Parental Perspectives on the Use of Smartwatch Activity Trackers by Young Children: Qualitative Study

TL;DR

This study explores parents' views on using smartwatches to track activity in young children, finding them feasible but raising concerns about motivation and privacy.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into parental perspectives on smartwatch use for preschool-aged children's physical activity.

Findings

Parents found smartwatch use feasible for young children, influenced by developmental stage and temperament.

Parents expressed concerns about extrinsic motivation, distraction, and privacy.

Most parents believed young children are naturally active and questioned the need for tracking devices.

Abstract

Smartwatch activity trackers are devices that measure physical activity levels with features that aim to encourage physically active behaviors. These devices have shown promise for increasing physical activity levels and reducing sedentary behaviors among school-aged children, adolescents, and adults. Recently, commercially available products have been adapted so that they are suitable for use by preschool-aged children. However, it is unclear whether the intended use of these devices is feasible and effective in young children.

The purpose of this study was to explore parents’ perspectives on the use of smartwatch activity trackers by young children.

Semistructured interviews were conducted with 22 parents (17/22, 77% female) of children aged 3-5 years. Interviews explored perspectives on the feasibility of their children wearing the devices, implications of use by young children, and how families could make use of these devices to support their children’s physically active behaviors. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and data analyzed using thematic analysis.

Parents perceived that the use of these devices by young children is feasible, with developmental stage or abilities and personality or temperament being important individual determinants of feasibility. However, parents expressed concerns related to the devices providing extrinsic motivation to move, being disruptive or distracting, being a burden on parents, and for the safety and privacy of their child’s information. Most parents believed that young children are inherently active and do not need devices to support physical activity. Furthermore, most parents expressed an interest in knowing how physically active their children were and thought that there may be a role for these devices for children who are less physically active.

Parents reported developmental stage or abilities and temperament as relevant considerations related to the feasibility of smartwatch activity tracker use by young children. Parents also indicated that there is a potential role for these devices in young, less active children.