlighted the importance of parental involvement, role modelling, and reducing excessive screen time.

“Parents also need to participate and encourage children instead of allowing them to stay indoors with phones and television.” (P4, Male)

Community and policy-level recommendations included improving neighbourhood safety, creating parks and recreational centres, and supporting community-based physical activity programmes for children.

“Government should provide more safe recreational centres where children can play freely.” (P19, Female)

Parents’ recommendations highlighted the need for coordinated approaches involving families, schools, communities, and broader policy support. Participants generally perceived that improving children’s physical activity participation would require both behavioural support within families and structural improvements within school and community environments.

The role of family and parental influence

The findings reinforce the central role of parents as influential agents in shaping children’s physical activity behaviours. Consistent with socio-ecological theory, parental encouragement, role modelling, and the establishment of active family routines appear to influence children’s opportunities and motivation to engage in physical activity. These findings support previous evidence demonstrating that parental support is consistently associated with higher physical activity levels among children and adolescents [11,12,17]. Within the Nigerian urban context, however, parental influence appears to operate within broader institutional and environmental constraints, suggesting that parental motivation alone may be insufficient where supportive opportunities are limited.

Parents in the present study also perceived children’s physical activity behaviours as highly dependent on context. Children were described as behaving differently across home, school, and community settings, suggesting that participation is influenced not only by individual characteristics but also by the environments within which children interact daily. This finding supports socio-ecological perspectives which propose that health behaviours emerge through interactions between individuals and their surrounding social and physical environments [9,10].

The study further revealed that parents who intentionally created opportunities for active play within the home environment were more likely to report positive perceptions of children’s participation. However, parents frequently acknowledged that their efforts alone were insufficient when broader institutional and environmental barriers limited opportunities for participation.

Academic demands and institutional influences

The prominence of academic demands as a barrier suggests that educational priorities may inadvertently limit opportunities for children’s physical activity. While similar concerns have been reported internationally [13,14], the present findings indicate that this tension may be particularly pronounced in urban Nigerian settings where academic achievement is often regarded as an important pathway for future socioeconomic advancement. Consequently, policies that seek to increase physical activity opportunities within schools should recognise the need to balance academic expectations with children’s broader developmental needs.

Participants also perceived that some schools placed limited emphasis on physical education and recreational activities. Although a few parents expressed satisfaction with schools that provided organised sports programmes and structured physical education, many participants described school schedules as heavily dominated by academic activities. This finding suggests that institutional priorities may strongly influence opportunities for movement and active play among children.

The findings are particularly important within the context of urban Nigeria, where academic achievement is often viewed as an important pathway for social and economic advancement. Parents frequently described difficulties balancing children’s academic responsibilities with opportunities for regular physical activity participation. This tension appeared to shape family routines, after-school schedules, and parental decisions regarding children’s daily activities.

These findings should, however, be interpreted within the context of the study sample, which consisted predominantly of highly educated parents employed in the government sector, many of whom had children attending private schools. Consequently, perceptions of academic prioritisation, school-based physical activity provision, and parental satisfaction may differ among families from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, those residing in rural communities, or those with children attending public schools, where access to recreational facilities, school resources, and opportunities for organised physical activity may vary. Therefore, while the findings provide valuable insights into parental perceptions within an urban Nigerian context, caution should be exercised when transferring them to other populations and settings.

Environmental and community-level barriers

The environmental barriers identified in this study underscore the important influence of neighbourhood conditions on children’s physical activity participation. Consistent with previous evidence [15,16], inadequate recreational spaces, traffic hazards, and safety concerns appear to limit opportunities for active play. These findings suggest that interventions focused solely on changing parental or child behaviour are unlikely to be sufficient unless accompanied by improvements in neighbourhood safety and access to recreational infrastructure. This interpretation further supports the Socio-Ecological Model, which emphasises that health behaviours are shaped by interactions between individual, interpersonal, and environmental factors [9,10]. Rapid urbanisation may contribute to reduced opportunities for outdoor play, particularly in densely populated urban environments such as Enugu City. Parents in the present study often perceived community environments as insufficiently supportive of active lifestyles, particularly where playgrounds, parks, or safe open spaces were unavailable. Safety concerns further influenced parental decisions, with some participants reporting that they preferred keeping children indoors to minimise exposure to traffic or neighbourhood risks.

These findings demonstrate how environmental conditions may indirectly shape family-level behaviours and parenting practices. Although many parents valued physical activity and attempted to encourage active behaviours, their efforts were often constrained by broader environmental conditions perceived to be beyond their control.

Enablers and opportunities for participation

Despite the barriers identified, parents also highlighted several factors that supported children’s physical activity participation. Structured school sports programmes, physical education classes, parental encouragement, peer relationships, and access to safe play environments were perceived as important facilitators. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that promoting children’s physical activity requires coordinated action across multiple socio-ecological levels. Rather than relying on isolated initiatives, sustainable improvements are likely to be achieved through integrated efforts involving families, schools, communities, and policymakers to create supportive environments for active lifestyles.

Importantly, parents who reported higher satisfaction with physical activity opportunities often described schools with organised sports activities and accessible recreational facilities. This finding reinforces the importance of institutional support in promoting active lifestyles among children. It also suggests that schools may serve as important intervention settings for improving physical activity participation in urban Nigerian contexts.

Implications for practice and policy

The findings of this study highlight the need for multi-level strategies aimed at improving children’s physical activity participation within urban Nigerian settings. At the institutional level, schools may benefit from policies that strengthen physical education programmes, increase opportunities for organised sports, and create more balanced schedules that accommodate both academic and physical development.

At the community level, improving access to safe recreational spaces, parks, and child-friendly infrastructure may help create environments that support active play and movement. Urban planning policies that prioritise pedestrian safety and recreational infrastructure may further encourage participation in physical activity.

Family-centred approaches may also be important. Public health interventions should support parents with practical strategies for encouraging active lifestyles within home environments, particularly in contexts where outdoor opportunities are limited. Encouraging family-based physical activities and reducing excessive screen time may contribute positively to children’s overall movement behaviours.

The findings also have implications for clinical practice. Paediatric physiotherapists and other child health professionals can use these insights to identify family-, school-, and community-level barriers to physical activity and to design contextually appropriate interventions that actively engage parents, schools, and communities in promoting active lifestyles among children.

Overall, the findings suggest that improving children’s physical activity participation requires coordinated efforts involving families, schools, communities, and policymakers rather than relying solely on individual behaviour change.

Strengths and limitations

This study provides important qualitative insight into parental perceptions of children’s physical activity participation within an urban Nigerian context. The use of semi-structured interviews allowed participants to describe their experiences and concerns in depth, while the application of the Socio-Ecological Model provided a useful framework for understanding the interaction between individual, family, institutional, and environmental influences.

However, several limitations should be acknowledged. The participant sample was predominantly composed of highly educated parents employed within the government public sector, and many participants had children attending private schools. Consequently, the findings primarily reflect the experiences of urban, relatively advantaged families and may not be transferable to lower socioeconomic groups, rural communities, or families with children attending public schools, where contextual barriers and opportunities for physical activity may differ. Additionally, the use of both telephone and face-to-face interviews may have influenced the richness of the data. Although telephone interviews enhanced flexibility and enabled participation among parents with demanding schedules, they limited the observation of non-verbal cues that may have provided additional contextual information during the interviews. Finally, the study relied on parental self-report and did not include direct measures of children’s physical activity participation.