Family guidance and healthy habits in Primary Education students

Abstract

The family is part of children’s social and educational context. It is important to identify family
factors that influence the educational process to outline actions for family guidance. From this
perspective, the aim of this study is to know if the parents’ educational level influences the amount
of practice of physical activity carried out by their children in Primary Education. 284 children (6 to
11 years old) were selected. Their parents were asked about their educational level (low, medium,
high) and about the physical activity of their children (throughout the week, school days and
weekends). The results indicate that the children of families with a medium-high educational level
comply with the recommendations for healthy physical activity. Also, they present higher amounts
of physical activity at different times as compared to children from families with low educational
levels. In turn, parents with different educational levels, have an influence on a greater practice of
physical activity than those with the same level. These data highlight the importance of guiding
families, especially those with a low educational level, on regarding the skills and abilities
necessary to promote healthy habits in the family context. Likewise, the results are of interest to
schools to involve families in programs to promote physical activity.